Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 3/19:

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 “TheSoprano12” on their $100,000 win earlier this season!! Better go buy a Boban jersey after that one!

Sacramento Kings @ Boston Celtics Picks

Vegas Total: 235

Vegas Spread: Bos -7.0

We’ll get things started with the Kings, De’Aaron Fox scored 48.75 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and has been in great form. He has at least 45 DraftKings points in five straight games. He’s playing all the minutes he can handle and a guy I’ll go right back to here. Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes have looked great as of late, particularly Hield. They’ve both been getting massive minutes and are guys I like to get to here. Barnes is a guy the Celtics are rumored around having an interest in trading for so if you’re a narrative type, maybe the Kings give him a few extra minutes here as a showcase. Marvin Bagley is going to miss some time with a fractured hand which all but locks Richuan Holmes into 30+ minutes and is in great form as he’s finally showing some consistency in his production. With Bagley out we saw Tyrese Haliburton get the start in his place last game, he was said to be on a minutes limit but still played 32 minutes, so I wouldn’t worry too much about anything regarding minutes on him. He’s a great price here and a guy I like getting to even if he’s not in the greatest of form. From the Celtics, Jayson Tatum scored 57.75 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and is really one of the better matchups you could ask for as the Kings are one of the worst defenses in the league. Not to mention he’s under $9k on DraftKings, he’s an elite option. Jaylen Brown has at least 47 DraftKings points in two straight games and looks to be finding his form a bit. His price has come up but he’s shown a nice ceiling this season. Kemba Walker is a guy I’m fine with but I don’t love him at this price tag, he feels priced right where he should be. Robert Williams has been the lone bright spot in this NBA frontcourt, he now has at least 25 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight games and is coming off the best game of his career. He’s going to rack up those peripherals in the steals and blocks department as well which goes a long way. Lastly, Marcus Smart got his minutes up to 29 last time out and scored 29.75 DraftKings points, I don’t hate a tournament flyer on him at this price tag in this matchup.

5-star play: De’Aaron Fox, Jayson Tatum

4-star play: Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, Richaun Holmes, Tyrese Haliburton, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, Robert Williams

Deeper Value: Nemanja Bjelica

GPP Sleeper: Nemanja Bjelica, Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams

San Antonio Spurs @ Cleveland Cavaliers Plays

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Spurs, it sounds like DeMar DeRozan will miss this game as well due to personal reasons. We kind of know what Dejounte Murray is at this point, he can be a consistent producer with massive upside, I have no issue with him here especially in a nice matchup with a small Cavs frontcourt. Jakob Poeltl has at least 41.5 DraftKings points in two straight games and is a guy I’m good with getting to at his price point if you need a mid-range center. The same can be said for Rudy Gay, I don’t love the upside on him, however. Derrick White looked good last game as well as he got 33 minutes and should have those minutes pretty secure with DeRozan out. Lastly, Keldon Johnson has been really bad as of late but was able to muster up 26.75 fantasy points last time out. I can’t say I love him though due to the volatility that comes with him. From the Cavs, Jarrett Allen has been in a bit of a rut being held under 25 fantasy points in three of his last four. That said, it’s a pretty nice bounce-back spot if he can figure things out here. Collin Sexton bounced back nicely last time out with 45 DraftKings points, the Spurs are in the bottom of the NBA in terms of defense against opposing point guards, so he’s a guy I like here. Darius Garland is in the same bout, he scored 41 DraftKings points last game and a guy that should continue to see heavy minutes. Lastly, Larry Nance Jr. still isn’t priced up enough for the minutes he’s going to see. I would expect him to start and play 35+ minutes in this one. He has at least 34 DraftKings points in two straight and at $5.2k is going to be a guy I like quite a bit.

5-star play: Dejounte Murray, Larry Nance Jr.

4-star play: Jakob Poeltl, Derrick White, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Rudy Gay, Keldon Johnson, Jarrett Allen

Utah Jazz @ Toronto Raptors NBA Strategy

Vegas Total: 229.5

Vegas Spread: Utah -5.0

Starting with the Jazz, they had quite the game against the Wizards yesterday but get a bit of a slower one today against the Raptors. I would expect Mike Conley to return here on the second half of an NBA back-to-back so don’t go chasing that Joe Ingles game from last night, he will slide back to his bench role. Donovan Mitchell started slow yesterday but turned up the heat in the second half, I don’t love getting to this team when it’s fully healthy, however, so he’s more of a secondary tournament guy for me. The same can be said for pretty much the rest of this lineup, Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Royce O’Neale are really not guys I want to prioritize here. The Jazz spread the ball around so much that it’s hard to pay these price tags on them. From the Raptors, Fred VanVleet returned to play 32 minutes last game, I would think he’s without a minutes restriction here, but still don’t love the matchup. The price is low on him but I just don’t see myself getting a ton of him here. Pascal Siakam returned last game as well and played 30 minutes, it’s the same story with him as well. Due to the prices on this team, they’re really similar to the Jazz in that I don’t have a ton of interest. These guys are priced like Siakam and VanVleet are still out and that’s obviously not the case. If you’re going with anyone here I think it’s one of Siakam or VanVleet as they saw a price decrease while they’ve been out.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, Kyle Lowry, Chris Boucher, Norman Powell

Indiana Pacers @ Miami Heat Picks

Vegas Total: 215.5

Vegas Spread: Mia -4.5

At the moment, this game has pretty easily the lowest total on the slate, so we can be a bit picky on what we attack here. Starting with the Pacers, Caris LeVert played 35 minutes on his way to 32.25 NBA DraftKings points, due to the matchup I don’t have a ton of interest on DraftKings, but I do still think he’s just a hair too cheap on FanDuel. They finally priced him up a bit, but of the two sites, I would get my exposure over there. Malcolm Brogdon has been pretty consistent over his last few games going for at least 34 fantasy points in all of them and is priced nicely here. Lastly, Domantas Sabonis has at least 60 DraftKings points in two of his last three games and is still under $10k on DraftKings, he makes for a solid GPP option. From the Heat, Jimmy Butler came down to Earth last game and gets a tougher matchup against a pretty solid Pacers defense. With Bam back and the matchup not being all the great along with his price coming up, I’m okay getting away from him here. Speaking of Bam, he scored 41 DraftKings points last time out and his price has really come down, I don’t love this game as a whole but I think he would be pretty easily my favorite option here. Kelly Olynyk came down to Earth last game, he’s simply outpriced with Bam back now. Goran Dragic and Tyler Herro are solid options as well at good price tags, secondary options, but if you land on them I’m okay with it. Lastly, Duncan Robinson is always a GPP option as he can get hot in the blink of an eye, but tournaments only on him as he’s very scoring dependent.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Caris LeVert (FanDuel), Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, Bam Adebayo

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson

Detroit Pistons @ Houston Rockets NBA Plays

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Pistons, Jerami Grant has seen his consistency fall a bit as of late, but this is about as good of a bounce-back spot you could ask for. I would assume he sees his full minutes as this one should stay close, I like the price on him as well. Mason Plumlee has at least 30 DraftKings points in five of his last six games and is a solid GPP option here. Delon Wright dropped 45.5 DraftKings points last time out and played 38 minutes along the way, I have no issue going right back to him here. Then we can round this team out with GPP guys like Josh Jackson and Saddiq Bey as “last guy in” type plays. From the Rockets, John Wall is currently listed as questionable, for now, I’ll operate under the assumption that he’s out… but keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed, if he plays Kevin Porter Jr. sees a pretty big impact. Speaking of Kevin Porter, he has at least 40 DraftKings points in four of his five games with the Rockets and playing massive minutes. Assuming Wall is out here, I’ll go right back to the well. Christian Wood returned last game to play 26 minutes, I would think he gets around the 30 mark in this one, but I don’t love the price tag quite yet. He was up around the 35-minute range before injury so I’ll wait until he’s there again. Victor Oladipo has at least 40 DraftKings points in four straight games and a guy I don’t mind here either but would want Wall to be out. On a 10-game slate, I don’t think we need to consider the rest of this Rockets NBA team as they begin to get a bit healthier.

*** The below is assuming John Wall is out ***

5-star play: Kevin Porter Jr.

4-star play: Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee, Delon Wright, Victor Oladipo, Christian Wood

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Josh Jackson, Saddiq Bey

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Brooklyn Nets @ Orlando Magic Strategy

Vegas Total: 224.5

Vegas Spread: Bkn -8.8

Starting with the Nets, both Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin will be inactive here so it will be the James Harden and Kyrie Irving show. Harden scored 83.5 DraftKings points last time out but Kyrie also missed that game so with him back he should see a decrease in production. That said, he’s an elite raw play as usual. Kyrie Irving scored 50.75 DraftKings points against the Magic earlier this season and around $9k is a price point where I’ll have some interest in him. Bruce Brown finally had a decent game last time out but he still played just 24 minutes, with Kyrie and Harden out there he’s going to need more minutes than that to pay off his salary. DeAndre Jordan is a fine mid-range cash option but he doesn’t bring much upside with him, I don’t see myself getting a ton of him here either. I would rather take a value shot on Nic Claxton at under $4k, he got his NBA minutes over 20 last game on his way to 26.5 DraftKings points. From the Magic, this team is finally starting to get healthy as we saw Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, and Aaron Gordon return last night. Michael Carter-Williams missed that game and is questionable here as well, but with all these guys coming back for them I have a hard time getting much interest in them outside of Nikola Vucevic under $10k on DraftKings.

5-star play: James Harden, Kyrie Irving

4-star play: Nikola Vucecic

Deeper Value: Nic Claxton

GPP Sleeper: Bruce Brown, DeAndre Jordan, Joe Harris

Golden State Warriors @ Memphis Grizzlies NBA Picks

Vegas Total: 224

Vegas Spread: Mem -9.0

Starting with the Warriors, it sounds like Steph Curry and Kelly Oubre are going to miss this game along with James Wiseman and Eric Paschall, so we can run some numbers with these guys off the court this season:

• Andrew Wiggins – 29.2% usage rate; 0.92 fpm
• Kent Bazemore – 14.3% usage rate; 0.79 fpm
• Jordan Poole – 26.8% usage rate; 1.18 fpm

These would be my three favorite options from this team as well as Draymond Green (the sample size was under like 18 minutes, so wasn’t worth including). Poole may be my favorite of that group, he comes into this one in really good form. From the Grizzlies, Ja Morant has been pretty bad relative to his price tag as of late, he’s had some really bad NBA matchups though so if people are going to be off him in a great matchup here I have no issue going right back to him. Jonas Valanciunas should be able to do whatever he wants against this frontcourt now that they’re missing Wiseman they won’t have a whole lot of size outside Kevon Looney, and do you think he’s going to stop him? Dillon Brooks and Brandon Clarke are fine mid-range options on this team but nobody that I’m prioritizing on this slate. Then guys like Justise Winslow and De’Anthony Melton are sort of priced out with this team healthy. Now that this team is pretty much at full strength minus Jaren Jackson, it’s going to be tough to get too much of them outside of Joe Val and Morant.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, Ja Morant, Jonas Valanciunas

Deeper Value: Kent Bazemore

GPP Sleeper: Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke

Chicago Bulls @ Denver Nuggets Plays

Vegas Total: 227.5

Vegas Spread: Den -7.0

Starting with the Bulls, I would expect them to leave Tomas Satoransky in the starting lineup as he’s producing really nicely, he’s finally above $4k on DraftKings but I still think he works in a pinch as a value option due to his performance. Zach LaVine scored 44.25 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and under $9k is a pretty solid price tag for him, he’s in play for GPPs at the very least. Coby White is a guy I don’t ever get much of, he’s a really volatile tournament option at very best. Thad Young continues to look great, however, this is a really tough matchup against a Jokic lead frontcourt, so I have no issue just going somewhere else. Lastly, Lauri Markkanen is fine for GPPs as well, he’s more of an outside guy but he’s still going to need to deal with Jokic when it comes to rebounding and all that interior stuff. From the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic should be able to do whatever he wants in this one. The Bulls are one of the worst teams in the league against big men and Jokic has already dropped 77 DraftKings points on them once this NBA season, he’s an elite raw play as usual. We kind of know the story on Jamal Murray by now, he’s a GPP guy that could get you 60 or could get you 20. Michael Porter Jr. seems to have found his footing a bit as of late, I like him as a tournament option here and we know he has a huge upside as well. Will Barton is fairly priced as a tournament option as well, but I don’t have a strong lean on him in this one.

5-star play: Nikola Jokic

4-star play: Zach LaVine, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr.

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Coby White, Thad Young, Lauri Markkanen, Will Barton

While you’re here, go check out our NCAA Bracket Creation Tool, and if Todd from accounting needs more people in his pool, make sure to invite me!!!

Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trailblazers Strategy

Vegas Total: 234.0

Vegas Spread: Dal -3.0

Starting with the Mavericks, it’s mostly just Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis that I’ll have an interest in. Kristaps is a guy I like for GPPs at the very least due to the lack of defense in the Blazers frontcourt, he just always seems to be priced a few hundred dollars too high. Doncic scored 66.3 DraftKings points in this spot last time out and is an elite raw option as usual. Then you can round this game out with guys like Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr. as GPP options. From the Blazers, Damian Lillard came down to Earth last night but has a 547.75 DraftKings point performance against the Mavs earlier this NBA season. The thing that will hurt him is CJ McCollum coming back, he played 21 minutes last night, and if we get lucky maybe the Blazers decide to rest him on a back-to-back. I do like this spot for Enes Kanter though, the Mavericks have been struggling pretty heavily against opposing big men and his minutes are incredibly secure right now. Lastly, I got to more Robert Covington that I was comfortable with last night but ended up working out, he’s going to see big minutes as he’s essentially this team’s back up center right now, he’s a solid final piece.

5-star play: Luka Doncic

4-star play: Kristaps Porzingis, Damian Lillard, Enes Kanter, Robert Covington

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Josh Richardson, Tim Hardaway Jr.

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns Picks

Vegas Total: 231.0

Vegas Spread: Pho -11.0

We saw this game last night so we have something to work with here. People will worry about a blowout in this game even though the Wolves won last night, you’ll lose money in the end if you try to predict blowouts this season, they’ve been completely random. Karl-Anthony Towns was a guy I got to in some GPP lineups last night and he went bananas for 69.5 DraftKings points. DeAndre Ayton is pretty brutal on defense so I’ll go right back to the well here. Anthony Edwards continues to put up monster numbers and had his best game as a pro last night going for 60 DraftKings points. He shot 31 times but is consistently shooting 20+ times per game with Russell and Beasley off the court lately. Those will be the two guys from the Wolves for me unless you want to get a sprinkle of Ricky Rubio. From the Suns, Devin Booker had another 50 burger last night and is averaging 54 DraftKings points per game against the Wolves this season and is a guy I like at under $8k. Chris Paul is a fine option as well due to that DFS NBA price tag. DeAndre Ayton isn’t a good defender, but neither is Towns, so you can get to Ayton here as well at this low price point. Then guys like Mikal Bridges, Dario Saric, and Jae Crowder are all GPP darts.

5-star play: Karl-Anthony Towns

4-star play: Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker, Chris Paul

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Ricky Rubio, Mikal Bridges, Dario Saric, Jae Crowder

NBA Lock of the Day: Jayson Tatum (DK – $8.9k; FD – $8.9k)

Let’s go wayyyyyy back to that first NBA game from the night where the Celtics have a beautiful matchup with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are the worst defensive unit in the league but they play incredibly fast which is a recipe for DFS gold. This game has a 235 implied total and Jayson Tatum just feels too cheap at under $9k on both sites. I would guess when the Research Station comes out he will have a very solid point per dollar projection. He’s just too cheap considering his role and I would imagine he makes our core in our Cheat Sheets/Coaches Notes when those come out later in the day, but check them out for an update as we get closer to lock! 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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Editor’s Note – However, if you are more interested in simply betting the games, NBA is full of crazy action.  And, our dynamic modeling over at SportsBetArmy adjusts in real time to help identify Vegas inaccuracies you can exploit.  Follow Ryan, Anthony, and Statsational for models and coaching advice that help you build any bankroll for any sport…