We are back for a new week in our NBA DFS journey with a big ten-game slate in the association tonight. The Coach is here with his starting five to give authentic insight from ‘inside the ropes’. The NBA’s daily fantasy landscape continues to change, as evidenced by the surprise blockbuster trade between Dallas and Los Angeles. We see almost nightly examples of last-minute injury designation and load management rest. For reference, last night’s $1.5k main slate pay line on FanDuel was 311.7 points. This gives us a targeted baseline for our player recommendations within our player recommendations.
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 give us a lineup different from the masses. The fantasy point-per-game averages referenced are those across FanDuel scoring rules. Who gets the green light from the Coach tonight?
DFS Guards
Jamal Murray ($7.4k DraftKings and $8.2k Fanduel)
At our first guard spot, we are green-lighting Jamal Murray tonight. Russell Westbrook has already been declared out with a hamstring injury so that props up Murray for us. Tonight he faces the Pelicans defense that allows the eighth-most fantasy points to the guard position. Muray is dual position eligible and enters tonight as the overall PG10. On the season he is averaging 38.14 fantasy points per game; in his last four games, he is at 45.15. Denver also comes with the main slate’s highest implied team total of 125.25.
Mikal Bridges ($6.5k DraftKings and $6.7 Fanduel)
Mikal Bridges moves up in the pecking order for us tonight with both Josh Hart and OG Anunoby game-time decisions. Coaches love players who can play multiple positions and we get that with Bridges. He is both shooting guard and small forward eligible, which gives us roster-build flexibility. Bridges averages nearly 30 fantasy points per game, and Houston’s defense is in the middle of the pack in terms of points allowed to the shooting guards. He is seeing about 34 minutes a game and that should elevate if one or both of Hart and Onunoby sit.
Substitution Options: Tyrese Haliburton, Desmond Bane, CJ McCollum, Andrew Nembhard
DFS Forwards
Kevin Durant ($9.1k DraftKings and $9.4k Fanduel)
We could put Kevin Durant in every NBA DFS column, but he has the green light tonight set to face the Portland defense yielding the tenth most fantasy points to forwards. KD is averaging 43.84 fantasy points a game, is the overall PF7, and gets a rematch versus the same Portland team that held him to just 24.7 points Saturday night. We expect Durant to bounce back and possibly go a bit less owned of the bad performance.
Jaden McDaniels ($6.4k DraftKings and $6.2k Fanduel)
Jaden McDaniels is a definite green light play for the Coach tonight, with Julius Randle declared out already. McDaniels is eligible for either forward position and could see time as the four-man tonight. We mention that because the Spurs yield the eighth fewest fantasy points to small forwards but the third most to power forwards. Randle plays the four and McDaniels is more than capable of playing it as well.
He is a capable three-point shooter and hauled down 12 boards Saturday night versus Washington. At his DFS price tag, McDaniels can smash his salary, as evidenced by his 57.4 fantasy points against the Wizards on Saturday.
Substitution Options: Desmond Bane, DeMar DeRozan, Tobias Harris, Kyle Kuzma
DFS Centers
Jaren Jackson ($8.3k DraftKings and $8.5k Fanduel)
You can use Jackson at power forward if need to be in your builds but he will be our five-man tonight. The Spurs-Grizzles has the main slate’s highest implied game total at 242, so we need some exposure to it. Jackson is averaging 40.19 fantasy points per game, is the overall PF4, and has gone over his average in four of his last seven games. Victor Wembanyama is a GTD with an illness, so if he plays he may not be at full strength. If he is inactive, Jackson could go nuclear for us tonight.
Substitution Options: Mark Willams, Jonas Valanciunas, Santi Aldama, Jalen Duren
DFS Tournament Stacks
Cade Cunningham-Tobias Harris-Jalen Duren/ Luke Kennard-Desmond Bane-Santi Aldama/Jalen Brunson-Mikal Bridges-Karl Anthony-Towns
Final Thoughts
As we stated earlier, we are trying to find player options projected for low ownership and value. 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 2x-5x their DFS salaries. Good luck with your DFS 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 any late inactives.
