Welcome to the Core 4! My name is Mike 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:
Jordan Clarkson (PG) – $4,200
We will kick off the Core 4 with the Jazz “hosting”, and you use that word loosely, the New Orleans Pelicans in the bubble. There are a number of reasons why Clarkson is popping to me. First off, we see that matchup and pace spot that we’re really looking for. The Pelicans are a young team that is on and off on defense and play very fast. This game has a total of 222.5 and is a pace up spot by +5.8 for the Jazz, who are a usually slower team. Another reason Clarkson pops out to me is that Bojan Bogdanovic is out for the season for the Jazz meaning more shots and minutes to go around for these secondary guys on the Jazz. The Research Station loves him and has him projected for 6x value with his cheap price tag, I love me some Clarkson tonight.
Paul George (SF) – $7,200
The second piece of the core will take place in the battle for Los Angeles (in Orlando). The thing that jumped out to me on PG13 is his price, he feels far too cheap here for a guy with 50 point upside. In two games against the Lakers this season, George is averaging 41.9 DraftKings points per game. If LeBron ends up guarding him, it’s a plus for George, I don’t see LeBron focusing on defense here as he tries to lead the Laker offense to glory. The Research Station has George projected for a 5.2x value on his $7.2k price tag, honestly, I think it’s too low, so let’s go get ourselves some Paul George.
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Danny Green (SG/SF) – $3,500
Dannnnnyyyyyyyy Boy! Welcome to the Core 4, Danny Green. Green isn’t the type of guy that’s going to go out and get you 50 points, it’s just not going to happen, but at this price tag, he’s a great salary saver that allows us to pay up for other spots in our roster. He’s averaging 24.2 DraftKings points per game in three games against the Clippers this season. Not only that, but Avery Bradley isn’t in the bubble and won’t be playing for the Lakers meaning a bigger role for Green. The Research Station has Green projected for a 5.9x value on his $3.5k price tag, it’s hard not to like him at this asking price.
Rudy Gobert (C) – $7,100
We’ll round the Core 4 out with the man that shut down the NBA. Gobert has the highest And1 rating on the slate at 19.1, tied with the one and only LeBron James. In two games against the Pelicans this season he is averaging 40.4 DraftKings points per game. Not only this, but he helps us fill out in a relatively ugly center position. The Research Station has him projected for a 5.3x projection on his $7.1k price tag, but similar to Paul George, this feels too low to me. If you start your lineup with this Core 4 you’re left with $7,000 per position to fill out the rest of your lineup basically allowing you to do whatever you please. Let’s get the NBA season re-STARTED!
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.
