Full Court Press Breakdown for NBA DFS 12/18:

Welcome back to the first Full Court Press Article of the season (or preseason, I should say). We’ve got a seven-game slate on tap and the goal of these preseason breakdowns is going to simply be running through what we kind of already know going into the games. Preseason is always a different animal but with the right information and tools, there’s quite an edge, as you can see from the success members have already had this preseason below. The Domination Station along with our VIP chat is going to be your best friends when it comes to essential news needed for these preseason slates.

Miami Heat @ Toronto Raptors

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We’ll tip things off with the Heat here where Goran Dragic sounds like he’ll play but Jimmy Butler is questionable and Andre Igoudala will sit again. I don’t really expect the Heat to push their main guys too much here, they just finished up the Finals what feels like a few weeks ago. In their first preseason game, Butler, Dragic, and Igoudala all sat while Adebayo only played 19 minutes. My favorite pieces would be the young guys, particularly Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro. Nunn played a team-high 32 minutes last time out, but we need to take into account that Dragic was out. I would expect Dragic to be around 18-20 minutes so if we give Nunn 25 ish I think he’s in play. Herro saw 28 minutes and performed pretty well. Then we go to the Raptors who went 18 players deep last game… yeah not exactly fun for DFS. I don’t see myself getting too much from them, Nurse seems pretty adamant on getting some work in for those deep bench guys.

5-star play: Tyler Herro

4-star play: None

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Kendrick Nunn, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam

Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks

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Starting with the Cavs, it sounds like Collin Sexton will play here while Kevin Love, Larry Nance, and Cedi Osman are on the doubtful side of questionable. Kevin Porter is another name to watch out for as his questionable heading into this one as well. We saw this game take place last time out and the Cavs starters all saw at least 20 minutes. Isaac Okoro led the team with 30 minutes and I would expect he continues to see big minutes here as the Cavs see what they have in him. The Knicks will be without Austin Rivers, Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, Frank Ntilikina, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Their starters continue to see big minutes and look to only be going about nine guys deep. Going back to the Knicks here seems like a solid start to your lineups.

5-star play: Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Andre Drummond

4-star play: Mitchell Robinson, Obi Toppin, Elf Payton

Deeper Value: Isaac Okoro, Thon Maker

GPP Sleeper: Obi Toppin, Elf Payton, Isaac Okoro, Thon Maker

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Brooklyn Nets @ Boston Celtics

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Brooklyn looks like they’ll be at full strength here and went pretty deep last time out. Kevin Durant and Spencer Dinwiddie led the team with 24 and 25 minutes respectively, I like going right back to them again here. The rest of the starts saw less than 20 minutes, although I expect those minutes to come up, I just don’t want to be too committed to them. From the Celtics, just the expected guys will be out in Kemba Walker, Tristan Thompson, and Romeo Langford. The Celtics played really similar to the Nets when it comes to their minutes, they went really deep and didn’t overwork their main guys, That said, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both saw 22 minutes so I’d expect them to be around 25 here which puts them in play. Payton Prichard and Jeff Teague both played well last time out and make sense as value options if you’re needing one.

5-star play: Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant

4-star play: Jaylen Brown, Spencer Dinwiddie

Deeper Value: Payton Prichard, Jeff Teague

GPP Sleeper: Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart

Milwaukee Bucks @ New Orleans Pelicans

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The Bucks come in pretty healthy and are a team I’ll get a lot of unless we hear of some minute restrictions. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton, all saw at least 27 minutes last game. If we think they can get into the 30’s here against a fast-paced team like the Pelicans, yes, please. I like Pelicans just as much as the Bucks if not more, a game stack here is definitely in play. Four of their five starters saw at least 30 minutes last time out and I would expect the same again here. The only starter who didn’t see big minutes was Steven Adams, so he’s the guy I probably wouldn’t be so high on. Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson had some nice nights with those minutes as well, this game should be pretty DFS friendly. One guy we need to keep an eye on is Eric Bledsoe, it sounds like he’ll play his first game with the Pelicans here… and happens to come against his old team. I don’t expect a lot of minutes out of him but could take some away from guys like Ball, Hart, and Nickeil Walker-Alexander.

5-star play: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram

4-star play: Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart

Deeper Value: Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Bobby Portis

GPP Sleeper: Donte DiVincenzo, Brook Lopez

Chicago Bulls @ Oklahoma City Thunder

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Starting with the Bulls, all their starters saw at least 25 minutes last time out with Lauri Marrkanen leading the way with 29. I don’t see a reason not to expect the same here. Colby White and Zach LaVine had big nights and are guys I’ll go right back to here while Patrick Williams and Markkanen make for nice secondary options. The Thunder didn’t really expand their starter’s minutes like I thought they would last time out, four of the five starters were held under 20 minutes while the bench got big run. They’re a team I’ll probably stay away from especially with some other nice spots on this slate.

5-star play: Colby White, Zach LaVine

4-star play: Lauri Markkanen

Deeper Value: Patrick Williams, Theo Maledon

GPP Sleeper: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

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Portland Trailblazers @ Denver Nuggets

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Portland talked about expanding the minutes on their main guys before the last game, and they sure did. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum both saw 30 minutes and are guys I’ll go right back to here. They didn’t perform overly great, but I’m going to attack the minutes on these studs when they’re going to get them. The one guy I probably don’t want much of in the starting unit is Jusuf Nurkic, he is the least conditioned and will take some time to get where they want him in terms of minutes. The Nuggets went pretty deep but still gave their starters good minutes. Nikola Jokic almost threw up a triple-double in 25 minutes, falling two assists short. He’s proven he can be productive in short time and is a guy I like here again. Ultimately, this feels like a pretty solid game to target.

5-star play: Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Nikola Jokic

4-star play: Jamaal Murray, Paul Millsap, Michael Porter Jr.

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Gary Trent Jr., Michael Porter Jr.

Los Angeles Lakers @ Phoenix Suns

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It sounds like Anthony Davis and LeBron James will play similar minutes as they did last game which is around 15-20. I wasn’t as high on Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker with them coming back last game but they still performed well. Kuzma saw 32 minutes while Horton-Tucker saw just 24 he was efficient in those minutes. I’ll likely fade AD and James again here, just because there’s more upside in the minutes on guys like Giannis, Lillard, and even Jokic. From the Suns, DeAndre Ayton had a nice bounce-back game in 25 minutes falling a rebound short of a double-double. All the Suns starters saw at least 20 minutes and are probably in play here for me especially Devin Booker and Ayton. Jevon Carter continues to get good run off the bench and makes sense as a value piece.

5-star play: Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton

4-star play: Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell

Deeper Value: Talen Horton-Tucker

GPP Sleeper: Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Chris Paul

NBA Lock of the Day: Zion Williamson (DK – $7.2k; FD – $3.0k)

The article cover boy! I mentioned this in the Bucks/Pels game breakdown, but this is a game I’m going to target, two teams that are giving their starters pretty solid minutes particularly the Pelicans. They gave four of their five starters 30+ minutes last time out, including Mr. Zion Williamson. If we get Zion for 30 minutes here he’s going to be one of the better plays on the slate, and generally, if you’re getting around 30 minutes for any main starter in the preseason they’re going to be a priority for me, love me some Zion today. Tweet me (@MadnessDFS) your lock predictions and if your player gets over 6.5x I’ll give you a shoutout on Twitter, let’s have some fun with this!

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