Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 3/26:

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!

Brooklyn Nets @ Detroit Pistons

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

We’ll kick this slate off with the Nets, and they’re really not a team we can do a whole lot with until we get James Harden news. He’s currently questionable so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates surrounding him. For the sake of this article I’m going to make it really easy and break it down as if he’s out, if he’s in, you just play him with Kyrie and Durant still out for this team. Chris Chiozza would come in with a pretty serviceable usage rate at 22.3% and over a fantasy point per minute and would make sense at this price tag. People may flock to Alize Johnson but with Blake Griffin back I don’t know that he sees 32 minutes here again, and at $5.1k on a huge slate it’s a pretty big risk. Speaking of Blake Griffin, he gets a revenge game against the team he started the season with. He isn’t playing huge minutes for the Nets right now but they’re trending up, I think there’s a chance he sees around 25 minutes in this spot and makes for a fine mid-range option. Then we kind of know the deal on Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, and Nic Claxton being secondary GPP options. From the Pistons, the big news here is that Delon Wright was traded yesterday so we can run some numbers with him off the court:

• Josh Jackson – 28.1% usage rate; 0.89 fpm
• Jerami Grant – 28.5% usage rate; 1.01 fpm
• Saben Lee – 18.4% usage rate; 0.97 fpm
• Dennis Smith Jr. – 18.9% usage rate; 0.99 fpm
• Frank Jackson – 18.9% usage rate; 1.00 fpm

We would need to see who gets the start for Wright, but I would assume it’s Dennis Smith Jr. if he’s active. All that said, this team is kind of a mess right now to go too heavy on an 11 game slate. Saben Lee does interest me at near minimum price but his minutes have been so low that I don’t know he even gets enough to be viable. I would so your safest pieces on this team are going to continue to be guys like Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee, and guys like Saddiq Bey and Josh Jackson.

***The below assumes James Harden is out***

5-star play: None

4-star play: Chris Chiozza, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Blake Griffin, Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee

Deeper Value: Saben Lee, Tyler Johnson

GPP Sleeper: Tyler Johnson, Saben Lee, Dennis Smith Jr., Josh Jackson, Frank Jackson, Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, Nic Claxton

Phoenix Suns @ Toronto Raptors

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: Pho -4.5

Starting with the Suns, Devin Booker scored 35.25 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season. I have trouble liking a ton from this Suns team when they’re fully healthy but you can make a case for him in GPPs. The same can be said for Chris Paul, but he’s been in pretty solid form even at an elevated price tag. DeAndre Ayton didn’t stay under that $6k price tag for long, he’s been in pretty good form as of late and is getting bigger minutes than he had previously seen. Mikal Bridges scored 25.5 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and makes sense as a mid-range option. The rest of this team is pretty much deep GPP flyers if you want to get wacky. From the Raptors, they made a few moves yesterday including trading Norman Powell. It doesn’t sound like Gary Trent Jr. will be available to make his debut here so let’s run some numbers with Powell off the court this season:

• Fred VanVleet – 25% usage rate; 1.02 fpm
• Kyle Lowry – 23.2% usage rate; 1.00 fpm
• Pascal Siakam – 29.6% usage rate; 1.12fpm
• OG Anunoby – 17.1% usage rate; 0.86 fpm

I don’t think anything really jumps out from a usage standpoint so I would be more likely just to operate this team as usual. It’s a really bad matchup so these guys are more of GPP options as well but I do think you can take a flyer on Chris Boucher with how bad Ayton is on defense.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Devin Booker, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton, Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Mikal Bridges, Chris Boucher

Boston Celtics @ Milwaukee Bucks

Vegas Total: 233.0

Vegas Spread: Mil -6.0

Starting with the Celtics, Jayson Tatum scored 41 DraftKings points last time out in 38 minutes, I think you can go right back to the well on him here. They’ll need his production if they want to keep this one close. Jaylen Brown was in that 42 point fantasy range as well and is similarly priced as Tatum. His skill set plays really well against the Bucks and he’s in great form as of late, I have no issue going right back to him here. Kemba Walker got the Celtics back in this game on Wednesday, I don’t know that I would expect another 43 fantasy points from him but he can certainly get you there, the price tag is coming up though. Tristan Thompson will be out again here along with Daniel Theis being traded, which means Robert Williams should continue to see good minutes, he is averaging 1.33 fantasy points per minute with Thompson off the court for the Celtics this season. Theis being out secures his minutes a bit which makes him a little safer at this big price tag. Lastly, Marcus Smart is back over $6k which we knew was going to happen soon, he’s playing a ton of minutes and is a guy I’m more than okay with rounding my roster out with, but not a priority by any means. From the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo returned last game and had a tough go of it in 35 minutes of play. Tatum and Brown played good defense on him and let the other guys beat them. That said, I don’t expect him to have two down games in a row, he’s an elite fantasy option as usual. Khris Middleton is a Celtics killer, he’s now averaging 53.9 DraftKings points per game in two games against them on the season and looked great on Wednesday night. Jrue Holiday is going to continue to play good minutes and gets Kemba Walker on the other side to try and guard him, I like him again in this spot. Donte DiVincenzo continues to look great and maybe the Bucks caught a break in that Bogdanovic deal falling through this offseason to keep Donte in Milwaukee. Bobby Portis has at least 31 DraftKings points in two straight games, he and Brook Lopez are tournament options. Lopez is going to see more minutes but Portis brings the higher upside. I don’t love the price on either of them though.

5-star play: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo

4-star play: Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Kemba Walker, Robert Williams, Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo

Miami Heat @ Charlotte Hornets

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Hornets, we saw Devonte’ Graham looked much better last time out against Houston, hill stick in the starting lineup here and makes for a solid play at this price point. I can’t pay $8k for Gordon Hayward on a big slate like this one especially in a tough matchup against the Heat. The same can be said for PJ Washington, with Cody Zeller now back I just don’t see a reason to pay this price tag for this matchup. Lastly, Terry Rozier continues to look great but man this team is priced up right now, outside of Graham and maybe a guy like Malik Monk I’m going to have a tough time getting here. From the Heat, we’ll need some news from this team, particularly Jimmy Butler who is currently questionable. I wouldn’t expect Victor Oladipo to make his debut here so we can disregard him. I’ll operate under the assumption that Butler plays here, he scored 50.25 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and has seen his price come down to a more playable level. Bam Adebayo had a huge night last night but will see that production decrease with Butler back. That said, the price tag is still really nice and the matchup is solid as well, he’s still a great option. Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn had big nights as well, they’ll lose some production as well but the minutes should still be there on them with Goran Dragic ruled out.

5-star play: Bam Adebayo

4-star play: Devonte’ Graham, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson

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Portland Trailblazers @ Orlando Magic

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: Por -11.5

Starting with the Blazers, Damian Lillard just feels overpriced right now with McCollum back in the mix. It’s a great matchup, one I don’t think the Magic will hang around in, which makes him a GPP option all things considering. Speaking of CJ McCollum, I was all over him last night until Kawhi Leonard had to go and get himself ruled out which funneled a lot of lineups to Paul George, but he looked great nonetheless. His price did come up, but we saw him putting up 50 point fantasy games on the regular earlier this season. Jusuf Nurkic is expected to return here which is big for this team, I wouldn’t expect him to play enough minutes right away to be playable but at the very least he kind of kills Enes Kanter’s value. Then you can round this team out with GPP darts in Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony. Then we get to the mess that is the Orlando Magic, they traded Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier yesterday. Why don’t we run some numbers with these guys off the court with the lineup I expect they roll out tonight:

• Michael Carter-Williams – 29.9% usage rate; 0.88 fpm
• Dwyane Bacon – 26.6% usage rate; 0.98 fpm
• James Ennis – not a big enough sample
• Chuma Okeke – 11.4% usage rate; 0.67 fpm
• Khem Birch – 12.7% usage rate; 0.90 fpm

Yikes…. these are some ugly options. The guy I would have the most interest in would be Terrence Ross coming off the bench. He’s going to be shooting like it’s going out of style for the rest of the season. With these three guys out he has near a 40% usage rate and 1.38 fantasy points per minute, he’s currently questionable so we’ll need news on him but even at this price tag, he’s tough not to like.

5-star play: Terrence Ross

4-star play: Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Michael Carter-Williams

Deeper Value: Khem Birch

GPP Sleeper: Dwayne Bacon, James Ennis, Chuma Okeke

Denver Nuggets @ New Orleans Pelicans

Vegas Total: 231.0

Vegas Spread: Den -2.0

Starting with the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic scored 64 DraftKings points in this matchup earlier this season and makes for a great raw option as always here. Jamal Murray has found a bit of consistency as of late which has gotten me on him a little more, he scored 40.25 DraftKings points against the Pels earlier on in the week. The thing I don’t love is his price has shot up to over $8k on DraftKings. Michael Porter Jr. has looked great since the all-star break and he too has found some consistency, the Pelicans aren’t playing any defense right now so it’s tough to ignore him. Will Barton is coming off a dud last game where he went 0-8 from the field, I’m willing to go back to him here but he’s priced up as well. From the Pelicans, we’ll need to keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed as we wait for the status for Lonzo Ball who is currently questionable. This is a tough matchup for Zion Williamson, but he was able to score 41.5 DraftKings points in this matchup a few days ago, but I just don’t love the price tag for that sort of production. Brandon Ingram was the one who had the big game in that one as he went for 54 DraftKings points. He would be more of a tournament option for me. Josh Hart continues to play great basketball, he grabbed 15 rebounds last game and scored just two points. He can get you there in every stat there is which makes him a play in all formats for me. The Pelicans didn’t trade Eric Bledsoe for some reason so he sticks around here, he has at least 30 minutes in two straight games but has less than 13 fantasy points in both of them. Due to the price, I’ll have some shares if Ball is out, but man it doesn’t feel good.

5-star play: Nikola Jokic

4-star play: Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart

Deeper Value: Eric Bledsoe

GPP Sleeper: Will Barton, Eric Bledsoe

Houston Rockets @ Minnesota Timberwolves

Vegas Total: 225.5

Vegas Spread: Min -2.5

Starting with the Rockets, we no longer need to deal with Victor Oladipo as he was shipped to Miami, so that’s a plus for the rest of this lineup. Christian Wood was a guy I loved last game but saw just 29 minutes in a blowout. I’ll go right back to him here against a Wolves team that is one of the worst in the league against opposing big men. John Wall is a guy I’ll go right back to as well, he has a 37% usage rate and 1.3 fantasy points per minute with Oladipo off the court this season. Kevin Porter is questionable but I’ll wait until he’s back and has his feet under him before I go back there. The rest of this team just doesn’t do it for me on an 11-game slate, pretty much just Wood and Wall here for me. From the Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns is back under $10k which is something I always look for. As bad as Towns is on defense, Wood can give him a run for his money on the other side in terms of defensive incompetence, so I’ll go back to Towns in this one. Anthony Edwards is going to continue to chuck from the field as Beasley and Russell are still out, he makes for a nice GPP option as his price continues to climb. Outside of those two, it’s really just Ricky Rubio that I would have interest in for tournaments but that about does it from this game.

5-star play: Karl-Anthony Towns, Christian Wood

4-star play: John Wall, Anthony Edwards

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Jae’sean Tate, Ricky Rubio

Indiana Pacers @ Dallas Mavericks

Vegas Total: 227

Vegas Spread: Dal -4.5

Starting with the Mavs, it’s mostly just Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis that I’ll have an interest in. Kristaps is coming off a 53 point fantasy outing last time out and scored 53 fantasy points on the Pacers earlier this season as well. He’s a GPP only guy due to his volatility, but he’s a guy nonetheless. Doncic continues to look great outside of the last game where he was atrocious… but we can just forget that game, he’s an elite raw option as always. Then you can round this game out with guys like Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr. as GPP options. From the Pacers, Caris LeVert had a big game last time out going for 47 DraftKings points against the Pistons. It’s another good matchup and I don’t hate the price tag on him. Malcolm Brogdon returned last game but you can tell by his stat line that someone else in the backcourt had a big game (LeVert). It’s going to be tough predicting which to roster between these two guys on a nightly basis but I would say you probably have more consistency and a higher floor with Brogdon while LeVert is your GPP guy. Lastly, Domantas Sabonis is a really solid option here, he scored 46.5 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and the Mavs really struggle with opposing big men.

5-star play: Luka Doncic, Domantas Sabonis

4-star play: Kristaps Porzingis, Caris LeVert, Malcolm Brogdon

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Josh Richardson, Tim Hardaway Jr., TJ McConnell, Myles Turner

Memphis Grizzlies @ Utah Jazz

Vegas Total: 226.0

Vegas Spread: Utah -10.0

Starting with the Grizzlies, Ja Morant has been in much better form over his past few games than he had been previously. That said, he gets a tough matchup here with one of the better defenses in the league, I would save him for tournaments only due to the matchup. Jonas Valanciunas is in good form as well and even though the matchup sucks, they’ll still need his size out there to deal with Rudy Gobert, so I don’t have an issue with him and think he has a really nice ceiling for GPPs. Dillon Brooks is another guy in good form dropping at least 31 DraftKings points in three straight games, but again GPP only due to the size of the slate. With this team now fully healthy outside of Jaren Jackson, the minutes are going to be spread out on the rest of these guys to a point where I don’t think you need to go here on such a big slate. From the Jazz, they’re very similar to the Suns in that I don’t get to them much when they’re at full strength. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert highlight the team on the top end, but I just think we’ll have better plays in their price range as the day goes on. Mitchell is in great form, he has at least  49 DraftKings points in four straight games and is still under $9k on DraftKings. Then you get to the mid-range of GPP guys in Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Joe Ingles. This team spreads the ball out really well so I just don’t have a need to prioritize any of these guys tonight.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Ja Moran, Jonas Valanciunas, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Dillon Brooks, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale

Atlanta Hawks @ Golden State Warriors

Vegas Total: 222

Vegas Spread: Atl -5.5

Starting with the Hawks, DeAndre Hunter is expected to play here, but I’ll wait until he gets his full minutes back as they’re easing him back in here. It’s tough not to like Trae Young here, the Warriors are not good right now with Curry out so Young should be able to do what he wants and is in pretty good form. John Collins has found some consistency as of late before having a bit of an off-game last time out. I’m okay going right back to him here. Clint Capela is coming off a 50 burger last time out and should be able to do what he wants against this frontcourt, he’s a solid option as well. Lastly, Danilo Gallinari and these other wings in Kevin Huerter and Bogdan Bogdanovic are more of GPP flyers than anything else with the minutes on Hunter starting to come back up. From the Warriors, Steph Curry will continue to be out here as Draymond Green is questionable, so keep an eye on the status of him. Andrew Wiggins looked good last night going for 46 DraftKings points, he should continue to run this offense with Curry out. Kelly Oubre is your GPP pivot off Wiggins but is a nice play regardless if Green ends up sitting due to the rebound boost he should see. James Wiseman has seen his minutes trend in the right direction as of late and makes sense here in tournaments only, he’s going to be volatile just due to his inexperience. Lastly, Jordan Poole will continue to see good run in this one and makes for a solid play in all formats.

5-star play: Trae Young

4-star play: John Collins, Clint Capela, Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre, Jordan Poole

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, James Wiseman

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Los Angeles Lakers

Vegas Total: 210

Vegas Spread: Lal -4.0

Starting with the Cavaliers, Jarrett Allen finally had a decent bounce-back game last time out going for 40 DraftKings points. This Lakers team is really depleted right now and is a solid GPP option. Collin Sexton and Darius Garland are going to continue to play heavy minutes and make sense here, particularly in tournaments given the size of the slate we can be picky for cash games. Collin Sexton does come into this one as questionable so we will need news on him, which we may not get before the slate starts. Larry Nance Jr. bounced back last time out going for 47.5 DraftKings points and gets a revenge game against his old squad here. From the Lakers, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Dennis Schroder are your higher-priced options on this team that you’ll want to target if you’re looking to get some exposure. Kuzma and Schroder are better for cash games while Harrell is your tournament option. The minutes on Talen Horton-Tucker have fallen off and at this price tag, he’s a pretty easy fade in this one.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Jarrett Allen, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Larry Nance Jr., Kyle Kuzma, Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell

Deeper Value: Cedi Osman (If Sexton out)

GPP Sleeper: Montrezl Harrell, Markieff Morris

NBA Lock of the Day: Cheat Sheets

It’s a massive 11-game slate right as we clean up the shrapnel from the NBA Trade Deadline, so I’m going to keep the lock of the day for VIP Members so grab that promo code below and come join us! The lock of the day in our Cheat Sheets/Coaches Notes for tonight, as we know news tends to pop up out of nowhere on these big slates, come join us! These notes include a Core, player ranks, and tiers notes, so come check them out! 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…