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 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 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!
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Full Court Press:
Miami Heat @ Charlotte Hornets
Vegas Total: 219.0
Vegas Spread: Cha -3.0
Pace: Mia +0.8
If we start with the Heat, there really isn’t a lot that I love here. They’re all priced where they should be, Justice Winslow has been playing well lately and will get more ball handling usage with Goran Dragic off the court. He’s not my favorite play but you can go there if you’d like. Hassan Whiteside is in play for tournaments, but only if he’s starting. If he’s coming off the bench I have no interest here, as he only played 15 minutes last game. I’ll likely just be staying away from the front-court as a whole, on a ten game slate we can do better. From the Hornets, Marvin Williams is too cheap and the Research Station loves him, along with Jeremy Lamb. It has them both going over 6x here, I don’t mind either of them given their price tags. Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lamb are similarly priced on Draftkings, they’re both good plays, but if I had to pick one it would actually be Batum. He’s been getting around 40 minutes lately and has gone over 35 fantasy points in three of his last four games, he’s much more consistent. Kemba Walker is priced fairly given the matchup, he’s always a good GPP play given his upside, but I won’t be forcing him in anywhere tonight.
5-star play: Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lamb
4-star play: Kemba Walker
Deeper Value/ FD Drop Candidate: Marvin Williams
GPP Sleeper: Hassan Whiteside (If Starting)
Dallas Mavericks @ Washington Wizards
Vegas Total: 231.0
Vegas Spread: Was -5.5
Pace: Dal +2.5
Starting with Dallas, Luka Doncic’s price hasn’t budged after putting up a bit of a dud last game. The Wizards rank 25th in defense against opposing point guards, this is a good bounce-back spot for Doncic if you want to go there. My favorite play from the Mavs is Dwight Powell, the Wizards rank 29th in defense against opposing centers on the season. Not only that, but he’s been playing great as of late. He’s scored over 32.5 fantasy points in three of his last four games and has been getting at least 30 minutes per night. Dirk Nowitzki is going to continue to pop in the Research Station because he’s getting decent run, but he’s not going to play more than 23 minutes, so the ceiling really isn’t there for me to really like him. As always, Tim Hardaway makes for a good GPP play. From the Wizards, Bradley Beal is one of the safer plays on the slate. His price has come way up, but he’s scored at least 45 fantasy points in each of his last ten games. He’s one of the best spends on the slate. Bobby Portis is also in play, but I’m a little nervous to go there in cash games as he can be a bit volatile. The same can be said for Jabari Parker, who scored more than 20 fantasy points in each of his last four games. Finally, Tomas Satoransky is fine as a lineup filler if you need to go there.
5-star play: Luka Doncic, Dwight Powell, Bradley Beal
4-star play: Bobby Portis, Tomas Satoransky
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: None
GPP Sleeper: Tim Hardaway, Jabari Parker
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Detroit Pistons
Vegas Total: 224.0
Vegas Spread: Det -5.5
Pace: Det +2.4
Starting with the T’wolves, Jeff Teague is too cheap on Draftkings. The Research Station has him projected to 5.6x his price tag and he is coming off a very nice game last night. I had a lot of Dennis Schroder last night, so when George got ruled in I pivoted almost all of it to Teague and he ended up scoring 45.25 fantasy points. Karl-Anthony Towns is just a guy you’re going to want to get exposure to every night, he’s proven he has constant 70-80 fantasy point upside. I’m not all over him tonight given the matchup, but don’t entirely fade him. Andrew Wiggins is a fine play, but not someone I want to make a priority and the same can be said for Derrick Rose. From the Pistons, I don’t love too much. Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond are always in play, if I had to pick one it would be Blake, however. The Wolves rank 27th in defense against opposing power forwards, and Blake scored 53.5 fantasy points in one matchup against them earlier this season. Luke Kennard and Wayne Ellington are deep value plays if you need to go there.
5-star play: Jeff Teague, Karl-Anthony Towns (GPP), Blake Griffin
4-star play: Andre Drummond, Andrew Wiggins
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Luke Kennard, Wayne Ellington
GPP Sleeper: Derrick Rose
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Cleveland Cavaliers @ Brooklyn Nets
Vegas Total: 225.0
Vegas Spread: Bkn -8.5
Pace: Cle +4.2
Starting with the Cavaliers, Kevin Love is the only guy I really want here. I like targeting big men against the Nets, but his price is where it should be on him. He has yet to break 30 minutes, and he may not for the rest of the season, but the Nets do rank 25th against opposing power forwards as a little cherry on top. The rest of this Cavs team is kind of blah for me, and in a ten game slate I don’t see a reason to targeting them, so we can move on. From the Nets, they are starting to get healthy so predicting minutes on this team is tough. Their rotations are crazy deep, so I likely won’t get much here. You can always play D’Angelo Russell in GPP due to his upside. Rodons Kurucs could be a fine value play while Treveon Graham is sidelined.
5-star play: None
4-star play: Kevin Love
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Rodons Kurucs
GPP Sleeper: D’Angelo Russell
San Antonio Spurs @ Atlanta Hawks
Vegas Total: 234.0
Vegas Spread: SA -6.5
Pace: SA +5.4
The Spurs see a massive pace up spot and an awful defensive team in the Hawks. DeMar DeRozan is in a great spot here, the Hawks are dead last in defense against opposing shooting guards and makes for a good pivot off of Bradley Beal. LaMarcus Aldridge is also in a good spot, the Hawks have zero bodies left in the front-court and he should be able to do whatever he wants. Derrick White is playing great as of late, and again the Hawks are dead last against opposing point guards on the season. He has scored 35+ fantasy points in his last three games. Jakob Poeltl and Marco Belinelli make for good value plays as well. From the Hawks, if John Collins or Dewayne Dedmon is out I’ll be playing Alex Len plain and simple. He burned the world last time out, but they are very thin in the front-court. It sounds like Dedmon is doubtful, so fire up the old Len train. Trae Young draws a great matchup against the Spurs, who I love to attack with point guards. We did the same thing with Jamal Murray the other night. Trae Young is a great play here. If John Collins does play, I’ll wait for him to prove it to me, as he will likely be limited in his return. Taurean Prince, Kevin Huerter and DeAndre Bembry all make for solid value plays as well.
5-star play: DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Derrick White, Alex Len, Trae Young
4-star play: None
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Jakob Poeltl, Marco Belinelli, Taurean Prince, Kevin Huerter, DeAndre Bembry
GPP Sleeper: None
Philadelphia 76ers @ Chicago Bulls
Vegas Total: 227.0
Vegas Spread: Phi -5.0
Pace: Chi +3.1
Joel Embiid is doubtful and Boban is still out for tonight’s game. Jonah Bolden is questionable, but the big three is who we should be targeting. Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, and Tobias Harris are all going to play upper 30 minutes if this game stays relatively close. Simmons and Harris have been absolutely smashing since Embiid has been out, they are both great plays here. I likely won’t go back to the JJ Redick well tonight, he just shot the ball well last night. I would kind of expect Bolden to play, as he was out with an illness last night, so we don’t need to go back to Mike Scott, Amir Johnson or Jonathon Simmons. From the Bulls, Lauri Markkanen is in a pretty good spot here. The Sixers rank 26th against opposing power forwards on the season and there should be a lot of rebounds available with Embiid still out. Zach LaVine and Otto Porter are also good plays, they’ll need their scoring to try and keep this game close. Kris Dunn has seen his price come way down, but really hasn’t been playing that great so I don’t mind a fade there. Finally, Robin Lopez has been playing really good basketball as of late, he’s scored 30+ fantasy points in seven of his last eight games. Lopez won’t have to deal with too many legit big men tonight so I like him quite a bit here.
5-star play: Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, Lauri Markkanen, Robin Lopez
4-star play: Otto Porter, Zach LaVine
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Jonah Bolden
GPP Sleeper: None
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Utah Jazz @ New Orleans Pelicans
Vegas Total: 231.0
Vegas Spread: Utah -4.0
Pace: Utah +2.6
These two teams just played, so we have a good reference to go back on if need be. Starting with Utah, they see a nice pace bump here. Rudy Gobert is still underpriced on Draftkings and sees a great matchup here. He scored 48 fantasy points on Monday against this team, you can go right back to Gobert here. Donovan Mitchell is in a pretty good spot as well, he underperformed last time out, but in a pace up game, I think he’s playable. The guy that could end up being real sneaky here is Kyle Korver, he’s been getting decent run off the bench lately and producing in those minutes. He’s gotten at least 22 minutes in three straight games and is averaging 26.5 Draftkings points in those games. The Pelicans aren’t a team I’ve been playing a whole lot of, it’s pretty obvious that they are trying to lose games and their rotations could change on any given night. I know there was some slack on Twitter about Cheick Diallo not being a good play last time out, but the truth is he was and is tonight should Anthony Davis sit. He’s scored 1.16 fantasy points per minute on the year and would be forced into big minutes should Davis sit. If Davis plays, I likely won’t go there, there are better value plays. Julius Randle has scored 50+ fantasy points in three of his last four games, I like him here, it is a tough matchup though. Jrue Holiday just keeps producing consistent fantasy games. He’s scored at least 40 fantasy points in six straight, you can certainly go with him if you would like.
5-star play: Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Julius Randle
4-star play: Jrue Holiday
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Cheick Diallo (If Davis is OUT)
GPP Sleeper: Anthony Davis
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New York Knicks @ Phoenix Suns
Vegas Total: 225.0
Vegas Spread: Pho -3.5
Pace: NY +0.3
I’ll start by saying, I won’t be using any Knick in cash games. They are far too volatile to trust in cash games. There I said it. For tournaments, most of the team is in play. Dennis Smith and Emmanuel Mudiay are both great per minute producers, but predicting who will get the minutes is the hard part. If DeAndre Jordan is out that would make Mitchell Robinson my favorite player on this team. The Suns rank 27th against opposing centers on the season, Robinson should see around 25-30 minutes if Jordan sits. Allonzo Trier and Damyean Dotson are both fine for deep GPP’s, but not someone I’m actively attacking. From the Suns, Devin Booker gets a great matchup, the Knicks rank 26th against opposing shooting guards. He scored 54.3 Draftkings points in one matchup against this team this year, he’s certainly in play. DeAndre Ayton has gone for 44 and 50 fantasy points in his last two games and gets a good matchup here. I will say I like him more if Jordan sits, as he can be a tough defender at times. Kelly Oubre has been playing very well and is priced reasonably if you want to go there as well.
5-star play: Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton
4-star play: Kelly Oubre, Mitchell Robinson (If Jordan is Out)
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: None
GPP Sleeper: Mitchell Robinson, Allonzo Trier, Damyean Dotson, Dennis Smith, Emmanuel Mudiay
Boston Celtics @ Sacramento Kings
Vegas Total: 228.5
Vegas Spread: Bos -2.0
Pace: Bos +4.5
Boston heads to Sacramento after completely destroying the Warriors last night. Starting with the Celtics, Gordon Hayward looked like a new man last night. Like he drank some of Mike’s Secret Stuff from Space Jam. His price hasn’t budged, so if you need a value play he’s a solid option. Kyrie Irving was on pace for a massive night last night but didn’t play the 4th quarter because they were up by so much. At his price, I’ll probably go elsewhere tonight, but I won’t talk you off of him if you like the spot against the 26th ranked team against point guards. Al Horford and Jayson Tatum are priced near where they should be, but they get a good matchup against the Kings if you want to go there as well. From the Kings, they get a tough draw, as the Celtics are very good defensively. Bogdan Bogdanovic’s price is slowly getting closer to that $6k range on Draftkings, I think there are better spots so you don’t need to go there tonight. Harrison Barnes is coming off a great game against the Knicks but is so inconsistent I have a tough time liking him given the matchup. De’Aaron Fox is probably my favorite player from the Kings tonight. His price has come down a bit and has scored at least 33 fantasy points in each of his last eight games. Willie Cauley-Stein and Buddy Hield are both in play too, just not a priority for me.
5-star play: Kyrie Irving
4-star play: Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, De’Aaron Fox, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Gordon Hayward
GPP Sleeper: Nemanja Bjelicia
Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers
Vegas Total: 227.5
Vegas Spread: Den -5.5
Pace: Den +5.2
Starting with the Nuggets, they see a massive pace up spot here, so we should be able to find some guys to like tonight. The Research Station likes Gary Harris as a value play, but I would only go there in GPP. For the same price, you can get Gordon Hayward who I would prefer. The Lakers rank 25th in defense against centers this year, which puts Nikola Jokic firmly in play as one of the top plays on the slate. Jamal Murray is coming off a great game against the Spurs and has been pretty consistent over his last 10 games, averaging 33.2 fantasy points per game. Paul Millsap’s price is probably a bit much for me, but I won’t talk you off of him if you want to go there. I thought Will Barton was officially back after he dominated the Jazz a few games ago, but he’s followed that game up with a few average ones. There’s still a lot of upside at his price though, so I like him a lot for GPP. From the Lakers, what to do with LeBron James is the big question here. The Lakers are basically eliminated from the playoffs so they won’t have any reason to trot him out there for 40 minutes per night anymore. I’m still willing to play LeBron, but I might take this game as a wait and see kind of game. We will need to wait and see the availability of Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram. If they’re both out, guys like Josh Hart and Lance Stephenson will likely fill in and become good value plays. Rajon Rondo has been killing it, but he needs to start for me to have interest. I would think he would start here, but keep an eye out for a starting lineup. If he starts Rondo is a great play here.
5-star play: Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Josh Hart (If Ingram and Kuzma are out)
4-star play: Jamal Murray, Will Barton
Deeper Value/FD Drop Candidate: Josh Hart and Lance Stephenson if Ingram and Kuzma are out
GPP Sleeper: Will Barton
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