Welcome to the DFS Army NBA Full Court Press! You have to start your research somewhere, and often times going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Michael aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article. But, you’ll mostly find me in our VIP coaching forums where I provide detailed lineup maneuvers and answer all lineup questions. With that said, let’s get it started!
DFS Army is an affiliate partner of Monkey Knife Fight, click this link to take advantage of our special promotion!
Full Court Press:
Philadelphia 76ers @ Charlotte Hornets
Vegas Total: 224.5
Vegas Spread: Phi -1.0
Pace: Cha +2.7
Starting with the Sixers, Joel Embiid will sit tonight for rest purposes. This puts Boban Marjanovic right into play on Draftkings, his price is a little steep on Fanduel however. The Research Station has Boban projected to 8.7x his Draftkings price tag, which is almost unheard of. With Embiid off the court this season, here is how it affects the other players’ usage rates…
- Tobias Harris – 21.7% usage rate; 1.05 fpm
- Ben Simmons – 23.4% usage rate; 1.19 fpm
- Jimmy Butler – 24% usage rate; 1.12 fpm
- Boban Marjanovic – 21.6%; 1.29 fpm
All of these guys are in play tonight, pick and choose which one you like or fits your lineup best. They all draw similar defensive matchups, but Boban draws the best by a narrow margin, as the Hornets rank 20th in defense against opposing centers. From the Hornets, Cody Zeller is still out tonight, which opens up a good chunk of minutes in the frontcourt. Frank Kaminsky and Marvin Williams will likely pick up the majority of these minutes. The Research Station has them both projected to at least 6x their Draftkings price tag. Nicolas Batum draws the best matchup on the Hornets, as the Sixers rank 25th in defense against opposing shooting guards. Kemba Walker is one of the more intriguing plays here for me, in three games against the Sixers this year he is averaging 65.7 Draftkings points per game.
5-star play: Boban Marjanovic (Draftkings), Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker
4-star play: Frank Kaminsky, Marvin Williams, Nicolas Batum, JJ Redick
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Mike Scott
GPP Sleeper: None
Houston Rockets @ Atlanta Hawks
Vegas Total: 232.0
Vegas Spread: Hou -7.5
Pace: Hou +5.9
Houston draws a massive pace up spot here against the Hawks. James Harden is expensive here, but I have a feeling we will get enough value plays tonight where you shouldn’t have a problem jamming him in if you choose to. In his only game against the Hawks this season he struggled a bit, only putting up 39.25 Draftkings points. Chris Paul is at a nice price, and the Hawks rank 26th in defense against opposing point guards on the season. The Hawks rank dead last in defense against opposing centers on the season which puts Clint Capela into play as well. Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker are also in play if you fall onto them. From the Hawks, Trae Young draws a tough matchup but has proven he can succeed in this spot. In one matchup against the Hawks this season, Young put up 51 Draftkings points. John Collins has gone for 45+ fantasy points in four of his last five games, he’s coming off a disappointing game his last time out, so let’s hope for a bounce back here. The rest of the Hawks are priced pretty appropriately and when this team is healthy it’s hard to target anyone outside of the two studs.
5-star play: James Harden, Chris Paul, Trae Young
4-star play: Clint Capela, John Collins
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: PJ Tucker
GPP Sleeper: None
Our NBA Domination Station lineup optimizer is Powered by DFS Army proprietary projections. The Domination Station will help you create 150 of the highest projected lineups in a matter of minutes. With features that allow you to Like
Love
or Dislike
a player, you can create a fully unique pool of players to generate your lineups from every day. Combine the power of the Domination Station with our VIP Only Articles and the NBA Research Station to really take your game to the next level.
Los Angeles Lakers @ Milwaukee Bucks
Vegas Total: 236.0
Vegas Spread: Mil -7.5
Pace: LA +0.3
We’re going to be able to find some value in this game. Starting with the Lakers, LeBron James has been ruled out for tonight’s game, here is how the teams’ usage rates shake out with him off the court this season…
- Moritz Wagner – 25.4% usage rate; 0.85 fpm
- Rajon Rondo – 22.2% usage rate; 1.21 fpm
- Kyle Kuzma – 24.7% usage rate; 1.07 fpm
- Jonathan Williams – 23.4% usage rate; 0.79 fpm
Mike Muscala will draw the start for LeBron, at min price across the industry he is worth a shot. We will need to wait for the rest of the starting lineup, but Rajon Rondo and Kyle Kuzma seem like safe plays here. Of the cheap, Wagner is my favorite play. He’s proven to be able to put up fantasy points when he’s given minutes, and he should see a good complement of them tonight. From the Bucks, we have a similar situation. Giannis Antetokounmpo is also out tonight along with Malcolm Brogdon sidelined for the rest on the regular season, here is how the Bucks’ usage rates shake out…
- Eric Bledsoe – 29.4% usage rate; 1.57 fpm
- Khris Middleton – 34.2% usage rate; 1.35 fpm
- Brook Lopez – 17.2% usage rate; 0.87 fpm
- Nikola Mirotic – 20.4% usage rate; 1 fpm
Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton will likely be the first two guys into my lineup tonight. I would expect Ersan Ilyasova to see more minutes tonight, along with Pat Connaughton making him a nice value play. I like Mirotic for GPPs for the small chance that he sees 30 minutes with all these injuries.
5-star play: Rajon Rondo, Kyle Kuzma, Moritz Wagner, Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton
4-star play: Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton, Nikola Mirotic
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Jonathan Williams, Mike Muscala, Pat Connaughton
GPP Sleeper: Lakers and Bucks value guys
Golden State Warriors @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Vegas Total:
Vegas Spread:
Pace: Min +0.6
Starting with the Warriors, I’ll operate under the assumption that everybody will be available. However, keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates. The Warriors draw a nice matchup here, the Research Station shows that the Wolves rank 21st or worse in defense against all positions.
Steph Curry is averaging 59 Draftkings points per game in two matchups with the Wolves this season, while Durant is at 48.3. Picking between the two is never easy, so go with the one that fits your roster construction better. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are cheaper options if you want to get exposure to this team. From the Timberwolves, Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague are both out tonight, making Tyus Jones a great value play. There will also be more usage and assist percentage for Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns is way underpriced on Draftkings and is close to a lock for me over there. His Fanduel price is a bit more daunting, but he’s still playable over there. Andrew Wiggins will also see some more ball-handling duties, putting him in play as well.
5-star play: Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyus Jones
4-star play: Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Tyus Jones
GPP Sleeper: None
The NBA Research Station is my #1 source for research every single day and is one of the VIP Only tools our members have access to daily. The info in the NBA ReSearch Station includes today’s
DFS Army Projection, Adjusted DVP matchups and much more. This tool will cut your daily research time in half. If you’re familiar with CeeGee and Ben you already know the time they’ve put into the “Sheets” and are extremely happy to provide them as apart of your DFS Army VIP Membership this year.
Brooklyn Nets @ Sacramento Kings
Vegas Total: 232.0
Vegas Spread: Sac -4.0
Pace: Bkn +3.0
Starting with Brooklyn, Caris LeVert continues to feel underpriced, but this team can be hard to predict with their minutes. He is a 4-star play for me. D’Angelo Russell is an elite GPP play given the up paced matchup, he scored 55.5 Draftkings points against the Kings earlier this season. Spencer Dinwiddie is also in play, but don’t play Dinwiddie and Russell in the same lineup, they are negatively correlated to the extreme. I never really fall on Jarrett Allen, but he is playable given the matchup. From the Kings, De’Aaron Fox is my favorite play, he feels underpriced and gets one of the highest scoring games on the slate. I love targeting centers against the Nets, which puts Willie Cauley-Stein into play as well. As far as Buddy Hield and Harison Barnes go, I would rather find the money for Bledsoe and/or Middleton, but they make for nice GPP plays.
5-star play: De’Aaron Fox
4-star play: Caris LeVert, Willie Cauley-Stein, Jarrett Allen
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: None
GPP Sleeper: D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes
Indiana Pacers @ Los Angeles Clippers
Vegas Total: 219.0
Vegas Spread: Lac -5.0
Pace: Ind +3.7
This is one of my least favorite games on the slate, there are a few guys we can target on the Pacers, but the Clippers are pretty thin for fantasy production. From the Pacers, Myles Turner is a very good play given the matchup. The Clippers rank 23rd in defense against opposing centers on the season. Other than him, Darren Collison and Domantas Sabonis are fine plays if you fall on them, but not priorities. From the Clippers, the only guy I have any interest in is Lou Williams. He leads the team in usage at 32.9% and has the capability of taking over a game. Even then, I’m reserving him for GPPs because of the safer plays we have at similar price tags.
5-star play: Myles Turner
4-star play: Darren Collison, Domantas Sabonis
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: None
GPP Sleeper: Lou Williams
As always I appreciate everyone who gave the article 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.
The only thing you are missing at this point is the key to unlock the next level of your game. Come inside and check us out!! We have the experts sharing their secrets and experience on a daily basis. Combine that with the actual ability to ask them questions and get quick answers in return, and you have a recipe for success that puts our army hats on leaderboards all over the face of DFS.
