Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 5/7:

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!

New Orleans Pelicans @ Philadelphia 76ers

Vegas Total: 229.0

Vegas Spread: Phi -8.5

We’ll kick the slate off with the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram is expected to sit here, so let’s run some data with him off the court over the last four weeks to get a better grasp on where to go on this team:

• Zion Williamson – 34.6% usage rate; 1.39 fpm
• Lonzo Ball – 32.3% usage rate; 1.3 fpm
• Eric Bledsoe – sample size not big enough, but over a fantasy point per minute.

So, I think it’s really a two, maybe three-man team for me. You can make a case for Bledsoe in GPP due to the usage and opportunity boost he’ll get here, but the guys I like are Zion and Lonzo who both come in around 1.3 fantasy points per minute. It’s not a great matchup, at all, but the boost is enough for me to have an interest. From the Sixers, Joel Embiid’s minutes came back down again last time out but was due to a blowout as they beat the Rockets by 20. This one should be a bit more competitive, so those minutes should come back up. Assuming he gets his usual run, he’s an elite raw play as always. Ben Simmons isn’t a guy I’ve been getting to all that much, he just hasn’t looked that great. We know he has triple-double upside every time he’s on the court, but we just haven’t seen it. I don’t hate him for GPPs if you want to chase that upside, but I won’t go there in cash games. Tobias Harris had a nice game last time out and his price tag is getting to a more playable range, I don’t have an issue with him here. Outside of those three, I have a tough time finding a piece that I like from the Sixers, maybe Shake Milton if you’re thinking blowout?

5-star play: Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, Joel Embiid

4-star play: Eric Bledsoe, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams, Shake Milton, Seth Curry

Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls

Vegas Total: 229

Vegas Spread: Por -12.0

Starting with the Celtics, it looks like Jaylen Brown will miss this game while Robert Williams comes in as questionable, let’s run some numbers with Brown off the court this season to see how these other guys grade out:

• Jayson Tatum – 35.3% usage rate; 1.39 fpm
• Kemba Walker – 30.9% usage rate; 1.18 fpm
• Marcus Smart – 21.3% usage rate; 0.96 fpm

These would be the three main guys I have an interest in for the Celtics, you can make a case for Evan Fournier, but he hasn’t exactly benefitted with Brown out at 0.68 fantasy points per minute. That being said, he has at least 35 DraftKings points in two straight games, the Bulls are a great matchup all around as a struggling defensive team. From the Bulls, I’m not sure how much interest I’ll have from this team now that Zach LaVine has returned. The rest of the team is still priced as if LaVine is off the court, so we’ll need to wait for pricing to get back to normal. LaVine played 27 minutes last night in his first game back, as long as we get confirmation that he’s a go on the back to back, I would assume he’s no longer restricted. Lastly, Nikola Vucevic looked great last night going for 60 fantasy points, but let other people chase that.

5-star play: Jayson Tatum

4-star play: Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Robert Williams, Evan Fournier, Coby White, Thad Young

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Orlando Magic @ Charlotte Hornets

Vegas Total: 216.0

Vegas Spread: Cha -9.0

Starting with the Magic, Cole Anthony now has back-to-back duds and has been held under 20 fantasy points in two straight games. That being said, Anthony is averaging 32.8 DraftKings points in two games against the Hornets this season, I think you can go back to him here. Wendell Carter Jr. is expected to miss here… so fire up the goat, Bamba number 5, Big Mo himself, Mr. Mo Bamba who has filled in really well for Carter Jr. as of late. The price is getting up there, but it’s warranted, this is a good matchup for opposing big men. Dwayne Bacon is playing big minutes and should continue to along with RJ Hampton and Gary Harris due to how shorthanded they are. Of those three, Bacon is your safest for cash games but I love the upside you get in a guy like Hampton who has at least 39 DraftKings points in three straight games. Mo Wagner should continue to start and see big minutes, he’s a guy that can give this Hornets defense fits, they can drop into a 2-3 zone sometimes and Wagner can hit those mid-range jumpers to beat it, so I like him here. From the Hornets, Terry Rozier saw his minutes come down last time out, but the price has come down with LaMelo Ball coming back. The price is much better on FanDuel where he’s $6.2k and not $8k like he is on DraftKings. Speaking of LaMelo Ball, he had a bit of a dud last time out but this matchup is hard to pass on, the Magic have been giving up fantasy points in bunches. Miles Bridges should continue to sit here which will open up minutes for wings like Jalen McDaniels and Caleb Martin. PJ Washington has been pretty good lately and gets a great matchup again here, he’s more of a GPP guy for me but a guy nonetheless.

5-star play: Mo Bamba, Mo Wagner, LaMelo Ball

4-star play: Cole Anthony, RJ Hampton, Terry Rozier (FanDuel), PJ Washington

Deeper Value: Caleb Martin

GPP Sleeper: Dwayne Bacon, Gary Harris, Jalen McDaniels

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Miami Heat

Vegas Total: 222.5

Vegas Spread: Phi -13.0

Starting with the Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns has gotten into foul trouble in two straight games and now gets a tough matchup with the Heat. I don’t love him here, but if you want to get exposure I would do it on FanDuel where he’s under $10k. I had quite a bit of Anthony Edwards last time out in GPPs and he dropped 66 DraftKings points, now is the time to jump off if you’re in the same boat. This Miami defense is no joke and they play really slow. D’Angelo Russell finally got back into the starting lineup last time out and played 37 minutes. He’s going to play big minutes as long as he’s in the starting lineup, but again, the matchup is pretty tough for most of these Wolves guys. Then the rest of these guys like Ricky Rubio and potentially Jaden McDaniels are all MME guys for me. From the Heat, we’ll need some injury news on these guys with Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro coming into this one as questionable, so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates. I’ll operate under the assumption they’re both playing until we hear otherwise. I love playing Butler in a revenge game against the Wolves, he scored 63.5 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and is SF eligible on both sites. Bam Adebayo is another guy I like here, he struggled in this matchup earlier this season, but I have no issue going right back to him in an elite matchup against a team that struggles with opposing big men. Other than those two, I don’t think you need to go much deeper on this team on a 10-game slate, guys like Kendrick Nunn, Goran Dragic, and Duncan Robinson would be more in play for me if Butler were to sit.

5-star play: Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo

4-star play: Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Ricky Rubio, Kendrick Nunn, Goran Dragic, Duncan Robinson

Houston Rockets @ Milwaukee Bucks

Vegas Total: N/A

Vegas Spread: N/A

Starting with the Rockets, yikes… I’m going to throw this one to our Breaking News Feed, it’s really hard to break this team down right now with Christian Wood, Kelly Olynyk, Jae’Sean Tate, and Danuel House all listed as questionable with Kevin Porter Jr and Eric Gordon already out. We just need some news here before we can really dig into this team, so keep an eye on the status of these guys. From the Bucks, they’re going to go out and try and win this one, more than they might otherwise against this Rockets team. With a win, the Bucks get the tiebreaker over the Nets for the 2 seed in the East. Giannis Antetokounmpo should be able to do whatever he wants in this one, he left this matchup after one minute last time out, but he’s an elite raw option as always. Khris Middleton has been really good as of late and scoring much better from the field, I have no issue getting to him here. Jrue Holiday has been a bit more volatile, but he’s still going to play a ton of minutes, similar to Middleton, no issue with getting to him in what should be a great game. Bobby Portis returned last night to play just 16 minutes, but I think that was more due to game flow and the Bucks wanting PJ Tucker’s defense out there, he’s still probably too expensive for my liking here. Lastly, a guy I do like quite a bit is Donte DiVincenzo, his price has fallen too far, and coming off a nice performance last night.

*** Leaving the Rockets off the below until we get news on their guys ***

5-star play: Giannis Antetokounmpo

4-star play: Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Bobby Portis, Donte DiVincenzo

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Dallas Mavericks

Vegas Total: N/A

Vegas Spread: N/A

Starting with the Cavaliers, Darius Garland is going to miss this one meaning Sexton should see a nice boost in the backcourt. Collin Sexton has a 30.3% usage rate and 1.12 fantasy points per minute with Garland and Nance off the court this season but I do like his price a bit more on FanDuel. I am okay getting to some Jarrett Allen as well here, the Mavericks don’t exactly have a great interior defense. Kevin Love has at least 35 DraftKings points in two of his last three games and a guy I like getting to in GPPs. Then you can round this team out with Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman, Osman has more upside but Okoro’s minutes are more locked in, but I don’t think you need to go here on a 10-game slate. From the Mavericks, it sounds like Kristaps Porzingis is going to be out again here so we can go right back to Luka Doncic. Luka has a 36.9% usage rate and 1.53 fantasy points per minute with Kristaps off the court this season. As weird as it sounds, he’s about as far as my interest goes on the Mavs. The frontcourt is a disaster, but if you want to throw a dart and see if you can pick the correct guy between Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, and Willie Cauley-Stein, go for it, I’ll find somewhere else. That said, you can get to some of these ancillary pieces in GPP if you have an interest in guys like Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson, and Tim Hardaway Jr., you can probably throw Josh Richardson in that group as well, but it’s not pretty.

5-star play: Luka Doncic

4-star play: Collin Sexton, Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love

Deeper Value: Willie Cauley-Stein

GPP Sleeper: Willie Cauley-Stein, Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Richardson

Denver Nuggets @ Utah Jazz

Vegas Total: 218.5

Vegas Spread: Utah -3.0

Starting with the Nuggets, things pretty much always start with Nikola Jokic who is averaging 74.8 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Jazz on the season, he’s an elite option in all formats on all sites. Michael Porter Jr. continues to put up good numbers as well, the price has come way up on him, but for good reason, he’s the number two option now with Murray out for Denver. Aaron Gordon just feels like he’s going to be a tough guy to predict for the rest of the season, he’s more of a deep GPP guy for me. PJ Dozier is out for this one as well, so Facundo Campazzo’s locked-in minutes become… more locked in, but we should see a good amount of Austin Rivers with him out. Both Rivers and Campazzo looked really good last time out and guys I think you can go right back to here. From the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley will continue to be out for this team. Rudy Gobert hasn’t had as much success against Jokic as Jokic has had against him, I’m not paying this price tag for Gobert on a 10-game slate. Jordan Clarkson will continue to be a solid option, I just don’t love the price tag, but he feels pretty safe and has a solid ceiling with Mitchell and Clarkson off the court. Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Ingles have been the guys to own lately, they’re both in really good form, and guys you can get to here while Royce O’Neale is more of a GPP guy.

5-star play: Nikola Jokic

4-star play: Michael Porter Jr., Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers, Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson

Deeper Value: Austin Rivers

GPP Sleeper: Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale

Los Angeles Lakers @ Portland Trailblazers

Vegas Total: 221.5

Vegas Spread: Por -7.0

Starting with the Lakers, both LeBron James and Anthony Davis will miss this game along with Talen Horton-Tucker and Dennis Schroder. I would expect this starting lineup to look something like Caruso, Caldwell-pope, Kuzma, Morris, and Drummond. Caruso makes sense as a solid value option but I like guys like Drummond, Kuzma, and Montrezl Harrell the most from this team with all the usage that is going to open up. It’s a pace-up spot for the Blazers here, so no issue getting to these guys in tournaments at the very least. From the Blazers, they need to win this game to jump the Lakers in the play-in game standings so guys like Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are going to play all the minutes they can handle, they’re both great options here, they’re both cheaper on FanDuel as well if you’re looking to go heavier over there. The minutes on Jusuf Nurkic seem like they’re going to be in the lower 20’s more often than not, so he’s more of a GPP guy, but if they want to win, they’ll run him out there against Andre Drummond and let him go to town. Then you can round this team out with Norman Powell as a tournament-type player.

5-star play: Damian Lillard

4-star play: Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, Andre Drummond, CJ McCollum

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Montrezl Harrell, Norman Powell

San Antonio Spurs @ Sacramento Kings

Vegas Total: 227.0

Vegas Spread: Sas -3.0

Starting with the Spurs,  DeMar DeRozan threw up a dud last time out, but if people are going to jump off here, I’ll go right back to him in an elite matchup with the Kings. Jakob Poeltl had to deal with Rudy Gobert over the past two games, so this will be a nice relief for him, I like going back to him here. Keldon Johnson came back to Earth last time out, we kind of know the story on him by now, he’s going to be a highly volatile player, so GPP only. Lastly, Lonnie Walker is a solid value option if you need one, his minutes should be pretty secure with Derrick White out for the remainder of the season. From the Kings, I’m going to operate under the assumption that De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes are both out again here, so let’s run that data with these guys out!

• Delon Wright – 25.2% usage rate; 1.24 fpm
• Terence Davis – 19.9% usage rate; 0.88 fpm
• Buddy Hield – 28.3% usage rate; 1.13 fpm

These would be my three favorite options on the Kings, but you can obviously get to some of these other guys like Richaun Holmes, Marvin Bagley, and Moe Harkless. These guys are crushing with Fox, Barnes, and Haliburton out so we can go right back to well here in a good matchup against the Spurs.

5-star play: Delon Wright, Marvin Bagley

4-star play: DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, Buddy Hield, Richaun Holmes

Deeper Value: Terence Davis

GPP Sleeper: Lonnie Walker, Terence Davis

New York Knicks @ Phoenix Suns

Vegas Total: 218.0

Vegas Spread: Pho -6.5

We’ll round out the slate starting with the Knicks, Julius Randle is a solid option on both sites, he’s cheaper on FanDuel but still playable on DraftKings, he’s been in good form coming into this one. The Suns can be beaten down low as well. RJ Barrett is a guy I like more a little more as a streamer in a way, I don’t love the matchup, but SF can be tough at times if you need a guy I think you could do worse. Derrick Rose is a fine option, but I just don’t know how much you’ll need him on a ten-game slate, more of a filler piece than anything for me. Both Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley are listed as doubtful here so guys like Reggie Bullock and Elfrid Payton should see a solid minutes boost if you want to get really crazy. From the Suns, Devin Booker and Chris Paul are both fine options if you’re looking to get exposure here. Paul came back to Earth last time out after dropping 70 FanDuel points on the Cavs. DeAndre Ayton is a guy I’m fine with as well, I don’t think Nerlens Noel is all that great of a defender down low. Then we get to these wings with guys like Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Torrey Craig. They’ll all see solid run with Jae Crowder off the court, but Bridges is pretty easily your safest option. I don’t really see a way that fading Johnson and Craig can kill your lineups, but they’re solid value options nonetheless. One last name I’ll mention is Cameron Payne, he always gets overlooked because we’ve gotten better value open up lately, but if you’re ever strapped for value, he’s a nice target and a pretty consistent 18-20 fantasy points.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Julius Randle, Derrick Rose, RJ Barrett, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton

Deeper Value: Elfrid Payton

GPP Sleeper: Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock

NBA Lock of the Day: Cheat Sheets/Core 4

We’re at that point in the NBA season where finding a lock of the day happens much closer to lock rather than earlier in the morning due to how fluid the injury reports are, 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…