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DFS Madness’s DraftKings NBA Core 4 – Mar. 10th, 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!

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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 teams 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.

Reverse Engineering:

The core yesterday was full of Bucks players who were healthy DNP-CD’s last night. We were able to get the news before the game started which allowed us to pivot on DraftKings but FanDuel was frustrating. Last night was all kinds of crazy, hopefully, we can get back to some normalcy tonight!


Today’s Core 4:

Derrick White (PG) – $4,600

We will kick off the Core 4 with the Spurs hosting the Mavericks. The big thing for White here is that Dejounte Murray has been ruled out for this game which will open up a bunch of usage and minutes in that backcourt. With Murray, Aldridge, and Poeltl off the court, this season White has an 18.4% usage rate and 0.93 fantasy points per minute. I always struggle to make a Spurs ancillary player a core because Popovich can be one of the most unpredictable coaches in the league, but the minutes will be there for White as I expect him to start here. The Research Station loves him and has him projected for a 6.1x value on his price tag. He’s a great mid-range option on this slate.

Andre Drummond (C) – $8,700

The second piece of the core will be traveling to Chicago to take on the Bulls, we don’t have an implied total yet for this game but I would expect it to be respectable. The big thing here with Drummond is the security of his minutes with Tristan Thompson already being out. With Thompson out Drummond should see the majority of the center minutes and has at least 33 minutes in two straight games. Minutes have been the biggest issue for Drummond since coming over from the Pistons, which is odd, but it’s the way it is. He has at least 57 DraftKings points in two straight games and should be able to do what he wants against the Bulls frontcourt that isn’t so hot as they try to get healthy. He has an And1 rating of 14.8 and a guy I will look to get a decent amount of on this slate.

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Russell Westbrook (PG) – $10,100

We’re going to spend some money here and go up and pay up for Mr. Westbrook. The Rockets will travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves in a game that has a massive 244.5 implied total which is fantasy gold. Westbrook has the second-highest And1 rating on the slate at 22 right behind Doncic. This new small-ball lineup that the Rockets are running has been incredible for Westbrook as it allows him to get to the lane more and do his thing. He’s averaging 63 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Wolves this season and has at least 57 DraftKings points in three of his last five games. The Research Station loves him and has him projected for 6.2x his current price tag which is huge for a guy of his salary, I love me some Westbrook here.

Coby White (PG/SG) – $6,800

Going to make a little update here and go with my man Coby White. He’s getting his first career start tonight and has done nothing but earned it. With LaVine off the court over the past two weeks he has a 29.1% usage rate and 1.22 fantasy points per minute, not to mention that he has at least 35 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight games. He’s just not priced up enough for his production and role on the team with LaVine out. It’s a good spot against the Cavs as well as they play very little defense. The Domination Station loves him as well and has him projected for a 5.63x value on his current price tag.


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.