We continue our NBA DFS journey with tonight’s 12-game slate and the Coach is here with his starting five. The NBA’s daily fantasy landscape is ever-changing with load management, injuries, and lineup fluxation. For reference, we have been seeing the main slate pay line on FanDuel between 275-300 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.
DFS Guards
James Harden ($9.6k DraftKings and $9.2k Fanduel)
We love James Harden tonight, he gets a green matchup versus the Suns defense that is ranked 21st in points allowed to the point guard position. Harden returned to action on January 23 against the Wizards after a brief one-game absence and went off for 50.9 fantasy points. He followed that up on Saturday night against the Bucks with 61.5 points. Harden is a nightly triple-double threat which is crucial with the FanDuel scoring boost for points and rebounds.
Jamal Murray ($7.2k DraftKings and $7.9k Fanduel)
In our next guard spot, we have a nice dual eligibility play with Denver’s Jamal Murray. Murray is the overall PG12 and gets the green light match against the Bull’s defense that ranks 3oth in fantasy points allowed to the guard spot. Murray, similar to Harden, is a stat sheet stuffer averaging 37.42 fantasy points per game. Murray has two games in his last six where he scored over 55 fantasy points and tonight he resides in a game with an implied total of 246, the slate’s highest.
Additional Options: Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, Keyonte George, Kris Middleton (GTD), Spencer Dinwiddie
DFS Forwards
Anthony Edwards ($9.2k DraftKings and $9k Fanduel)
Every coach wants consistent production and Antman is steady as they come. Edwards sees about 35 minutes and averages over 41.38 fantasy points per game. Edwards scored at least 40 fantasy points in five of his last seven games. He is the overall SG1 but is also eligible for the small forward spot in FanDuel contests. It is another green-light matchup for us, as the Hawks are in the bottom 10 in fantasy points allowed to the guard spot.
Jaden McDaniels ($5.3k DraftKings and $5.8k Fanduel)
Jaden McDaniels continues to be a serious value based on his production in correlation to his DFS salary. McDaniels is blowing it up over his last three games, averaging a robust 42.36 fantasy points. His usage has been excellent, seeing over 36 minutes a game over his last six and tonight he faces the Atlanta Hawks, ranked 26th in fantasy points allowed to the forward position. McDaniels gives us flexibility within our builds due to both his salary and dual position eligibility.
Additional Options: Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes, Ausar Thompson
DFS Center
Daniel Gafford ($DraftKings and $7.5k Fanduel)
At center, we are rolling out Daniel Gafford tonight, however, keep in mind he may be super chalky. Gafford is on a nice run since the injury to Dereck Lively II, averaging 43.02 fantasy points over his last five games including a 77.5-point outburst versus Charlotte. Gafford also takes down 11.75 rebounds per game, which is vital with the 1.2 points per rebound inside FanDuel scoring.
Additional Options: Domantas Sabonis, Jakob Poeltl (GTD), Kristaps Porzingis, Yves Missi
DFS Tournament Stacks
Kyrie Irving-Quentin Grimes-Daniel Gafford/ Jamal Murray-Russell Westbrook-Nikola Jokic/ Jayson Tatum-Derrick White-Kristaps Porzingis
Final Thoughts
As we stated earlier, we are trying to find player options that are projected for low ownership and top 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 remember to double-check our recommendations once line-ups are finalized.
