DFS NBA Full Court Press: FanDuel & DraftKings Main Slate - Oct. 22nd, 2021

Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 10/22:

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 Mike 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!

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Charlotte Hornets @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

We’ll kick this Friday slate off with the Hornets where we get to see LaMelo Ball back in action again. He had a massive opening game with 59.25 DraftKings points and picked up right where he left off last season. He led the team in both usage and fantasy points per minute with a 25.4% usage rate and 1.24 fantasy points per minute on the season. The Cavs aren’t going to be anything special on defense this season, so I have no issue getting to Ball and some of these Hornets. Gordon Hayward looked solid in the opener as well, he didn’t do anything overly crazy but did take 22 field goal attempts which was nice to see. Terry Rozier was a mid-day downgrade on Wednesday and ended up missing the opening game. He comes into this one as questionable, so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates surrounding his status. Kelly Oubre Jr.’s first game with the team didn’t go all that well, but he did see 35 minutes which I would expect to come down if Rozier does return. Then you can round this team out with GPP guys in PJ Washington and Mason Plumlee, Plumlee looked better to start the season but we know how volatile Washington can be. From the Cavaliers, Collin Sexton and Darius Garland are going to run this backcourt and get a nice matchup against LaMelo Ball and company. Neither of them looked great on Wednesday, but they did get much-needed price decreases. That being said, Garland comes into this one as questionable, so he’s another guy we’ll need a status update on. Jarrett Allen was the team’s best fantasy producer in the opener and a guy I like in this spot, I’m going to continue to target big men against the Hornets this season until they prove they can stop them from a DFS perspective.  Evan Mobley started as expected to begin the season and looked great in 38 minutes of run. DraftKings gave him a large price bump which was needed or he would have been massive chalk in this spot. I can’t say I love this price tag but he’s in play nonetheless. Kevin Love played just 17 minutes in that game and just isn’t going to be a guy I get to until he proves some consistency or his price free falls. Lastly, Ricky Rubio was shockingly good in the opener, he was pretty much a fade for me but I wouldn’t expect Sexton to get into early foul trouble in this one again, so I’ll let people chase.

5-star play: LaMelo Ball

4-star play: Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, Jarrett Allen, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Evan Mobley, Ricky Rubio

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Indiana Pacers @ Washington Wizards

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Starting with the Pacers, Malcolm Brogdon came out on a mission dropping 51.3 FanDuel points in the opener, and has a good chance to keep it going in a nice spot here, no issue getting right back on him. The Pacers proved again they’re going to continue playing fast like we saw last season and I would expect the Wizards to as well so this game will set up well from a fantasy perspective. Domantas Sabonis was their highest producer in the opener and the Wizards are going to be a team I pick on with big men early on. Sabonis easily led this team with 1.3 fantasy points per minute last season and is a guy I’ll be getting to here again. Myles Turner will always be more of a GPP guy for me due to his volatility but he can hit threes and block shots with the best of ’em. Lastly, Chris Duarte showed why the Pacers were so high on him in the draft this season, he had a big night from the field, but I don’t expect he shoots six for nine from three-point range again and is another rookie that got a big price bump… I’m not going to be paying $6k on DraftKings for him. From the Wizards, Spencer Dinwiddie was a guy I was all over due to his price tag on Wednesday but disappointed a bit. His price did come up a little bit on DraftKings, but not enough, he’s a guy I’ll get right back to. Bradley Beal had a down game in this one and just shot poorly which led to most of his struggles. I like the price tag on him on both sites now that he won’t need to deal with the usage monster that Russell Westbrook was this season. For perspective, with Westbrook and Wall off the court last season, Beal had a 39.9% usage rate and 1.5 fantasy points per minute… pretty elite if you ask me. This frontcourt was pretty crowded with Daniel Gafford, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma all seeing at least 22 minutes. Gafford had the least amount of minutes of all of them, but he’s going to continue to start and showed he can be a nice point-per-minute guy. Turner is generally pretty good on defense so probably not guys I’m going to be all that heavy on here, although it will be interesting to see if Kyle Kuzma actually shows he can be a real NBA player for once.

5-star play: Domantas Sabonis

4-star play: Malcolm Brogdon, Spencer Dinwiddie, Bradley Beal

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Myles Turner, Chris Duarte, Daniel Gafford, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma

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New York Knicks @ Orlando Magic

Vegas Total: 213.0

Vegas Spread: Nyk -7.0

Man, this is an ugly implied total with two slow teams going head to head. We’ll start with the Knicks where you’re going to see some high fantasy scores from that first game due to it going into double overtime, so you can look over some of that. Julius Randle, Evan Fournier, and RJ Barrett all went over 40 minutes. Kemba Walker played 36 minutes but didn’t look much improved from last season, I may make him prove to me that he’s still got it before I get too crazy on him. Evan Fournier went bananas in his heavy minutes and clearly a guy they’re going to run a bunch. He’s a guy I can never seem to get right, but I do like his price tag a bit more on FanDuel. Julius Randle was the high fantasy man for the Knicks on Wednesday with 62.5 DraftKings points. I have no issue going back to him here, he led the team last year with a 29.4% usage rate and 1.26 fantasy points per minute. Derrick Rose probably isn’t a guy I’m going to get a whole lot of until his price comes down due to Kemba and Fournier coming in to steal some of his looks. That said, the price tag on FanDuel is much friendlier than on DraftKings where he’s still over $6k. They did get Mitchell Robinson back from injury this one and was thrown into 34 minutes, but did look good while he was out there, he’s always a guy I’ll like for GPPs due to his upside. Lastly, I do like RJ Barrett’s DraftKings price a good deal and a guy I’ll be getting to over there. From the Magic, it was a pretty ugly opener for them outside of guys like Mo Bamba and Franz Wager who looked pretty solid. It’s going to be a big year for Bamba if they give him the run and a guy I like going back to especially in GPPs. Cole Anthony is still way underpriced on FanDuel, but I won’t be getting to him much on DraftKings. Rookie Jalen Suggs struggled in his 30 minutes of work and was one of the rookies that DraftKings didn’t increase the price tag on, so he’s a guy I do like getting to as a value play. Then to round out the team, Terrence Ross is always going to be in play for GPPs just because he has the ability to get hot and shoot the lights out of the gym.

5-star play: Julius Randle, Jalen Suggs (DraftKings), Cole Anthony (FanDuel)

4-star play: Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson

Deeper Value: Jalen Suggs

GPP Sleeper: Terrence Ross, Kemba Walker, Michell Robinson, Mo Bamba, Franz Wagner

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Brooklyn Nets @ Philadelphia 76ers

Vegas Total: NA

Vegas Spread: NA

Both of these teams have a little trouble with one of their superstars, as both Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons are going to miss this game. We’ll start with the Nets, and it’s going to be the Kevin Durant and James Harden show again for me. With Kyrie off the court, last season Durant had a 34% usage rate and 1.61 fantasy points per minute where James Harden was at a 34.9% usage rate and 1.69 fantasy points per minute. They’re both elite options, outside of them it’s going to be really tough for me to have much interest in the rest of this team on a ten-game slate. You can make a case for Patty Mills and Joe Harris in hopes they get hot from three, but I think we can do better… although the price tag for Harris is still dirt cheap on FanDuel. From the Sixers, with Simmons out guys like Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris should stand to be the main beneficiaries. With Simmons off the court last season Embiid had a massive 42.5% usage rate and 1.86 fantasy points per minute where Harris was at a 28.5% usage rate and 1.22 fantasy points per minute. Embiid had a down game in the opener relative to what we were expecting, but who’s going to slow him down in this one? We saw what Giannis was able to do to this frontcourt, there’s no reason to believe Embiid can’t do something similar with an increased usage rate. Tyrese Maxey got the start as expected with Simmons out and looked really good. Both sites did increase his price after that performance but still a price I’m willing to pay for him if you happen to fall in the mid-range. Then you can round this team out with Seth Curry as a GPP option if you happen to fall on him.

5-star play: James Harden, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid

4-star play: Joe Harris (FanDuel), Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey

Deeper Value: Joe Harris (FanDuel)

GPP Sleeper: Patty Mills, Joe Harris, Seth Curry

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Toronto Raptors @ Boston Celtics

Vegas Total: 219.5

Vegas Spread: Bos -6.5

Starting with the Raptors, they were pretty chalky on DraftKings in the opener due to value plays like Precious Achiuwa and Scottie Barnes being way underpriced. They somewhat fixed the price on Barnes but Achiuwa still feels too cheap, although he still only saw 18 minutes of work which I would think is going to be the norm for him at least early on. OG Anunoby kept his consistency going from what we saw last season ad a guy you can get to here, I just don’t think the Raptors are all that good right now and we saw that when they scored just 83 points in the opener. That being said, I do like the price tag on Fred VanVleet a good amount on DraftKings where he’s $1.4k cheaper than where he’s at on FanDuel. From the Celtics, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the main guys on this team. Tatum led the team with a 30.8% usage rate and 1.27 fantasy points per minute last season while Brown was at 29.6% and 1.18 fantasy points per minute. They’ll be the main pieces I want here. Similar to the Knicks, we need to take their first box score with a grain of salt due to the double-overtime game. Jaylen Brown isn’t going to go out and score 76 DraftKings points again. DraftKings did increase the price tag on Robert Williams which was much-needed, but they seemed like they still seem like they’re finally going to give him a chance to run with the center position. Keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates on Al Horford, he’s currently listed as questionable after being cleared from the Covid list, but it sounds like he’s not quite up to game speed yet.

5-star play: Fred VanVleet (DraftKings)

4-star play: OG Anunoby, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Robert Williams, Scottie Barnes

Deeper Value: Precious Achiuwa

GPP Sleeper: Marcus Smart, Dennis Schroeder

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Oklahoma City Thunder @ Houston Rockets

Vegas Total: 223.0

Vegas Spread: Hou -1.5

Starting with the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led this team with a 29% usage rate and 1.2 fantasy points per minute last season. I would expect a lot of the same this year but he had a tough game in the opener against a good defense in the Jazz. I have no issue going right back to him here, the Rockets don’t have anywhere near the same defense that Utah does. Not to mention his price came down to under $7k on DraftKings. Rookie Josh Giddey played 29 minutes in the opener and did get the rookie bump on DraftKings after they messed up their pricing, but still makes sense as a value option here in a great matchup.  The rest of this team, with guys like Isaiah Roby, Darius Bazley, and Lu Dort are probably more GPP options than anything in this matchup, and until we kind of get a better feel on how the minutes will get split up. From Houston, Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. were two of the bigger letdowns in the opener against the Wolves. That being said, they get another great matchup in this one and guys that I’ll go right back to. Speaking of guys I’ll go right back to, Jalen Green’s price didn’t come up enough on DraftKings. At $4.8k I’ll be all over him again in this spot on DraftKings, he just shot poorly in the opener and was still able to muster up 22.5 DraftKings points.  I never really have a problem playing Eric Gordon, but man does he screw me every time I play him, so I’ll leave him for GPPs. Guys like KJ Martin, Khryi Thomas, and Jae’sean Tate are probably just flyer options at best for me at these prices until we figure out this Rockets rotation a little better – I don’t expect any of them to start. Lastly, Alperen Sengun saw just 19 minutes which I think will be the norm unless Daniel Thies or Wood get into foul trouble, but he doesn’t need long to hit value.

5-star play: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green (DraftKings)

4-star play: Darius Bazley, Eric Gordon, Josh Giddey

Deeper Value: Josh Giddey

GPP Sleeper: Lu Dort, Eric Gordon, Daniel Theis

I wanted to give a quick shoutout to staff member – wwegner on nailing opening night, great start to the season! He locked in Bjelica, Nwora, and Poole to the tune of $2k+!

San Antonio Spurs @ Denver Nuggets

Vegas Total: 218.0

Vegas Spread: Den -7.5

Starting with the Spurs, I like the price tag on Dejounte Murray a good amount. He proved to be the point guard of the future for this team last year with a solid floor/ceiling combination. He and Derrick White should see a nice boost with DeMar DeRozan now out of town. With him off the court, last season Murray had a 23% usage rate and 1.11 fantasy points per minute with Derrick White having a 27.3% usage rate and 1.14 fantasy points per minute. Both Murray and White looked great in the opener as well, this is a tougher matchup but I have no issue getting right back to them here. Keldon Johnson was impossible to get right last season, I do think he has potential in the NBA, but I’ll let him prove it to me first. Lastly, Jakob Poeltl had a big opener but gets a stiff test against Nikola Jokic in this one, I may wait for a better matchup. From the Nuggets, Monte Morris should continue to slide into that starting point guard spot and I’ve been targeting point guards against the Spurs for close to two years now. I don’t know that he’s a guy I’m going to love getting to here, however. Nikola Jokic is the main piece on this team and should be in line for another MVP run this season. Poeltl can hold his own on the defensive end but we know how matchup-proof Jokic is if you’re able to find the money for him. I do like the price on Michael Porter Jr. though, with Murray off the court last season, Porter Jr. had a 23.7% usage rate and 1.13 fantasy points per minute. This guy can straight up ball, and proved he has a ceiling like no other in his price range. The only issue is that comes with a lower floor that you would like so probably more of a GPP guy, but if you want a little risk in cash you can get to a little of him there as well. Then guys like Will Barton and Aaron Gordon are more flyer-type plays you round out this team.

5-star play: Dejounte Murray, Nikola Jokic

4-star play: Derrick White, Jakob Poeltl, Michael Porter Jr.

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Keldon Johnson, Monte Morris, Will Barton, Aaron Gordon

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Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers

Vegas Total: 222.0

Vegas Spread: Pho -1.0

We get a rematch of the first round of the playoffs last season in this one, but we’ll get started with Phoenix. Devin Booker wasn’t a guy I was all that huge on in the opener just because of the matchup and price but I’m not sure how much I’ll like him here either. It feels like they may do something similar to last year, where they’re a great NBA team but kind of stink for DFS purposes. Chris Paul actually led the suns at 1.22 fantasy points per game and Booker led the team with a 32.7% usage, so those two stats don’t necessarily correlate for the Suns. DeAndre Ayton looked like an all-new player as I mentioned above in the playoffs. That being said this is a really tough matchup against Davis and company down low, I’ll wait for a better matchup and for him to get going a bit. It feels like there may be some hostility with him not getting an extension this offseason, so you have to wonder what that plays in his head. Then guys like Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder are filler-type plays to round this one out. Then we get to the Lakers, who looked pretty terrible in the opener if I’m being honest. Russell Westbrook just does not fit on this team like many of us could have told Lakers ownership from the jump. I have to think they’re going to get Westbrook off the bench at some point this season, but it’s never good when newly signed Avery Bradley needs to close over the third piece of your big three on night one. I’m fading Russell Westbrook until his price comes down or shows he can produce on this team. LeBron James and Anthony Davis both looked solid and produced nicely, they’re both solid options in this one. That being said, outside of them there really isn’t anything I’m itching to get to on a 10-game slate.

5-star play: LeBron James, Anthony Davis

4-star play: Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Chris Paul

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Russell Westbrook

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Utah Jazz @ Sacramento Kings

Vegas Total: 225.5

Vegas Spread: Utah -6.0

We’ll round things out starting with the Jazz who manhandled the Thunder on night one. Rudy Gobert should be able to do whatever he wants against Holmes and company here. While Donovan Mitchell led this team with a 33.6% usage rate last season, and Jordan Clarkson right on his tail at 29.4%. Clarkson will likely stick to come off the bench this season and own a good chunk of that usage in the second unit. I do like the price tag on Mike Conley who always seems to be a couple of hundred dollars too cheap, he’s a solid option in all formats. Then guys like Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, and Joe Ingles are deeper GPP guys on a big slate. Overall this team is kind of similar to Phoenix where they’re a better real-life team than one for fantasy gold. They’re going to produce but always feels like they’re priced accurately. From the Kings, De’Aaron Fox was the clear leader last season with a 31% usage rate and 1.25 fantasy points per minute. He had a nice game in the opener but gets a much tougher matchup in this one, more of a GPP guy for me.  Harrison Barnes was on a mission against the Blazers, he dropped 58 DraftKings points in 37 minutes. I don’t see that happening again but he’s always been a guy you could go to for consistency and does have a nice price tag on FanDuel.  Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield were on the other end of the production spectrum in the opener, but I like their chances to bounce back in this one. Then to the big men, Richaun Holmes is going to be the guy here since it seems like the Kings are essentially giving up on Marvin Bagley or visa-versa, regardless it feels like his time as a King is done. Holmes gets a really tough matchup with Gobert in this one, so probably more of a GPP type guy.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Tyrese Haliburton

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, Joe Ingles, Buddy Hield, Richaun Holmes

NBA Lock of the Day: (See the NBA Cheatsheets for My CORE PLAYS!)

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