Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 5/25:

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 “Texan9204” on their $100,000 win toward the end of the regular season!! Heading into the playoffs strong!

Boston Celtics @ Brooklyn Nets

Vegas Total: 227.0

Vegas Spread: Bkn -9.5

We’ll kick this playoff Tuesday slate with the Celtics who come in trailing the Nets 1-0 in the series. Jayson Tatum is the leader of the pack on the Celtics and should play around 40 minutes again in this spot. The Nets defense isn’t all that great but they seemed to have tightened the straps a little bit, only allowing the C’s to score 93 points in game 1. Kemba Walker had a really rough game one and shot pretty poorly with minimal peripherals. You can go back to him here especially if people will be off him, he came into that game in really good form. Evan Fournier and Marcus Smart come in around the same price, the one difference is Fournier is a SF guy on FanDuel, you can play him at both SG and SF on DraftKings. If I have the choice, I do prefer taking the savings on Smart, I just think he gives you more upside and more “outs” to get you there. That being said, they’re both solid options with Jaylen Brown continued to be out. Robert Williams had a big game last time out going for 43.75 DraftKings points and would be the preferred site where I want exposure to him. His price is way up on FanDuel due to that performance, that being said, we don’t know if he’ll start or not but sounds like he’ll be good to go here. He played 23 minutes in game one, I would expect around the same from him here. From Brooklyn, both Kevin Durant and James Harden scored over 50 fantasy points, while Kyrie Irving was the odd man out. Kyrie is the cheapest of the three however, I don’t have a huge amount of interest in any one of them in particular, but think you can evenly spread yourself out amongst the three. Joe Harris is a guy I like for GPPs, he’s going to play a ton of minutes but the production will be the obvious issue. He played 37 minutes last time out and scored under 15 fantasy points, so the volatility is pretty high. Outside of those four there really isn’t a whole lot I want from this team but I guess you could make a case for one of Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, or Blake Griffin as a filler option.

5-star play: Jayson Tatum

4-star play: Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Robert Williams, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, Blake Griffin

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Los Angeles Lakers @ Phoenix Suns

Vegas Total: 208.5

Vegas Spread: Lal -2.0

Starting with the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis both played huge minutes to nobody’s surprise, but they did struggle a bit. LeBron had the better game, but it’s a tough spot for both guys, the Suns defense is legit and both teams play pretty slow. I did like Anthony Davis slightly better last time out because I think he can take advantage of Ayton down low, but I have no issue going back to both of them here. Andre Drummond only saw 19 minutes which I think will be the norm in the playoffs, it’s pretty obvious this Lakers team is better when Davis is running the five, but for some reason, they don’t run it all that often. Drummond is more of a GPP guy, the minutes won’t be great, but he’s got big upside even in short spurts and fell just a rebound short of the double-double bonus on DraftKings. Dennis Schroder is another guy that will see big minutes but he’s going to be in the backseat behind LeBron, Davis, and potentially Drummond while he’s out there, so more of a GPP guy. One guy I do like quite a bit is Alex Caruso, he ended up closing for them last game and played 24 minutes as a whole. He didn’t put up a ton of fantasy points, but at the price tag, I like taking the chance on him. From the Suns, Devin Booker led the squad in this one in game one, he played 45 minutes on his way to 55.25 DraftKings points. He’s a solid option on both sites in this one. Chris Paul got banged up last time out, but he should be good to go here, he struggled but is a solid option here again. DeAndre Ayton won the matchup down low with those Lakers big men and looked really good. I don’t expect him to go for 21 and 16 again here, but at the price tag, I think you can do worse. He’s the most expensive center option on FanDuel, and the position isn’t a pretty one, so you may find yourself here quite often. Mikal Bridges looked great last time out but it didn’t show up in the fantasy department, I think he’s going to be a better real-life player than fantasy contributor, but the thing you know you’re getting with him is huge minutes, so you could do worse at this price tag. Lastly, I’ll go right back to Jae Crowder as well at a cheap price tag with both SF/PF eligibility on DraftKings.

5-star play: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker

4-star play: Dennis Schroder, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton, Mikal Bridges

Deeper Value: Alex Caruso

GPP Sleeper: Kyle Kuzma, Jae Crowder

Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Clippers

Vegas Total: 216.0

Vegas Spread: Lac -6.5

Starting with the Mavericks who come in with the 1-0 series lead and look to take a 2-0 lead back home to Dallas. Luka Doncic is probably the top raw option on the slate after dropping 65+ fantasy points last time out and played massive minutes as expected. He’s going to carry this team here and a guy that is capable of absolutely taking over a game. Kristaps Porzingis played big minutes last time out as well but really didn’t do a whole lot in those minutes. I like him a bit more for GPPs due to the volatility and upside he brings, I do like him a bit more on FanDuel as well due to the price differential. Dorian Finney-Smith is another guy you can expect to get mega minutes, he’s not a sexy option but he showed his upside last time out, if you need a forward option, he’s a nice play. Then I think you can round this team out with guys like Tim Hardaway, Josh Richardson, and Jalen Brunson. I don’t have a whole lot of interest in this team outside of Doncic and Porzingis. That said, I do think Maxi Kleber is a top value option, he played 36 minutes last time out and is way too cheap for that type of playing time. From the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard was a guy that made my core plays on the Coaches Notes/Cheat Sheets last time out and a guy I’ll go right back to here at a cheap price tag. Paul George had a down game last time out but another guy you can go right back to, both these Clippers stars are too cheap considering the opportunity and production we will likely see out of them. I have no issue playing them both in your lineup either. Marcus Morris shot terribly last time out but I think you can go back to him if people will be off him due to that game. I don’t know if Serge Ibaka just isn’t healthy right now, but he needs to play more minutes if the Clippers want to be real contenders in this series. He played just 13 minutes, I’ll want to see those come up before I get too crazy rostering him. Playoff Rajon Rondo has arrived, he looked really good last time out and ended up closing in game one which is something I look for when targeting guys in the playoffs. Lastly, I think you can round this team out with tournament targets in guys like Ivica Zubac, Nic Batum, and if you want to get crazy, Reggie Jackson who didn’t do a whole lot last time out.

5-star play: Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George

4-star play: Kristaps Porzingis, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, Rajon Rondo, Marcus Smart

Deeper Value: Maxi Kleber

GPP Sleeper: Tim Hardaway, Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson, Ivica Zubac, Nic Batum, Reggie Jackson

NBA Lock of the Day: Kawhi Leonard (DK – $8.3k; FD – $9.4k)

I’ll go right back to Kawhi here in game 2, he looked great in game 1 going for 50+ fantasy points, and is going to play around 40 minutes in this one. He’s probably $2k too cheap on DraftKings and a thousand too cheap on FanDuel right now considering the playoff environment. SF eligibility is helpful as well, as it’s normally a tougher position to fill, love me some Klaw in this one, I would expect he makes my core in the Coaches Notes/Cheat Sheets for tonight’s 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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