NBA DFS starts the week of with tonight’s hefty 10-game slate. The Coach is here with his starting five and authentic insight from ‘inside the ropes.’ The NBA’s daily fantasy landscape is ever-changing, with injuries, last-minute inactives, and load management. Last night’s FanDuel $10k main slate pay line was down to its normal range at 306.4 points. Friday nights starting five produced us 222.8 fantasy points.
The starting lineup is designed to provide a core five as you construct your DFS builds. We strive to recommend players who have the potential to be less owned and build an NBA DFS roster different from the masses. Your obvious studs are not always mentioned and the fantasy point-per-game averages referenced are those across FanDuel scoring. See who the Coach has in the starting lineup tonight.
NBA DFS Starting Guards
Josh Giddey ($8.5k DraftKings and $8.7k Fanduel)
Josh Giddey will get the start at point guard tonight. There are multiple high-level options at the position, however, we feel Giddey brings good value being priced under $9k. He is averaging 35.25 fantasy points per game, but has even better of late. Saturday night’s triple-double against Miami capped an eight-game stretch where he has averaged 52.08 fantasy points, 11.5 boards, and 9.5 assists per game. Giddey gets the green light playing in the main slate’s second highest implied game total!
Immanuel Quickley ($6.5k DraftKings and $6.9k Fanduel)
Immanuel Quickley is eligible for both guard spots and will start at the two guard tonight. Quickley provides us roster flexibility and a nice NBA DFS mid-tier option. Quickley was inactive on Saturday due to rest, but in his prior four starts was averaging 36.05 fantasy points, 4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. He will match up tonight versus the Wizards who allow the fourth highest fantasy output to shooting guards and forecast to play in a competitive game script.
Bench Options: Ja Morant, Devin White, Bradley Beal, Stephon Castle
NBA DFS Starting Forwards
Kelly Oubre ($6.6k DraftKings and $7.4k Fanduel)
With Kelly Oubre coming off last night’s disappointing fantasy performance, we will take advantage and plug him in at small forward tonight. NBA DFS masses may shy away tonight due to the disappointing 11.4 fantasy points he put up. Oubre is lined up in a bounce back spot against the Hawks who rank 28th in fantasy points allowed to the position. Oubre gives us exposure to the Sixers-Hawks game with a top four implied game total.
Before last night, Oubre had been averaging 38.75 fantasy points in his previous four contests. The only concern we have is the ten point spread, but Oubre was seeing 38.5 minutes a game during the aforementioned four game stretch. As a bonus, he is dual position eligible and can be used at shooting guard within your NBA DFS builds.
Kevin Durant ($9.4k DraftKings and $9.4k Fanduel)
We will ride the fantasy wave that KD is on right now. He gets the starting nod at power forward and the green light and will face the Hawks who rank bottom in the bottom half of the NBA in production allowed to power forwards. Durant ranks as the overall PF6 and is the middle of a four-game streak averaging 46.63 fantasy points and just under 9 rebounds a game. KD gives our starting five exposure to the slate’s highest implied game total of 243.
NBA DFS Starting Center
Zach Edey ($6.6k DraftKings and $5.6k Fanduel)
With Jaren Jackson sidelined with the ankle injury and Santi Aldama a GTD with the calf injury, we can pay down at center tonight and start Zach Edey. We can get additional exposure to the Suns-Grizzlies game and start a DFS value player who has totaled 59.4 fantasy points and 24 rebounds in his last two starts. Atlanta ranks just 16th in points allowed to the center position, making Edey a solid bet to pay 5x-6x his DFS salary.
Bench Options: Nikola Jokic, Draymond Green, Myles Turner, Walker Kessler (GTD)/ John Collins (GTD)
NBA DFS Tournament Stacks
Devin Booker-Bradley Beal-Kevin Durant/ Ja Morant-Desmond Bane-Zach Edey/ Josh Giddey-Coby White-Nikola Vucevic (GTD/Tyrese Haliburton or Andrew Nembhard-Pascal Siakam-Myles Turner/ SGA-Jalen Williams-Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein
Final Thoughts
Monitor the Utah Jazz frontcourt game status between Walker Kessler, John Collins, and Kyle Flipowski. There will be a play there, depending on how the minutes usage plays out. The bench options provide followers, similar to a coach, with additional green light options, injury replacements, and flexibility for your DFS builds. Pay attention to implied team and game totals and try to get roster exposure to those games. Top DFS builds will consist of the right balance between studs and value players that pay at least 5x-6x their DFS salaries. Good luck with your roster builds, and please like and follow us on social media. Double-check our recommendations and your builds once line-ups are finalized for late inactives.
