NBA DFS rolls into Tuesday night with a small four-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 $12k main slate pay line was up a bit at 317.1 points. Monday nights starting five had two late inactive players requiring us to move to the bench options. Our lineup finished inside the DraftKings payline and yielded us 308.4 points across FanDuel Scoring.
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 his NBA DFS starting lineup this evening. It will take some work tonight to construct a unique lineup with only four games on the main slate.
NBA DFS Starting Guards
Tyrese Haliburton ($8.8k DraftKings and Fanduel)
With Cade Cunningham the most likely chalk play, we are pivoting to Tyrese Halliburton. He again remains a GTD decision but we are hopeful that sitting out last night means he will suit up tonight. Haliburton will play in the slate’s second highest implied 234 game total and face the Bucks who rank 25th in fantasy points allowed to the position. He is averaging 40.59 fantasy points per game and ranks as the overall PG6. Before missing the past three contests, Haliburton was on a six-game tear averaging 54.25 fantasy points and 12.5 dimes per game. If he is inactive again, pivot to Damian Lillard or you can pay down to Andrew Nembhard.
Jordan Poole ($7.5k DraftKings and $7.6k Fanduel)
Jordan Poole will start at shooting guard tonight, giving us exposure to the Wizards-Pistons who play in a slate high 234.5 implied game total. This game does have blowout potential with a 16 point spread, however, Washington is 9-2-1 ATS in their last 12 games. Poole is averaging 34.57 fantasy points on the season, including a 53.9 point explosion Saturday night against the Raptors.
Bench Options: Damian Lillard, Andrew Nembhard, Donovan Mitchell
NBA DFS Starting Forwards
Cameron Johnson ($6.1k DraftKings and $6.5k Fanduel)
Brooklyn is a huge 17 point underdog tonight against the Cavaliers, which does not always bode well for a fantasy player. However, the Nets travel to Cleveland last night, fresh off last night’s upset win over the Lakers. Cameron Johnson was a huge part of that posting 41.9 fantasy points. Johnson gets the green light match-up against the Cavs who allow the third most points to small forwards.
At $6.1k we will take the risk and start him at the small forward position. In addition, he affords us roster flexibility within our NBA DFS builds, being eligible to slot into either forward position. In his last three starts, Johnson is averaging 36.9 fantasy points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
Kawhi Leonard ($8.1k DraftKings and Fanduel)
NBA DFS Starting Center
Jalen Duren ($6.6k DraftKings and $7.7k Fanduel)
The man in the middle tonight will be Detroit’s Jalen Duren. He gives us additional exposure to the slate’s highest implied game total and will face the Wizards who allow the third most fantasy points to the centers. Duren averages 31.53 fantasy points on the season and ranks as the overall C9. Duren has scored 40 or more fantasy points in three of his last starts and posted a double-double in four of his last five.
Bench Options: Jarrett Allen, Alex Sarr, Ivica Zubac, Myles Turner
NBA DFS Tournament Stacks
Cade Cunningham-Tobias Harris-Jalen Duren/ Tyrese Haliburton-Pascal Siakam-Myles Turner/ Damian Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo-Brooke Lopez/ James Harden-Kawhi Leonard-Ivica Zubac
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, like 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.
