NBA DFS continues on Wednesday with a hefty nine-game slate. The Coach is here with his starting five and authentic insight from ‘inside the ropes.’ The NBA’s fantasy landscape changes daily with nightly examples of last-minute injury designation and load management. Tuesday night’s pay line in FanDuel’s $18k main slate contest was in the normal range at 305.9. We will continue to operate and expect our pay line to be in the low 300s.
Our starting lineup is designed to provide core players with which to construct your DFS lineups. We strive for players who have the potential to be less owned and will give us a lineup different from the masses. Your obvious must-start studs or options are not always mentioned; we try to offer balanced DFS salary options. The fantasy point-per-game averages referenced are those across FanDuel scoring. Who gets the green light from the Coach tonight?
DFS Starting Guards
Tyrese Haliburton ($8.2k DraftKings and $8.8k Fanduel)
Our floor general tonight will be Tyrese Haliburton. He has a green light setup tonight with the Pacers-Jazz game tied for the main slate’s highest implied game total at 236. Utah ranks bottom 10 in fantasy points allowed to point guards and Haliburton has been hot of late. In his last four starts, he has averaged 46.85 fantasy points and just under 11 dimes.
Indiana also boasts the slate’s highest implied team total set at 123. The only concern is Haliburton has a questionable tag with a groin injury. We are hopeful yesterday’s day off will allow him to be active tonight, so check on his status before tipoff.
Josh Giddey ($7.7k DraftKings and $8.3k Fanduel)
Very hard to not include Josh Giddey in our lineup tonight. He will start at shooting guard in a decent matchup. Even though he is set to face the Clippers, who are top-11 defensively in fantasy points allowed to guards, Giddey has been getting it done. In his last three games, he is averaging 58 fantasy points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists. Giddey ranks as the overall SG10 and the recent production makes him a strong start for us tonight. Both he and Haliburton provide us roster flexibility, as both can be used in either guard spot in our DFS builds.
Substitution Options: Malik Monk, Anfernee Simons, Jalen Green, Tyler Herro
DFS Starting Forwards
Zach LaVine ($7.4k DraftKings and $7.6k Fanduel)
We need some exposure to the Kings-Jazz game tied for a slate-high 236 implied total. It was either Zach LaVine or Demar DeRozan at small forward for us. Both have a green light matchup but we felt LaVine was the higher ceiling play. In addition, he affords us dual-position flexibility and can be slotted in as a shooting guard. Utah allows the sixth most points to small forwards and LaVine has settled in nicely with Sacramento. In his last four games, he has scored at least 35 fantasy points in three of them, including 55.4 and 48.6 point explosions.
Ben Simmons ($5.4k DraftKings and $ 5.6k Fanduel)
DFS Starting Center
Myles Turner ($6.1k DraftKings and $6.6k Fanduel)
We will most likely use Walker Kessler at center tonight if he plays, but we will put the focus on Myles Turner. He comes with a nice DFS price tag and our coveted green light matchup. Since returning to action last week versus Memphis, Turner is producing 42.46 fantasy points per game. Rostering him gives more exposure to the aforementioned Raptors-Pacers game.
Substitution Options: Walker Kessler (GTD), Jalen Duren, Domantis Sabonis
DFS Tournament Stacks
Tyrese Haliburton-Pascal Siakam-Myles Turner/ Malik Monk-Zach LaVine-Domantis Sabonis/ Anfernee Simons-Jerami Grant-Toumani Camara/ Jalen Brunson-Josh Hart-OG Anunoby
Final Thoughts
It is impossible to mention every player, but our substitution options provide our followers with additional green light options and flexibility within your DFS builds. We strive to balance studs and value plays who might also be potentially lower-owned. Pay attention to implied game totals and try to get pieces of those games within your lineup construction.
The top DFS builds will consist of the right balance between studs and value players that pay at least 5x their DFS salaries. Good luck with your roster builds, and please like and follow us on social media. Please always double-check our recommendations and your roster builds once line-ups are finalized for late inactives.
