Daily Fantasy Sports
Sharp App
Season Long Fantasy
Free Month
Wall of Champions
Discord

DFS Madness’s DraftKings NBA Core 4 – Feb. 27th, 2020

Welcome to the Core 4! My name is Michael aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the article throughout the day as news breaks. 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!

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!

Before I get started, make sure to check out the latest new DFS website. SuperDraft is an innovative new DFS site that does not have salaries but instead uses a multiplier system and better yet, THEY HAVE LATE SWAP! Check out more on how it works below!

-> SuperDraft FREE $10 Bonus <-


Process:

I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I get to my core guys or what do I use to get to these guys to set a foundation for my lineups, so I’m introducing a new section to this article that I’m hoping can lead this to be a little more process-based and help all of you either find a core that you like or simply see how I got to these guys so you know I’m not just pulling them out of my ass! With that said, let’s get this puppy started!

Recognizing Value:

When it comes to NBA DFS value is truly king and being able to pinpoint underpriced guys will go along way in your success in this sport. With that said, the first thing I do is head right to the Research Station (or Domination Station if you’re closer to lock) and go ahead and sort by “Value” or “PP/$”. This will then sort the player pool from the highest projected value to lowest. Many of you will see that I post my Core 4 results on Twitter and it will say something along the lines of Joel Embiid – 6.2x, that “x” number is the particular value that the player was able to reach at their price tag. That’s why questions in slack like “James Harden or Donte DiVincenzo” are incredibly difficult to answer because Harden is the obvious better play from a raw points perspective, but DiVincenzo may have a higher value. You can also scroll to the right in the Research Station and find the two columns that will tell you how the player has performed relative to a 6x (cash) or 7x (GPP) marker this season, as seen below.

 

 

 

And1 Rating:

Once we have determined the top value options on the slate we can begin to dig a little deeper into what makes them a good play. The And1 rating is an all-encompassing metric that will lead you to the best plays on each slate each day. As you’re looking through your “sorted” Research Station or Domination Station, you will want to look for a green shade in the And1 column, green is good, red is bad!

Opportunity:

In the NBA, opportunity is everything which is very different from other sports. In baseball, a guy could get a spot start and get five at-bats and do absolutely nothing with them. That is typically not the case in NBA, if a guy is injured or out for some reason, usually a guy at a cheaper price tag will jump right into a decent role and be able to produce from a fantasy perspective no matter the actual NBA talent of the player. This is where I keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for injuries or updates on potential value guys that we could look at starting.

Matchup/Pace:

Lastly, you don’t want a guy in a bad matchup, that much seems pretty obvious. That said, there are scenarios where I’m able to live with a poor DvP%. I’m a big believer in pace being a better representation of DFS production that simply defense vs. position especially in today’s NBA where some times are running up and down the court forcing the other team to play up to there speed. This is where I got to the Research Station and scroll over and find the “Vegas” and “Pace” section. Simply put, the more points scored in a game, the better for DFS production. You want to target guys with a + pace boost, also noted by having a green shade in this column.


Today’s Core 4:

Anthony Davis (PF/C) – $10,300

We will kick off the Core 4 with a fairly obvious play and one that will likely be pretty popular on tonight’s smaller slate. The Los Angeles Lakers will travel to Golden State to take on the Warriors in a game that features a 225.5 implied total. The big thing for Davis is that LeBron James has already been ruled out for this game. Davis sees a big boost and will be the focal point of this offense while James is on the bench. With LeBron off the court this season, Davis has a 33.7% usage rate and 1.63 fantasy points per minute. He also scored 54 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and I think we can worry a little less about a blowout with James not playing. This feels like a spot where we should just start our lineups with Davis and move on, I will have a lot of him here.

Al Horford (PF/C) – $5,200

The second piece of the core will be hosting the New York Knicks in a game that doesn’t yet have a total on it. This would be because Joel Embiid was injured last night and is expected to get an MRI on his shoulder which, to me, puts his availability in doubt for the back end of this back-to-back set. Now, Horford hasn’t exactly been a world-beater this season, but as I touch on above, opportunity is everything in NBA DFS and he will get the opportunity to run this frontcourt with Tobias Harris with Embiid likely out. Not to mention Ben Simmons will miss this game as well as he recovers from his back injury. With Embiid and Simmons off the court this season, Horford has a 23.2% usage rate and 1.19 fantasy points per minute. He’s too cheap for the role he’ll play with these guys off the court.

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 Stationto really take your game to the next level.

Image

Myles Turner (C) – $5,200

The beauty of DraftKings is we can jam all these big men into our lineup with ease. I’ll add another center to the list in Myles Turner. Turner was a core play for me in his last game and he went out and got himself eight blocks, now I wouldn’t expect that again from him, but he is definitely a guy that can stuff the stat sheet and isn’t scoring dependent to get you there. This game has a 218 point implied total but is a big pace up game for the Pacers at +2.7. Not only that, but it’s a day that ends in “y” meaning I’m streaming a center against Hassan Whiteside and the Portland Trailblazers. Daniel Theis and Jayson Tatum were able to take care of business against them on Tuesday night and a combination of Christian Wood and John Henson took Whiteside to town the game before that. It’s a strategy that I’ve been using all season and it continues to work. Turner is priced just right where he has a nice floor and an elite GPP ceiling, I love getting to him here.

Rajon Rondo (PG) – $3,500

We round out the Core 4 with another Laker and a value guy that will help us fit a few more higher-priced options into our lineups. I am expecting Rajon Rondo to slide into the starting lineup with LeBron James ruled out for this game. Rondo started in each of the first two games that LeBron missed this season so I would expect the same here. In those two games, Rondo scored 51 DraftKings points and 27.5 DraftKings points, both would be phenomenal value at a minimal price tag tonight. With LeBron off the court, Rondo will have the ball in his hands much more as he will be asked to man the point guard duties. Rondo has a 20.5% usage rate and 1.07 fantasy points per minute with James off the court this season. He’s the riskiest part of the Core 4, but I think it’s warranted and a guy that may come in under-owned.


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.