Full Court Press Breakdown for NBA DFS 2/12:

Welcome to another year of the DFS Army NBA Full Court Press! Members had a ton of success using the Full Court Press along with various articles and tools that DFS Army provides last season, so we are glad to be back with another year of the all-inclusive article. You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its 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 advice in 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!

I want to give a quick shoutout to VIP Member “Irzarl29” on a $40k win last week, congrats!!

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Charlotte Hornets

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

We’ll kick this 11-game slate off with the Timberwolves, they got Karl-Anthony Towns back last game and played 31 minutes which is more than I was expecting. He is really cheap and gets a matchup with one of the worst teams in the league against opposing big men, at first glance he looks t be one of the better options on the slate at this price tag on DraftKings. D’Angelo Russell will be out for the Wolves, so Malik Beasley and Ricky Rubio will run the backcourt minutes, they’re both solid options. Anthony Edwards is a little too volatile for me to love at this price tag, so I’ll likely be off him here. Lastly, with KAT back, I’ll be off of the likes of Naz Reid, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Juancho Hernangomez. Their minutes will likely be pretty staggered here. From the Hornets, Devonte’ Graham is questionable coming into this one, so keep an eye on our VIP Coaching forums for updates surrounding him and who is impacted. Terry Rozier has been a solid option as of late, he’s coming off one of his better games of the year last time out where he dropped 46.75 DraftKings points. LaMelo Ball has at least 50 DraftKings points in two of his last four games and is looking like the odds on favorite for rookie of the year right now. The price is getting up there on him, but it’s certainly warranted, I just can’t stomach nearly a $9k price tag on him. Gordon Hayward had a floor game last time out, but I don’t hate going back to him in a good matchup. Cody Zeller has come down to Earth a bit recently with the help of four straight blowouts. His price has come down as well and they’ll need his size out there. KAT isn’t exactly a great defender as well, so I kind of sneaky like this spot for him.

5-star play: Karl-Anthony Towns

4-star play: Malik Beasley, Ricky Rubio, LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Gordon Hayward, Cody Zeller, Anthony Edwards

New York Knicks @ Washington Wizards

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Knicks, this is as pace up as you can get here, the Wizards are the fastest team in the league on the season so we should expect a nice boost for the Knicks guys. The price tag on Julius Randle has been pretty consistent as of late but I really like this spot for him. The Wizards don’t have much for interior defense and Randle is playing all the minutes he can handle right now. RJ Barrett isn’t a guy I’ve gotten to much this season and I don’t expect that to change here, his minutes have been all over the place and that will likely stay consistent with Derrick Rose now in town. Speaking of Rose, he played 20 minutes in his Knicks debut, I don’t have a ton of interest in him here but watch those minutes and see what Thib’s has in store for him. The rest of this team is just GPP options like Elfrid Payton, Immanuel Quickley, and Alec Burks. From the Wizards, Bradley Beal will be out here, so we can run some data on the rest of the lineup with him off the court this season:

• Russell Westbrook – 39.7% usage rate; 1.62 fpm
• Ish Smith – 17.6% usage rate; 0.98 fpm
• Davis Bertans – 19.1% usage rate; 0.76 fpm

It’s going to be the Westbrook show in this one and is looking like one of the better options on the slate at just $9k on DraftKings. I don’t really have a whole lot of interest in the rest of this team. You can make a case for guys like Bertans, Avdija, Hachimura, and Ish Smith since they’ll need some additional scoring, but no priorities outside of Westbrook.

5-star play: Julius Randle, Russell Westbrook

4-star play: Elfrid Payton, Davis Bertans

Deeper Value: Jerome Robinson

GPP Sleeper: RJ Barrett, Elfrid Payton, Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks, Davis Bertans, Rui Hachimura, Ish Smith

San Antonio Spurs @ Atlanta Hawks

Vegas Total: 228.5

Vegas Spread: Atl -1.5

Starting with the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge will continue to be out here so nothing really new on the injury front. DeMar DeRozan is priced way up on DraftKings at $8.0k, I can’t say I love that price but he was doing well before they got blown out by the Hawks last game. Dejounte Murray had a dud last game as well but he’s shown a massive ceiling this season, I have no issue getting to him in this matchup. Keldon Johnson finally bounced back last game going for 30 DraftKings points, the minutes should be there for him so I don’t hate going right back to him in tournaments. Jakob Poeltl has been pretty volatile as of late as well, this is a tough matchup against Clint Capela down low. From the Hawks, Trae Young kept his streak of 50 point fantasy nights going lat time out in 42 minutes against the Mavs, I’ll go right back to the well on him. He has at least 50 DraftKings points in ten of his last eleven games. Clint Capela had a dud game last time out against the Mavs weak frontcourt going for just 16.75 DraftKings points. He should be able to do whatever he wants against Poeltl and company, however. John Collins was the frontcourt man with all the fantasy points, going for 48.5 last time out. He’s more of a GPP option due to his volatility, but I like the upside. With De’Andre Hunter out, Danilo Gallinari got his minutes up to 30 which was apparently his max last game. If you told me he was going to play 30 minutes I would have had more than I already did, he just shot poorly so I like going right back to him here. Then Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish round out this team as deeper tournament targets as well.

5-star play: Trae Young

4-star play: Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, Clint Capela, John Collins, Danilo Gallinari

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: John Collins, Jakob Poeltl, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish

New Orleans Pelicans @ Dallas Mavericks

Vegas Total: 233.5

Vegas Spread: Dal -3.0

Starting with the Pelicans, Josh Hart came back down to Earth last game after dropping 53 fantasy points on the Rockets. His price is a little too rich for my blood, there will be better mid-range options. Brandon Ingram has done what Brandon Ingram does this season in his last two games, going for mid-30’s fantasy points. I just hate paying this price tag for him. You kind of know what you’re getting from Zion Williamson at this point, he’s going to get you somewhere between 35-45 DraftKings points about 90% of the time. Lonzo Ball’s price is starting to get to a point where I don’t really want to be too heavy on him, although he does have at least 40 DraftKings points in two of his last three games. Lastly, Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams are secondary GPP options, they’ve been pretty hit or miss over their last few games. From the Mavericks, we kind of know the deal with this team, it’s Luka Doncic and it’s Kristaps Porzingis, and pretty much nobody else. Luka bounced back last time out going for 64.5 DraftKings points. I have no issue going right back to him here, he’s an elite raw option. Kristaps came back to Earth last game but only saw 19 minutes as he saw himself in foul trouble early on. I don’t love the price tag on him either, so probably more of a fade than anything for me. The only other guy I would have interest in from this team is Josh Richardson who has looked really good since returning from injury.

5-star play: Luka Doncic

4-star play: Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Brandon Ingram, Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams, Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr, Josh Richardson

Detroit Pistons @ Boston Celtics

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Pistons, we’ll have to keep an eye on the news surrounding Mason Plumlee, he was a pretty late inactive yesterday which led to Isaiah Stewart grabbing the start. At this point, I’m just going to operate under the assumption that he is out just because we have a more recent sample of it. Stewart drew the start and played 31 minutes on his way to 33.25 DraftKings points. If he starts again here he would be a lock on this slate at just $3.1k on DraftKings. Jerami Grant had a down game as well but was still able to play 36 minutes, he just shot terribly… 4-17 from the field. Delon Wright had a down game as well, most of the offense outside of Stewart and Blake Griffin of all people had a bad game. Speaking of Griffin, he started out really hot but ended with just 28 DraftKings points, I’m just not going to be rostering him any time soon, he’s dare I say… washed? Lastly, we did see Dennis Smith Jr. play 16 minutes which was about what I expected, he only put up 6.0 DraftKings points but a guy to keep tabs on. From the Celtics, Jayson Tatum looked fine last night but we saw Domantas Sabonis just eat this Pistons team alive last night, I like Tatum a good amount here. Jaylen Brown was able to salvage his night last night even after shooting poorly. He’s a fine option here as well, we know the ceiling that he carries with him. Kemba Walker played 30 minutes on his way to 33.75 DraftKings points, he’s kind of meh for me here… I think we’ll find better options. Lastly, Robert Williams missed last night which secured minutes on Daniel Theis, if they weren’t already. He looked good going for 30.25 DraftKings points, he’s at a nice price tag here.

5-star play: Isaiah Stewart (If starting), Jayson Tatum

4-star play: Jerami Grant, Delon Wright, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, Daniel Theis

Deeper Value: Isaiah Stewart, Dennis Smith Jr.

GPP Sleeper: Jaylen Brown, Daniel Theis

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Los Angeles Clippers @ Chicago Bulls

Vegas Total: 228

Vegas Spread: Lac -6.5

Starting with the Clippers, Paul George will miss this game, so we can run some data with him off the court this season:

• Kawhi Leonard – 33.2% usage rate; 1.41fpm
• Luke Kennard – 17.2% usage rate; 0.78 fpm
• Reggie Jackson – 22.4% usage rate; 0.95 fpm
• Lou Williams – 27.2% usage rate; 1.15 fpm

Marcus Morris, Serge Ibaka, and Nic Batum should see a slight boost as well but really wanted to highlight these backcourt guys. I would expect Luke Kennard to continue to start for George here but he isn’t producing enough for me to really have much interest. Lou Williams has seemed to find his footing as of last, he has back to back 30 point fantasy outings and I don’t hate going right back to him. Kawhi Leonard is the obvious guy you want here, however, he scored just 36 DraftKings points in an elite matchup against the Bulls. One thing that stands out to me with him is he isn’t doing what he did last season with George off the court. Last season he was close to two fantasy points per minute with George off the court, and showed that he can do that last game. So I like the price discount we’re getting on him even if he hasn’t shown it off all that much this season.

From the Bulls, Zach LaVine’s price tag has gotten back into the $9k’s on DraftKings, he’s been pretty good as of late, and coming off a 64 point fantasy outing last time out against the Pels. I would expect he gets Kawhi on defense, but that’s not enough for me to really get off him here. That said, I would much prefer KAT, Westbrook, and even Kawhi over him at a similar price tag. Thad Young should continue to see a solid role on this team with Wendell Carter and Lauri Markkanen out, he’s in play for tournaments. I will say, Carter Jr. is questionable here, but even if he plays, I don’t expect he sees his full minutes. Coby White finally did something last game going for 46 DraftKings points, he has not been good as of late, so if people want to chase those eight three-pointers, let em. Lastly, Patrick Williams and Denzel Valentine will soak up the wing minutes with Otto Porter out again, they’re both solid plays even though we’ve seen their price tags come up a bit over the past week. I should mention Tomas Satoransky saw his minutes go down a bit last game, it feels like they’re doing a mini-hot hand approach between him and White. Not to a full extent but whoever is doing better will get that extra minutes boost.

5-star play: Kawhi Leonard, Zach LaVine

4-star play: Serge Ibaka, Lou Williams, Patrick Williams, Denzel Valentine

Deeper Value: Tomas Satoransky

GPP Sleeper: Nic Batum, Coby White

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Thunder, is anyone else kind just over them? Isaiah Roby killed a lot of lineups last time out, but it’s a good time for me to give a quick shoutout to Friedman, and our coaching staff in that VIP Coaching forum. He put out a great note minutes before this game locked last time out and was able to get a lot of people off Roby and pivot to guys like Morris and Jackson, essentially saving their night. Check it out below!

Anyway, we move on to tonight and it looks like we’ll have our hands full with them yet again. It looks like they should have just enough available guys to play this one out, but I don’t really love any of it. It’s a tough matchup with a Denver team and the Thunder are starting to get priced up due to all the minutes these scrubs are playing. Kenrich Williams looked great last game and would be a guy I have interest in if he starts. Al Horford had a massive game but is someone I’m willing to fade here, he’ll be the first guy off the court in a blowout. Hamidou Diallo continues to look great and play massive minutes and is blowout proof so you can get here as well. From the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic had a bit of a down game last time out but should be able to do whatever he wants here. I do worry about a blowout in this one though, I haven’t let blowout get to me much when doing research this season, but I have serious doubts that this one stays close. Jamal Murray hasn’t been all that great over his past two games and just isn’t a guy I see myself getting to on a big slate. Michael Porter Jr. looked great last game going for 38.25 DraftKings points, I don’t hate him for tournaments. Lastly, Will Barton is probably a no from me as well dawg, there are better options on this slate.

5-star play: Nikola Jokic, Hamidou Diallo, Kenrich Williams

4-star play: Al Horford, Darius Bazley

Deeper Value: Mike Muscala

GPP Sleeper: Lu Dort, Michael Porter Jr. Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic

Milwaukee Bucks @ Utah Jazz

Vegas Total: 232

Vegas Spread: Utah -1.5

Starting with the Bucks,

Jrue Holiday will be out for the rest of this road trip. Here is what the Bucks look like on the season with him off the court:

• Giannis Antetokounmpo – 33.3% usage rate; 1.68 fpm
• Khris Middleton – 25.7% usage rate; 1.47 fpm
• Bryn Forbes – 20.2% usage rate; 0.72 fpm
• Donte DiVincenzo – 18.9% usage rate; 0.98fpm

Bryn Forbes should continue to start for this team, but his price is into the $4k’s on DraftKings now and is so scoring dependent that I don’t love getting to him. It’s worth noting that Giannis had nearly 2 fantasy points per minute with Bledsoe off the court last year so we may see him take some additional usage here as well. Khris Middleton has played back to back games with 36 minutes. I’m expecting this game to remain close so the starters should see big minutes here. Budenholzer has staggered minutes between Middleton and Giannis so the rates on Middleton are going to look even better when he’s out there with Giannis on the bench. I think there’s a good chance we get like 30-40% of Middleton’s minutes with Giannis off the court, so he’s worth looking into at this price tag. From the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell has back to back awesome games going for 56.5 and 62.5 DraftKings points. I have no issue with riding the hot streak with him here. Rudy Gobert is a guy that I don’t really love here. Brook Lopez is going to pull him away from the basket and the Bucks are a pretty solid rebounding team in the first place so I think we can find better center options. I do like these wings for the Jazz though in Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Jordan Clarkson, and Royce O’Neale. It’s kind of a crapshoot trying to figure out which one or two will have the good game here. But with the number of three-pointers the Bucks give up, some of these guys are going to have a nice night. O’Neale was the guy the last time these two played, he shot 6-8 from three on his way to 47.5 DraftKings points.

5-star play: Giannis Antetokoumpo, Donovan Mitchell

4-star play: Khris Middleton, Rudy Gobert

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Bryn Forbes, Donte DiVincenzo, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Jordan Clarkson, Royce O’Neale

Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Lakers

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Grizzlies, Ja Morant has been pretty consistent as of late and we’ve got a nice price discount on him. We’re still waiting on that ceiling game from him this season though, so I don’t hate taking a chance in GPPs, while he’s more of a secondary option for cash games. Jonas Valanciunas has looked great in his three games back after missing a few weeks due to Covid protocols. They’ll need his size in this one and has always been a nice point per minute producer. Kyle Anderson will benefit a bit from Clarke being out, he has at least 30 fantasy points in three straight games. He’s never a sexy play, but you can get some of him here. Lastly, Dillon Brooks has looked good over his last two games and now that Desmond Bane is out for this one as well he should set up pretty nicely here. From the Lakers, LeBron James is probable for this one while Anthony Davis is questionable. Davis’s injury sounds like it could be more of a season-long thing that he’ll have to deal with so it’s worth noting that he may not be even close to 100%. LeBron James is playing huge minutes right now, at least 40 minutes in three straight, but they have all gone to overtime. That said, he’s going to be out there in a pretty decent matchup with potentially no Davis. The only other piece I want from this team is Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell if Davis is out, they’ll help supplement that frontcourt.

5-star play: LeBron James

4-star play: Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Jonas Valanciunas, Kyle Anderson, Dillon Brooks

Deeper Value: Tyus Jones

GPP Sleeper: Dillon Brooks, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroder

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Portland Trailblazers

Vegas Total: 222

Vegas Spread: Por -4.5

Starting with the Cavaliers, Andre Drummond saw just 16 minutes last time out but was mostly due to a blowout by the hands of the Nuggets. I don’t mind going right back to him here and hoping he gets back to the 30 minutes that he was seeing prior to this one. Jarrett Allen has been starting next to Drummond in recent games and I would expect that to continue while Larry Nance is out. He looked pretty good last game, so I don’t hate him as a GPP option. Collin Sexton has seen his price come down a bit lately and gets a pretty nice matchup here, this is a good spot to attack him. The same can be said for Darius Garland if you want to save some money, you’re not getting quite the same ceiling on Garland, but he’s also about $1000 cheaper.  Larry Nance has been ruled out for this one, it will be a combination of Cedi Osman and Taurean Prince who fill in while he’s out, I would expect Prince to get the start and to see more minutes. From the Blazers, Damian Lillard at under $10k on DraftKings with CJ McCollum still out is really intriguing and a guy I’m going to be looking into pretty heavily here. Enes Kanter will continue to see nice minutes, he left yesterday’s game briefly but wasn’t anything too serious so you can go right back to him. The rest of this team is kind of blah for me, the wings are going to see nice run but none of them produce consistently enough for me to love any of them.

5-star play: Damian Lillard

4-star play: Andre Drummond, Jarrett Allen, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Enes Kanter

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Cedi Osman, Taurean Prince

Orlando Magic @ Sacramento Kings

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

We’ll start with the Magic, but there really isn’t a whole lot to look at here until we get some news on these guys. The only firm piece we can really analyze is Nikola Vucevic, and tell me if you’ve heard this before… he’s underpriced and a great option here. Evan Fournier and Cole Anthony both missed yesterday’s game and Frank Mason got the start, well Mason left the game after about two minutes with an injury. So the rest of this roster is really up in flames right now and something you’ll want to jump in the VIP Coaching forums for to receive constant updates on. From the Kings, De’Aaron Fox is COOKING right now. He has at least 48 DraftKings points in three of his last four and at least 36 minutes five straight games. This is a great matchup for him, the price is hard to stomach, but he’s certainly earned it. Buddy Hield is playing huge minutes as well, but he’s a bit too scoring dependent for me. That being said, the Magic are giving up massive games to opposing wings so he’s in play for GPPs along with Harrison Barnes and Tyrese Haliburton who has looked really good as of late as well. Richaun Holmes had a down game in just 22 minutes last game out but was mostly due to quick foul trouble. Marvin Bagley was forced into a few extra minutes and looked good, but I don’t know that we can trust the minutes on him right now.

***I’m going to leave the Magic players not named Vucevic off the below rankings until we receive more news on them***

5-star play: Nikola Vucevic

4-star play: De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, Tyrese Haliburton

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Marvin Bagley, Buddy Hield

NBA Lock of the Day: Russell Westbrook (DK – $9.0k; FD – $8.7k)

As I mentioned with the game breakdown, I’m going to be getting A LOT of Westbrook tonight against the Knicks. It’s a pace down spot for the Wizards, who are the fastest team in the league, but I like Westbrook’s ability to speed up most teams. However, the big thing here is that Bradley Beal is going to miss this game which means the keys get handed to Westbrook to take over this offense even more than he already does. With Beal off the court this season Westbrook is looking at a 39.7% usage rate and 1.62 fantasy points per minute. I don’t see how he doesn’t blow this price tag out of the water. When the NBA Research Station – DFS Army comes out in the morning I would expect him to be one of the better point per dollar options on the entire slate. Tweet me (@MadnessDFS) your lock predictions and if your player gets over 5x tonight I’ll give you a shoutout on Twitter, let’s have some fun with this!

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