What’s up #elitemafia. Happy Sunday! Today I’ll be break down tonight’s six-game slate.
NBA differs from all other sports because one piece of news can change the entire look of a slate. Monitoring news throughout the day and keeping an eye on starting lineups is a key part of the daily process for those playing NBA DFS.
For the purpose of this article, I’ll be using FanDuel positions as they are less flexible than they are on DraftKings, but you should have plenty of options at each position to build on DK as well given the roster flexibility and multi-position eligibility of many players on their site.
Players are listed in order of preference by position.
Let’s jump right into it!
Top Projected Total
- Nets 128
- Wizards 119.5
- Mavericks 115
- Trail Blazers 113
- Raptors 112
Biggest Favorites
- Suns -9.5
- Nets -8.5
- Raptors -7.5
- Bulls -3
- Mavericks -2
Position By Position
Point Guard
- Luka Doncic
- Russell Westbrook
- Kyrie Irving
- Darius Garland
- Delon Wright
- Frank Jackson
Shooting Guard
- James Harden
- Bradley Beal
- Josh Jackson
- Zach LaVine
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (FD)
- Talen Horton-Tucker
Small Forward
- Larry Nance
- R.J. Barrett
- Rui Hachimura
- Saddiq Bey
- OG Anunoby
- Joe Harris (FD)
Power Forward
- Kristaps Porzingis
- Lauri Markkanen
- Tobias Harris (moves to top PF if Simmons is out)
- Jerami Grant
- Isaiah Stewart
- Tony Bradley
Center
- Jarrett Allen
- Montrezl Harrell (move down if Gasol plays)
- Dwight Howard
- Mason Plumlee
- Enes Kanter
Key News To Watch:
- JaVale McGee – questionable
- Ben Simmons – questionable
- Elfrid Payton – questionable
- Immanuel Quickley – questionable
- Mitchell Robinson – questionable
- Marc Gasol – status unknown
Key Games:
Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards – This contest has the highest over/under on the slate at 247.5 points. These are two teams that play fast and two teams that are bottom 10 in defense efficiency. This is a great game to stack this evening and it offers plenty of star power. From the Nets side, James Harden and Kyrie Irving are the top plays. If choosing between the two, Harden would be the priority. Outside of those two, Joe Harris is another player you can consider for savings on FD if you plan to stack this game. He remains affordable on FD and this is a great game environment for him. Attacking the Wizards with opposing bigs is something I like to do, though DeAndre Jordan’s minutes have been very streaky as of late, as we are seeing the Nets give Nicolas Claxton more playing time. I have Jordan projected for 19-21 minutes and Claxton for 17-19 minutes tonight, making both of them incredibly tough to trust. In addition, Blake Griffin is expected to make his Nets debut tonight, adding another body for this front court. From the Wizards side, it’s all about Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal. Both are in fantastic spots for big performances. Beal has topped 50 DK points in each of his two meetings against the Nets this season, while Westbrook scored 50 DK points in their first meeting and 73 DK points in their second meeting. Having exposure to one of the two tonight is something you want to do. Rui Hachimurra is another player from the Wizards side that you can consider. His FD price is just way too cheap tonight and he provides us incredible upside. The matchup is also favorable for him and this game should produce a ton of fantasy goodness. Pairing him up with either Beal or Westbrook and running it back with one of the Nets studs is certainly something to consider.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Portland Trail Blazers –A lot of the focus will be on the Washington and Brooklyn game this evening, which means that we could see lower ownership for some of the players in this contest between the Mavericks and Trail Blazers. Luka Doncic has dominated against Portland in both of their meetings this season, scoring at least 38 real points and 64 DK points in each of their matchups. In the last game, a few nights ago, he finished one rebound and one assist short of a triple-double. Doncic is arguably the best pay up option on the slate this evening and he might be lower owned than he should be, given the total of the Nets/Wizards game. Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t played incredibly well against the Trail Blazers this season, but his price on both sites is very appealing tonight and we know the upside he brings to the table. He will likely go overlooked tonight and is a good way to get exposure to a Mavericks team with the third highest implied team total. Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, and Josh Richardson are all secondary pieces that can be considered from the Dallas side. As far as Portland is concerned, Robert Covington remains affordable and he will play big minutes here, so if you want a run back option, he is your guy.
CORE FOUR
DraftKings: James Harden, Bradley Beal, Lauri Markkanen, Frank Jackson
FanDuel: Luka Doncic, James Harden, Rui Hachimura, Lauri Markkanen
** Always check for updates to the core four closer to lock as it is subject to change with news**
