Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 3/27:

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!

Detroit Pistons @ Washington Wizards

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

We’ll kick this slate off with the Pistons, Dennis Smith Jr. ended up sitting yesterday, and with Delon Wright now out of town, we saw Rodney McGruder get the start at point guard. That being said, it’s going to be a committee going forward for as long as Smith Jr. is out, both McGruder and Lee saw 16 minutes and weren’t all that effective. In fact, the Pistons went 13 deep with 11 guys seeing double-digit minutes, which calls for a fantasy disaster. The tough part here is the Wizards are the fastest-paced team in the league, so I want to get a piece of this team, but with how deep they’re going it makes it really tough to justify the price tags on these guys. From the Wizards, Bradley Beal comes into this one as questionable so we will need to keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates surrounding his availability. I’ll operate under the assumption that he is in, but if he does get ruled out that news feed will help guide you to the correct plays from this team. Beal has seen his production come down a bit in the second half of the season, but we know the ceiling is still there on him for tournaments. Russell Westbrook is now healthy and putting up massive games. He has at least 58 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight games and is an elite raw option here. Rui Hachimura has been good as of late as well. He has at least 34 DraftKings points in two of his last three and seeing huge minutes. The rest of this team is basically deeper GPP flyers, I do have a soft spot for Alex Len for some reason. With Mo Wagner out of town, we don’t need to worry about him swooping in and grabbing random minutes so I do like him a bit at this price tag.

5-star play: Russell Westbrook

4-star play: Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimura, Mason Plumlee, Jerami Grant

Deeper Value: Saben Lee

GPP Sleeper: Saddiq Bey, Josh Jackson, Alex Len

New York Knicks @ Milwaukee Bucks

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Knicks, this is pretty close to the biggest pace-up spot they can ask for. The Knicks are dead last in the league in pace while the Bucks are third behind Golden State and Washington, generally, you want to target those teams who are seeing a pace bump like the Knicks in this one. Julius Randle is averaging 43.3 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Bucks on the season. His price is way up and sort of takes away his potential ceiling, he’s still a great play but we need to scale back our expectations on what to expect from him in relation to that price tag. RJ Barrett is coming off one of his better games on the season going for 51 DraftKings points, I do like this spot for him especially if Rose and Bullock end up missing this one. Speaking of Derrick Rose, it sounds like he came down with Covid a few weeks ago and is struggling with his conditioning, so even if he plays I wouldn’t expect full minutes from him, you can safely fade him here. Alec Burks is another guy that would benefit from those two being out, he has at least 30 DraftKings points four straight games and would have his minutes secured a bit more. Lastly, Mitchell Robinson is going to be more of a GPP guy here, he has a pretty nice ceiling due to his blocking and rebounding upside but his floor is pretty low as well. From the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo has had back-to-back tough games, but the Celtics normally play pretty good defense on him, so maybe a change of opponent will help him here. One thing I did notice is that he seemed a bit out of breath and grimacing a bit last night, so there could be an underlying injury he’s playing through. Nothing I want to overreact about but caught my eye if you’re trying to decide between him and another guy in this price range. That said he’s averaging 58.1 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Knicks this season. Khris Middleton has been good as of late as well, I hate the pace down spot for the Bucks as a whole, but if you land on him I have no issue there. Jrue Holiday came down to Earth a bit against the Celtics after dropping that 60 point fantasy outing a few games ago with Giannis out, similar to Middleton, no real lean on him here. 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 missed yesterday’s game due to health and safety protocols, him being out would solidify Pat Connaughton’s minutes pretty good.

5-star play: Julius Randle, Giannis Antetokounmpo

4-star play: RJ Barrett, Alec Burks, Mitchell Robinson, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Mitchell Robinson, Brook Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo, Pat Connaughton

Houston Rockets @ Minnesota Timberwolves

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

We saw this matchup last night so we have something to work off of here. 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 got his minutes back up to 36 last night, I do worry a bit about the back-to-back here. The last time this team played a back to back he played 36 minutes on night one then just 28 on the second leg, so keep an eye on any potential minutes limit on him. 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, although we did see Ben McLemore get the start last night and put up 33 DraftKings points, I wouldn’t expect him to hit seven three’s again here but worth noting at near min price on DraftKings. From the Wolves, Karl-Anthony Towns is back under $10k which is something I always look for. He dropped 64 DraftKings points in this spot last night. Christian Wood is a dreadful defender which is why he’s bounced around the league so much. I love going right back to the well on KAT here. Anthony Edwards is going to continue to chuck that being said, Malik Beasley is eligible to come back in this spot, so keep an eye on him if he’ll have any sort of restriction. This will likely hurt Edwards quite a bit in this offense. 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. One last thing to watch on this team is Juancho Hernangomez has been getting big minutes and is under $4k on DraftKings if you’re looking for a value option.

5-star play: John Wall, Karl-Anthony Towns

4-star play: Christian Wood

Deeper Value: Ben McLemore, Juancho Hernangomez

GPP Sleeper: Christian Wood, Ricky Rubio, Anthony Edwards

Chicago Bulls @ San Antonio Spurs

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Bulls, it sounds like Nikola Vucevic will be available to make his debut here which will be interesting to see how this team operates. You can expect that guys like Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen will take a bit of a hit from a usage and production standpoint, but it’s something worth monitoring. If we just look at this team in a vacuum I do like Vucevic here, but he didn’t have to fight for usage with guys like LaVine and Coby White in Orlando so I would expect this price to come down in the coming weeks. LaVine will still get his, I have no question about that but will he have enough to pay off this price tag? I’ll stick with these guys as GPP options until we figure out what exactly this offense is going to look like. The same can be said for the rest of these wings in Thad Young and Lauri Markkanen. From the Spurs, DeMar DeRozan has been less than impressive over his last two games, but the price tag is under $8k now on DraftKings which is intriguing. We kind of know what Dejounte Murray brings to the table from a fantasy perspective, he’s a risky cash guy but has huge upside for tournaments. Jakob Poeltl hasn’t been all that great as of late either and now will have to deal with Vucevic down low. Then we can round this team out with Keldon Johnson as the ultimate boom or bust play.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, Coby White, Lauri Markkanen, Thad Young, Keldon Johnson

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Memphis Grizzlies @ Utah Jazz

Vegas Total: 228.5

Vegas Spread: Utah -10.0

We just saw this game last night so we have something to work off of here. Starting with the Grizzlies, Ja Morant has been in much better form over his past few games than he had been previously. It’s a tough matchup but he scored 55 DraftKings points last night, I would consider him more of a GPP guy due to the volatility but can clearly get it done. Jonas Valanciunas is in good form as well and scored 46.5 DraftKings points last night. They’ll need his size down low to deal with Rudy Gobert on the other end of this one. Dillon Brooks was a fine last night, but hes’ never really a guy I get to all that much, he’s a fine secondary option if you happen to land on him. 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 that we talk about a lot 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 and scored 54.25 DraftKings points in this matchup last night. 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: Donovan Mitchell

4-star play: Ja Morant, Jonas Valanciunas, Rudy Gobert

Deeper Value: None

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

Dallas Mavericks @ New Orleans Pelicans

Vegas Total: 229.5

Vegas Spread: Dal -1.0

Starting with the Mavericks, we’re going to need news from this team before we can dig too deep on them. Luka Doncic missed last night’s game which led Kristaps Porzingis to play 38 minutes on his way to 62 DraftKings points. Doncic comes into this one listed as questionable and the heavy workload last night puts Kristaps as questionable on the back end of a back-to-back. I would anticipate one of them to miss here making the other a great option against a pretty bad Pelicans defense. Jalen Brunson would be a guy I want interest in if Doncic sits, otherwise it’s really just Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway on this team for me. From the Pelicans,  Lonzo Ball will miss this game again tonight which will lead to a bigger opportunity for guys like Eric Bledsoe and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Alexander-Walker got the start next to Bledsoe last night and they both had great games. I’m more comfortable with Alexander-Walker due to Bledsoe’s volatility but there’s an obvious price difference there. Zion Williamson, had a huge night last night going for 65.5 DraftKings points, I have no issue going right back to him here, the Mavs have struggled in the interior all season. Brandon Ingram struggled last night but scored 46.75 DraftKings points in this spot earlier on in the season. Josh Hart is a guy you can round this team out with, he’s a solid contributor in all categories so he can get you there even when having a bad shooting night.

5-star play: Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson

4-star play: Kristaps Porzingis, Brandon Ingram, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Eric Bledsoe

Deeper Value: Eric Bledsoe

GPP Sleeper: Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway, Josh Richardson, Eric Bledsoe, Josh Hart

Boston Celtics @ Oklahoma City Thunder

Vegas Total: 218.5

Vegas Spread: Bos -8.5

Starting with the Celtics, it sounds like newly acquired Evan Fournier is still a question mark here, but I don’t know that he’s a guy I’ll want to go with, in his first game with the team, so we can use this game as a wait-and-see. Jayson Tatum had a big night last night going for 57 DraftKings points, I have no issue going right back to him in this spot. Jaylen Brown is a similar price, we’ve seen him throw up huge games this season but you’re paying for a bit more safety when it comes to Tatum. Kemba Walker has been pretty solid as of late but I just don’t love the price tag since we really haven’t seen a huge ceiling from him. With Tristan Thompson out and Daniel Theis traded we say Robert Williams get the start last night and a guy I was all over. It comes down to minutes on him, he’s a great per-minute producer so if he gets the start again tonight I’ll go back to the well. From the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be out for a while so we can take him off the court here. Al Horford becomes the biggest fantasy point per minute guy in this scenario and is close to 1.3 fpm with SGA off the court. It’s a smaller sample size, but the fact that the Thunder didn’t trade him or buy him out feels odd to me, so they must be committing to him. He’s a solid option in this price range. Moses Brown has at least 33 DraftKings points in three straight games but I can’t pay this price for him with Horford and Isaiah Roby active. Aleksej Pokusevski has put up some big games as of late, but he’s going to be volatile so he’s more of a GPP guy, he’ll see his assist equity pick up with SGA out, however. Lastly, the backcourt is mostly GPP guys as well with Ty Jerome, Theo Maledon, and Lu Dort trying to pick up the slack.

5-star play: Jayson Tatum

4-star play: Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, Kemba Walker, Al Horford

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Marcus Smart, Isaiah Roby, Aleksej Pokusevski, Ty Jerome, Theo Maledon, Lu Dort

Philadelphia 76ers @ Los Angeles Clippers

Vegas Total: 222

Vegas Spread: Lac -4.5

Starting with the Sixers, the big thing here is they traded Tony Bradley which will free up all the minutes for Dwight Howard in this frontcourt while Joel Embiid is out. He was ejected last game which sucks, but we should see him start and play close to 30 minutes in this one. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris are the other beneficiaries from Embiid being out, both are solid options here but the Clippers can clamp down on guys when they feel like it and against the Sixers, it may be a game where they decide to show up, so more of GPP options than anything. From the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard comes into this one as questionable so we’ll need news on him. He missed the last game, so I’ll operate under the assumption that he’s out for the sake of this article. Paul George would become an elite option, he has a 35% usage rate and 1.3 fantasy points per minute with Kawhi off the court this season. We saw Terance Mann draw the start last game as well and with Marcus Morris questionable and Lou Williams traded he should see a nice boost. Reggie Jackson is the new Lou Williams as a scoring threat off the bench and makes sense for GPPs especially if Rajon Rondo won’t be active here. Lastly, with Serge Ibaka out we can go right back to Ivica Zubac as he’ll likely start at the five again.

***Below is assuming Kawhi Leonard is out***

5-star play: Dwight Howard, Ben Simmons, Paul George

4-star play: Tobias Harris, Terance Mann, Reggie Jackson, Ivica Zubac

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Seth Curry, Reggie Jackson, Terance Mann

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Sacramento Kings

Vegas Total: 222.0

Vegas Spread: Sac -8.0

Starting with the Cavaliers, Jarrett Allen has back-to-back 40 point fantasy nights and gets a great matchup against a Kings team that is one of the worst defenses in the league. 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. has back-to-back 40 point fantasy nights as well and a guy I’ll go right back to here, this is a game environment that I really like attacking Nance in. From the Kings, De’Aaron Fox scored 49.5 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and is a solid option, we know the ceiling that he brings to the table. Richaun Holmes dropped 48.5 DraftKings points in this spot as well, I don’t love the matchup with Jarrett Allen but he’s locked into big minutes right now. Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes are solid options as well, they’re going to play big minutes and have been nice producers this season. Hield comes in with the better form if you want to ride each other’s hot streaks. Lastly, Tyrese Haliburton has at least 34 minutes in three straight games and is a solid option in all formats due to his floor and ceiling.

5-star play: De’Aaron Fox

4-star play: Jarrett Allen, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Larry Nance, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, Richaun Holmes, Tyrese Haliburton

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Cedi Osman, Collin Sexton, Buddy Hield

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 pretty big 9-game slate with a lot of news that we’re still waiting on 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…