Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 4/28:

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!

Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

We’ll kick the slate off with the Magic, Wendell Carter Jr. was on a minutes limit last time out but still played 29 minutes so I’m going to go ahead and assume he’s a full go here, if that’s the case he’s a nice option on both sites. He has at least 31 DraftKings points in three of his last four games but you’re really going to him for his upside. Cole Anthony continues to look good and with Terrence Ross out again tonight he should soak up that bigger role on the offense. Mo Bamba has been good lately but he’s too priced up for me while Carter Jr. is active. Chuma Okeke is a guy that should benefit from Ross being out, I don’t love this game as a whole, but you can make a case for him and Dwayne Bacon here to round out this team. From the Cavs, Collin Sexton will be out again here along with Larry Nance, Taurean Prince, and Isaiah Hartenstein. Let’s run some numbers with these guys off the court over the last four weeks:

• Kevin Love – 21.3% usage rate; 0.98 fpm
• Darius Garland – 26.8% usage rate; 1.2 fpm
• Jarrett Allen – 19.9% usage rate and 1.1 fpm

Due to it being an 11-game slate that’s about as far as I’d go on the Cavs. That said, I do think you can go back to Cedi Osman here if you need help at the SF position. He started last game and now has at least 37 minutes in back-to-back games and is generally pretty solid while he’s out there.

5-star play: Darius Garland

4-star play: Wendell Carter Jr., Cole Anthony, Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Chuma Okeke, Cedi Osman, Jarrett Allen

Atlanta Hawks @ Philadelphia 76ers

Vegas Total: 220.0

Vegas Spread: Phi -8.0

Starting with the Hawks, they’ll continue to be without Trae Young here and it looks like Kevin Huerter is doubtful while Brandon Goodwin is questionable. Let’s run some data on the Hawks over the past four weeks with these two out, assuming Goodwin can go:

• Bogdan Bogdanovic – 23.6% usage rate; 1.02 fpm
• Lou Williams – 31.1% usage rate; 0.98 fpm
• John Collins – 20.4% usage rate; 1.19 fpm
• Clint Capela – 21.7% usage rate; 1.40 fpm

Bogdanovic feels like he’s producing at a better clip than that, but it hasn’t translated to the stats department. I still think he’s a solid option just due to the minutes he’s going to play here. John Collins and Clint Capela will have their hands full with Embiid in the interior, I think they’re more secondary options in this one, right there with Lou Williams. From the Sixers, they’re starting to get healthy but I just don’t think they have any need to run their stars huge minutes if they don’t need to and with Trae Young out this game could get ugly quick. That said, predicting blowout this year has been harder than ever so we can just go ahead and call Joel Embiid an elite option as always. Ben Simmons had that big game against Utah about a month and a half ago and really hasn’t done a whole lot since from a DFS perspective. Tobias Harris has seen his production go down since Embiid came back and feels a bit overpriced right now. I think you can make a case for Shake Milton here but on a 10-game slate at the end of April…. we should get better value options that open up.

5-star play: Joel Embiid

4-star play: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela, John Collins, Ben Simmons

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Lou Williams, Shake Milton, Tobias Harris

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Charlotte Hornets @ Boston Celtics

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Hornets, Terry Rozier had a bit of a dud last night but it just came down to him shooting poorly. He shot 0-7 from three-point range and 4-17 from the field, I think we can chalk this one up to just an off night. Miles Bridges picked up the slack and dropped 49.5 DraftKings points. He’s been really consistent ever since Gordon Hayward went down and has flashed a nice ceiling as well. The price on PJ Washington has come up, but for good reason, he’s playing big minutes and producing nicely in them, no issue going right back to him here against a Celtics team that can struggle on the interior. Devonte’ Graham left the game shortly yesterday but looks like he’ll be good to go after he came back in and looked good again last night, giving him at least 40 DraftKings points in two straight games. From the Celtics, we’ll need news here surrounding Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams, but I’ll operate under the assumption that they’re both out similar to last night. Here is how the Celtics grade out with Tatum, Walker, and Williams off the court this season:

• Jaylen Brown – 37.7% usage rate; 1.34 fpm
• Payton Pritchard – 16.3% usage rate; 0.82 fpm
• Marcus Smart – 23.2% usage rate; 0.92 fpm

The sample size on Evan Fournier isn’t big enough, but he did start and play 35 minutes last night, you can go right back to him here at a nice price tag. I do like Jaylen Brown quite a bit and Marcus Smart is right below him, however. Lastly, Robert Williams is around 1.3 fantasy points per minute with those guys off the court, but he’s questionable as well after being banged up lately.

5-star play: Jaylen Brown

4-star play: Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges, PJ Washington, Devonte’ Graham, Marcus Smart, Evan Fournier

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Robert Williams, Payton Pritchard

Los Angeles Lakers @ Washington Wizards

Vegas Total: 224

Vegas Spread: Lal -3.0

Starting with the Lakers, Anthony Davis was taken off his minutes restriction last time out and played 31 minutes on his way to 30+ fantasy points. I do like getting to him here at this price tag in a pace-up matchup against a bad defense. Andre Drummond has looked solid over his past five games or so, the Wizards have struggled with big men all season long, you can go right back to him here for GPPs. I’ll never trust him in cash games though, especially this season. Dennis Schroder has at least 37.5 DraftKings points in five straight games and gets a fast-paced Wizards team against a turnover-prone Westbrook, sure! I probably won’t get to Kyle Kuzma much here, I think you can do better than him in this spot. Lastly, Montrezl Harrell has seen his minutes cut pretty substantially since Drummond arrived and now with Davis back he’ll just be a fade for me here. From the Wizards, Russell Westbrook continues to produce and play massive minutes, he’s an elite play as usual here. Bradley Beal seems like he’s finally got his legs back under him, I do like his price tag a bit better on FanDuel though. Outside of those two, this team is going too hard for me to get to in this spot on a 10-game slate, you can make a case for guys like Raul Neto, Davis Bertans, and Daniel Gafford for tournaments, but I think you’re reaching by doing so.

5-star play: Russell Westbrook

4-star play: Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Dennis Schroder, Bradley Beal

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Raul Neto, Davis Bertans, Daniel Gafford, Montrezl Harrell

Chicago Bulls @ New York Knicks

Vegas Total: 208.5

Vegas Spread: Nyk -5.5

Starting with the Bulls, Zach LaVine will continue to be out for them, so we can run some data with him off the, I’m going to pull a date range of the past four weeks instead of the season to get a better idea:

• Coby White – 25.4% usage rate; 0.93 fpm
• Nikola Vucevic – 29.1% usage rate; 1.53 fpm
• Lauri Markkanen – 19.8% usage rate; 0.82 fpm
• Patrick Williams – 18.0% usage rate; 0.76 fpm

These would be my favorite options on the Bulls, but you can make a case for guys like Daniel Theis, Thad Young, and Denzel Valentine for GPPs. People may chase that Daniel Theis game from last time out, but he’s priced way up on FanDuel and I don’t really want to use a center spot on him on DraftKings. Vucevic looks like a top option at center on FanDuel as well, he and Coby White have looked great in LaVine’s absence. The only issue I have with these Bulls guys is the matchup, the Knicks play very slow. From the Knicks,  Julius Randle is averaging 49.6 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Bulls this season, he’s a strong play here but I like his price even more on FanDuel where he’s under $10k. RJ Barrett is a guy that I’m fine with if you land on him as a filler piece, especially on FanDuel where he’s SF which can be a tough position to find guys that you love having in there. Other than those guys, you can make a case for Derrick Rose and Reggie Bullock as GPP guys due to their prices. You can make a case for Rose in cash due to his recent production.

5-star play: Nikola Vucevic, Julius Randle

4-star play: Coby White, RJ Barrett, Derrick Rose

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Lauri Markkanen, Patrick Williams, Thad Young, Derrick Rose, Reggie Bullock

San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat

Vegas Total: 209.0

Vegas Spread: Mia -5.0

Starting with the Spurs, Derrick White will miss this game but it looks like outside of Trey Lyles, they should be good to here. Let’s run some data with White off the court over the past four weeks:

• DeMar DeRozan – 31.5% usage rate; 1.24 fpm
• Dejounte Murray – 23.2% usage rate; 1.03 fpm
• Keldon Johnson – 19.4% usage rate; 0.88 fpm
• Jakob Poeltl – 12.5% usage rate; 0.75 fpm

White being out doesn’t change a whole lot for me, it’ll just lead to more minutes for guys like Patty Mills and Lonnie Walker. On a 10-game slate, those guys just won’t be in play for me. DeRozan and Murray are solid options, but the Heat play really solid defense. The same can be said for Poeltl down low, but you can make a case for these guys in GPPs if you’re looking to get some exposure to this one. From the Heat, Jimmy Butler comes into this one priced up on both sites but has looked good as of late. I think you can get to him here, I would think we get some decent value on this slate to make him work, but he didn’t look all that special last night. The same can be said for Bam Adebayo, but I do like his price tag on DraftKings, there’s some meat on the bone there. Tyler Herro comes in as questionable and hasn’t been all that great lately either, so not really a guy I’m going to look to get all that much of. Then you can round this team off with a few ancillary tournament pieces like Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, and Goran Dragic.

5-star play: Jimmy Butler

4-star play: DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, Bam Adebayo

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Jakob Poeltl, Keldon Johnson, Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Goran Dragic

Portland Trailblazers @ Memphis Grizzlies

Vegas Total: 235.0

Vegas Spread: Mem -2.0

Starting with the Blazers, the price on Damian Lillard is far better on FanDuel and that’s probably where I would get my exposure to him. The matchup is really nice against this Grizzlies team that is playing fast and loose at the moment, so I don’t even mind him for DraftKings but that FanDuel price is tough to pass up. CJ McCollum has looked pretty solid as of late as well, he’s another guy where the price on FanDuel is my preference. Jusuf Nurkic came down to Earth last night, but they went small with the Pacers, so Nurkic only saw 20 minutes, I have no issue going back to him here, they’ll need his size against Joe Val down low. Then you can round the Blazers out with GPP options like Norman Powell and Robert Covington, it’s a great game to target for DFS, so they’re guys I’ll probably look to get some exposure on. From the Grizzlies, the price on Ja Morant has come up, for good reason. He’s been in much better form over the past few games and has a huge ceiling in this game against a Blazers team that is struggling on defense. I like the price much better on Jonas Valanciunas much more on FanDuel, but you can make a case for him on either site, I don’t love the matchup with Nurkic however. Outside of those two, it’s hard for me to get a whole lot of interest in the rest of this team due to them getting healthier. They can pretty easily run an 11 man rotation and potentially 12/13. Jaren Jackson is a guy I would have some interest in though, his minutes should continue to climb and he’s looked good in his first couple of games.

5-star play: Damian Lillard (FanDuel), Ja Morant

4-star play: CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard (DraftKings), Jonas Valanciunas, Jusuf Nurkic

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Norman Powell, Robert Covington, Jaren Jackson Jr.

New Orleans Pelicans @ Denver Nuggets

Vegas Total: 228.5

Vegas Spread: Den -4.0

Starting with the Pelicans, Zion Williamson is averaging 53.5 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Nuggets this season. I do like the price tag much more on FanDuel where he’s $9.4k however. Brandon Ingram is a fine option but not someone I generally get to. I like him a bit more on FanDuel due to the price and the position scarcity. Lonzo Ball has looked pretty good over his past couple of games and is a guy I’m good with getting to in GPPs. Lastly, Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams are fine secondary filler options if you happen to land on them. Not really guys that I’m looking to prioritize though. From the Nuggets, Will Barton will continue to be out here which will open minutes for some of these ancillary guys including Facundo Campazzo. Campazzo has been pretty solid as of late if you’re looking for a mid-range guy in a great matchup. We should expect to see big minutes from Austin Rivers and PJ Dozier as well. The spend-up guys on this team are going to be Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic, they’re both great plays in a good matchup. The Pelicans are not a good defense so you can fire these guys up in all formats.

5-star play: Zion Williamson (FanDuel), Nikola Jokic

4-star play: Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Michael Porter Jr.

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams, Facundo Campazzo, PJ Dozier

Utah Jazz @ Sacramento Kings

Vegas Total: 222.0

Vegas Spread: Utah -8.0

Starting with the Jazz, they’ll be without Donovan Mitchell again here, they’ll also be without Mike Conley, so we can run some numbers with these guys off the court:

• Jordan Clarkson – 30.7% usage rate; 1.09 fpm
• Rudy Gobert – 21.4% usage rate; 1.33 fpm
• Joe Ingles – 21.2% usage rate; 1.09 fpm
• Bojan Bogdanovic – 26.6% usage rate; 0.91 fpm

These would be the four main guys I have an interest in, on FanDuel I like pivoting to Royce O’Neale to take advantage of the three-point block/steal scoring. The Kings don’t play any sort of defense so this Jazz team should have plenty of opportunities to score. From the Kings, De’Aaron Fox will continue to miss here along with Marvin Bagley. Harrison Barnes is coming in as questionable, so keep an eye on his status as well. I’ll continue to fire up Tyrese Haliburton with Fox out, he’s been much more consistent and should continue to start here. Buddy Hield has been really good over his last three games as well, he sees an increase with Fox out too given they need more offensive production from the rest of these guys. Lastly, Richaun Holmes got his minutes back up to 25 last game, I would think he gets that up to around 30 here. You can make a case for him in this one, they’ll need his size to battle with Gobert down low.

5-star play: Jordan Clarkson, Tyrese Haliburton

4-star play: Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, Harrison Barnes, Richaun Holmes, Buddy Hield

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Royce O’Neale, Richaun Holmes

Los Angeles Clippers @ Phoenix Suns

Vegas Total: 222.5

Vegas Spread: Pho -3.5

Starting with the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard comes into this one as doubtful so we can go right back to Paul George in this one even coming off a dud last time out. He has been really good up to that last game, they got blown out in that game as well, so no reason to really push him. That said, this is a battle with another team at the top of the Western Conference so I would think he’s going to push it a bit here, I like George in this spot. Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson should continue to see an increase in looks on offense as well with Kawhi out, they’re solid GPP options. DeMarcus Cousins saw 25 minutes last game, it will be interesting to see if that is a trend that will continue or if it was just due to the blowout. I would assume blowout, but at the very least it makes me a bit more nervous to run Ivica Zubac out there. From the Suns, Devin Booker is averaging just 37 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Clippers this season. It can be a tough defense when they’re up to it, but with Kawhi out, that weakens a bit. I do like Chris Paul here, he’s been really consistent as of late and has been pretty solid against the Clippers this season relative to his price. The minutes on DeAndre Ayton have come up as of late and gets a good matchup here, he’s averaging 37 DraftKings points per game against the Clippers on the year. Those three would be my main targets, but keep an eye on the status of Dario Saric and Jae Crowder, if they sit again Cam Johnson would see an extended run.

5-star play: Paul George

4-star play: Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Chris Paul

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: DeMarcus Cousins, Cam Johnson

NBA Lock of the Day: Cheat Sheets/Core 4

It’s a big slate tonight and with it being near the end of the regular season we will likely get some substantial news that shifts the slate at some point in the day, so I’ll keep the lock of the day for our VIP members. Come get signed up and take a look at our Core plays on our Cheat Sheets/Coaches Notes for tonight, maybe take a gander at the DraftKings tiers notes while you’re in there as well! These notes include Core plays, 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…