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.

 

I’ll start by saying congratulations to the Patriots and all the Patriot fans out there, it was pretty hard to watch, but nonetheless congrats (the Packers will be back next year). We’ve got a nice six game slate tonight to cure that Monday hangover, so let’s jump in.

NBA DFS Game Break:

Atlanta Hawks @ Washington Wizards:

Vegas Total: 233.0

Vegas Spread: Was -6.0

We start the slate off with a pretty strong game in terms of fantasy production. Starting with the Hawks, my favorite play here is Trae Young, he has gone for at least 40 draftkings points in three of his last four games and is really getting up those extra shot attempts that we’re looking for. The Hawks rank 18th against opposing point guards and Trae Young has actually been extremely consistent as of late. I also like John Collins here, the Wizards have struggled against opposing big men ever since Dwight Howard went down. I kind of expect Collins to play some minutes at the five tonight and could see this game going small, so that may mean a decrease in minutes for Dewayne Dedmon. Taurean Prince is also in a pretty good spot, but has been a bit too up and down for me to trust in cash games. From the Wizards, my favorite play here is Otto Porter if he draws the start. Porter has started the past two games and played 34 minutes last game. If he can get that many minutes in this matchup, he should have no problem hitting value. Bradley Beal is in a great spot as well if you’re able to spend up. If we take a look at CeeGee’s “1st Look” article, we see that this is a massive pace up spot for the Wizards, so there may be some extra fantasy production to go around for guys like Porter and Beal.

Denver Nuggets @ Detroit Pistons:

Vegas Total: 209.0

Vegas Spread: Den -4.0

We already know that Gary Harris has been ruled out for this game, however Jamaal Murray is listed as questionable. If Murray sits, go ahead and fire up Monte Morris and Malik Beasley. If Murray is active, I would still have interest in Beasley if he starts, but would jump off the Morris train. Other than those guards, there really isn’t a whole lot I love from the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic draws a tough matchup against Blake and Drummond, so I’ll pay up elsewhere. From Detroit, I think we can go right back to the Reggie Jackson well here. It’s not the greatest matchup for Jackson if Murray plays, but if Murray is out then Jackson is just a bit too cheap. Blake Griffin draws a tough matchup here against a Jokic lead front court, but Andre Drummond still feels too cheap at just $8,200 and if we go to the Research Station, we can see that the Nuggets actually rank 23rd aDvP.

Milwaukee Bucks @ Brooklyn Nets:

Vegas Total: 227.5

Vegas Spread: Mil -7.0

My favorite superstar/spend up on the slate is Giannis at $10,900. In this matchup earlier in the year he scored 72 draftkings points in 34 minutes. The Nets rank 26th in defensive efficiency against SF/PF, so Giannis should have no problem doing whatever he wants with the basketball. The only other Buck I have interest in is Brook Lopez, he went for 34 draftkings points in this matchup and the Nets tend to struggle with opposing big men. From the Nets there isn’t a lot that I love for cash games. D’Angelo Russell is fine for GPP, but is to volatile for cash games, and Jarrett Allen is a fade for me as I think Lopez will draw him away from the rim and take away his rebound equity.

Indiana Pacers @ New Orleans Pelicans:

Vegas Total: 217.5

Vegas Spread: Ind -1.5

I’ve said it for the past few days, but I’m still fading Indiana until they get their rotations figured out. They’ve been a complete mess ever since Oladipo went down. However, there is one guy who is seeing constant minutes and actually draws a very good matchup here. Bojan Bogdanovic consistently see’s over 30 minutes per game and the Pelicans rank in the lower half of the league in defending the 3-point line. From the Pelicans, Kenrich Williams is looking like the best value play on the slate. He is still only $4,300 and has played over 30 minutes in his past three games, going for at least 27 draftkings points in all of them, he’s a lock for me tonight. Frank Jackson is also a good value play at under $4k for cash games, but in GPP I would pivot to the similarly priced Tim Frazier. Frazier is a better point per minute player and has the higher upside. Finally, Jrue Holiday is the head of this offense so I won’t talk you off of him if you end up there.

Houston Rockets @ Phoenix Suns:

Vegas Total: 230.0

Vegas Spread: Hou -8.0

I was all over James Harden on Saturday with Chris Paul out and it ended up working out very well. However, with Paul back in, I’ll take the savings and go with Giannis tonight. Eric Gordon is also underpriced at only $5,000 he could easily excel in an advantageous matchups in the Suns. Kenneth Faried’s price keeps climbing, but I’ll keep riding the Manimal especially in this matchup he shouldn’t have a problem getting around 35 draftkings points tonight. From the Suns, Devin Booker will have to do everything he can to keep the Suns in this game, I like him as a GPP play but he may draw some Chris Paul defense which is less than ideal. Lastly, DeAndre Ayton is in play here if you think the game can stay relatively close, we’ve seen big men beat up on this Rockets team since Capel has been injured.

**Update: The Breaking News page has stated that Eric Gordon is OUT. With Gordon off the court this season Harden see’s a 50.6% usage rate and around 1.9 draftkings points per minute. In a matchup with the Suns, you may just need to lock him in here.**

San Antonio Spurs @ Sacramento Kings:

Vegas Total: 227.5

Vegas Spread: SA -2.o

Derrick White has been ruled out in this game, which will mean more minutes for Bryn Forbes and Patty Mills. Both are fine value plays as the Kings rank in the lower half of the league in team defense versus opposing point guards, however I would rather go with one of the Pelicans guys. DeMar DeRozan may see some extra ball handling duties with White off the floor and I think he’s an excellent play at only $7,500. The Kings will likely go pretty un-owned here and maybe for good reason. The only guy I have interest in is De’Aaron Fox in GPP’s as he’s always got 50 point upside, but I’ll go elsewhere for cash games.

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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