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.

Yesterday’s Core Results:

• Gordon Hayward – 37.75 dkp; 7.9x
• Nikola Jokic – 63.5 dkp; 6.3x
• Steph Curry – 45.75 dkp; 5x
• Larry Nance – 30.5 dkp; 4.6x – This is the one guy I want to touch on quickly, because it was the most frustrating roster of the season for me. So first off we get news about 8 minutes after lock that he won’t be in the starting lineup, so I wasn’t thrilled about that but knowing Cedi and Nwaba would be limited I thought it would be fine. Then the game goes to 3 overtimes and he fouls out in the first overtime falling 2 points short of getting the double-double bonus. So not only did he miss out on two extra overtimes but we got a completely average game from him, it was not fun but he didn’t kill you.

Happy Valentines day to everyone, we have the final NBA slate before we kick off all star weekend. We end it with a small little 3 gamer, so let’s see if we can find some under the radar plays and go into the break with heavy pockets!

NBA DFS Game Break:

Charlotte Hornets @ Orlando Magic:

Vegas Total: 214

Vegas Spread: Orl -3.5

We start things off with the Hornets going on the road to Orlando, the Hornets always seem to be a bit underpriced other than Kemba Walker. With that said, Kemba Walker is in a pretty good spot tonight although priced up, the Magic are pretty middle of the road in terms of team defense. Kemba has been in great form since Cody Zeller came back, scoring at least 50 draftkings points in the past five games. I normally never get to the rest of the Hornets but Jeremy Lamb feels a bit underpriced at $5,700, the Research Station shows Lamb to be a phenomenal value at 5.8x. The Research Station also likes Nicholas Batum at under $5k, the Magic rank 25th against opposing SG/SF so you could do worse than Nicholas Batum. From the Magic, Aaron Gordon seems to be stuck in the mid $6000’s and I like him here in this spot, the Hornets rank 24th against opposing power forwards. Evan Fournier and Terrance Ross can be talked about in the same breath, Fournier is the safer play for cash games and Ross has the higher upside for GPP’s, of the two I would prefer Evan Fournier tonight. Finally, Nikola Vucevic has seen a bit of a price boost and is now $10k. I don’t have a problem with him in this spot, but I think I’ll likely spend up elsewhere on this slate.

New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks:

Vegas Total: 225

Vegas Spread: Atl -8.5

The Knicks draw the highest pace up bump on the slate according to CeeGee’s “1st Look” article, we know that pace up spots are something that we want to attack in terms of fantasy production. From those pace up Knicks, this is a phenomenal spot for Dennis Smith Jr. who finally draws a decent matchup. We’ve been targeting ever since he’s joined the Knicks, but really hasn’t drawn that incredible matchup yet, but here we are. He has seen a bit of a price bump, but I still think there is some upside at this price. If he can get 30+ minutes he should have no problem with this Trae Young and company who rank 29th against opposing point guards. Kevin Knox makes for a good GPP play, he plays a ton of minutes but the issue with him is that he is incredibly scoring dependent, so let’s hope he’s knocking down his shots if you use him. Finally, Mitchell Robinson has been elite in his minutes lately, he’s seen an average of 1.2 fantasy points per minute on the season and is coming off a 45 draftkings point game. The Hawks are ranked 20th in defense against opposing centers, so I like Robinson at low ownership here. Also, Trier, Dotson and Hezonja are all dart throws on this team in this spot. From the Hawks, John Collins is my favorite play here he has 50 point upside at under $8k. Trae Young had a career game last time out against the Lakers and has seen a significant price boost, although a good matchup I will let other people point chase.

 

Check out Razzle’s College Basketball Breakdowns

-> HERE <-

Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans:

Vegas Total: 236

Vegas Spread: Okc -5.5

This is by far the highest projected total on the slate so we will look to get some exposure to this game. From the Thunder, Paul George has been playing at an MVP type level and has seen the price boost to prove it. However, it may not have been enough, he’s gone over 60 draftkings points in three of his past four games and coming off an 88 point game last time out. Russell Westbrook has averaged 53 draftkings points in three matchups with this team this season, I will never have a problem playing Russ if that’s where you want to go. I would like to play Steven Adams in the spot but I just don’t think he’s healthy right now, he’s been held under 30 draftkings points in his last four games and the all-star break cannot come soon enough for him. Anthony Davis is $9,000 on Draftkings…….. part of me wants to lock him in but part of me wants to be cautious. However, at this price you almost need to lock him in on Draftkings, the price on Fanduel is a little more intrusive, so I will stick with him on Draftkings. To be honest, this team is a mess right now and the only guy I trust is Jrue Holiday. It’s a tough matchup, but if this game is going to stay close it will be because of Holiday if Davis is going to be limited.

As always I appreciate everyone who gave the core or game break 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. Let’s make some money tonight!

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