Hello DFS Army! My name is Michael, otherwise known as DFS Madness on Twitter (@MadnessDFS), I am one of the new writers/contributors that the Army has brought on to join the team! I’ll be writing a Core 4 article a few times per week and then full slate breakdowns on the weekends. A quick little background about me, I am an Economics student at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (yeah it’s cold here) with graduation coming this May. I’ve been playing DFS for about 4-5 years now and providing content for about 2-3 of those years.
Purpose of the Core 4: These four players are guys that I want to lock into my cash game lineups and if doing multi-entry, using the Domination Station lock them in or set high exposure percentages to them. These are players that I see as underpriced, in great matchups, in play because of injuries, increased usage, etc. I also need to mention that these plays are normally geared toward Draftkings pricing and scoring, I’m not a huge fan of NBA for Fanduel, so if you see my list has three small forwards or two centers, etc. it’s because of the multi-position eligibility on Draftkings. With that said, let’s jump right into it!
Tonight’s Core 4:
Dennis Smith Jr. – $6,400
I’ve said it for the past could of days, but Dennis Smith is still too cheap. He has played at least 30 minutes in his last three games and has gone over 33 Draftkings points in all three of those games. Tonight he draws one of the best matchups for point guards in the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs have allowed the second most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards on the season. The thing that stands out about Dennis Smith is he shot 4-17 last game and still was able to get 33 draftkings points. He’s shot at least 15 times in the past three games, so if he’s able to have a good shooting night he has legit 50 point upside. Go ahead and lock in Dennis Smith tonight, who the Research Station has projected for 5.9x his price tag.
Chasson Randle – $3,300
The Wizards will be without Tomas Satoransky in tonights matchup with the Detroit Pistons, meaning Chasson Randle will draw the start. With Satoransky, Wall, Morris and the guys who were traded off the floor this season, Randle sees a usage rate of 18.5% and averaging 1 fantasy point per minute. Randle played 25 minutes last game and that was with a healthy Satoransky and was able to drop 26.75 draftkings points. If he can get near 30 minutes in tonights game he has legit 10x upside on his price tag. Not only is he too cheap, but the Pistons rank in the bottom half of the league in defense against opposing point guards. At $3,300 there is little risk in locking in Chasson Randle tonight.
Damian Lillard – $8,600
CeeGee’s “1st Look” article shows that the Portland Trail Blazers have one of the top pace up spot on the slate going on the road to matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Damian Lillard is a lot like Kyrie Irving to me, he seems to show up big in big time games and a matchup with the Thunder and Russell Westbrook would classify as such. In their last game in Oklahoma City, Lillard was able to drop 60.75 draftkings points. I like the idea of stacking Lillard with either George or Westbrook in this game and hoping it completely shoots out, but Lillard has an elite usage rate of 29.5% on the season and I like him to get 50+ fantasy points tonight, go ahead an lock in Dame dolla.
Ivica Zubac – $4,000
The Clippers go on the road to play the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight in a projected 230 total. Zubac has been traded but didn’t need to sell his house, as he’s gone from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers had a plethora of bigs that they sort of mixed and matched on any given night. The Clippers don’t have that issue, with Gortat, Tobias Harris and Boban out of town it will be Zubac and Montrezl Harrell running the show. Zubac is averaging 1.12 fantasy points per minute on the season and should be able to play around 25 minutes in tonights matchup. The price tags on Randle and Zubac will allow us to lock in Lillard and another superstar, so lock in Zubac at $4,000.
As always I appreciate everyone who gave the core a read! Feel free to mix it up with me in our coaching forums as news breaks and lock approaches. If you don’t know about them, our two newest pages contain Breaking News and our exclusive Coaches’ Picks……both invaluable for late breaking news and pivots in NBA. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @MadnessDFS as I occasionally make changes to the core. Let’s make some money tonight!