Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 11/27:
Nov 22, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) reacts after a basket during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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!
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Philadelphia 76ers
Vegas Total: 216.0
Vegas Spread: Phi -5.0
We’ll get this slate started with an island game that starts just before the main slate starts. That said, we’ll kick things off with the Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns was someone I had a lot of interest in last night and actually ended up making my core sheet. I have no issue going back to him here especially if Joel Embiid sits again, I’ve been targeting big men against Andre Drummond down low and it’s worked well. Then we get to D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards who are kind of eating into each other’s usage right now. Edwards came crashing down to Earth last night after destroying the Heat two games ago. While Russell has kept his consistency again, I generally set a rule in the Domination Station to not pair them together, but on a short slate, I have no problem running them together. Lastly, Patrick Beverley has already been ruled out for a few games, so we will have a bunch of minutes open up in the backcourt. Malik Beasley will likely continue to be the biggest beneficiary and a guy I like as a value option here. From the Sixers, we’re just going to need news on this team before we can really break them down. Both Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris come in as questionable, so let’s keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates surrounding them. I would imagine if Embiid plays he would be on some sort of minutes limit, but we will need that news to fully break this team down.
5-star play: Karl-Anthony Towns, PHI TBD
4-star play: D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Malik Beasley, PHI TBD
Deeper Value: PHI TBD
GPP Sleeper: Jaden McDaniels, Jarred Vanderbilt, PHI TBD
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New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks
Vegas Total: 217.5
Vegas Spread: Atl -5.5
Onto the main slate where we’ll start with the Knicks where Derrick Rose comes into this one as questionable again after missing yesterday’s game, so keep an eye on his status as we get closer to lock, but for now, I’m just going to operate under the assumption that he’s out again. Julius Randle had a rough go of it last night against the Suns but gets a decent bounce-back spot here. I’ll have much more interest in him on FanDuel where he’s under $9k however. RJ Barrett is a fine tournament guy, but can be volatile, which I guess is what we’re looking for in GPP, so no issue there. Evan Fournier and Alec Burks should take on extra opportunities with Rose out (if Rose is out), and make for fine secondary GPP options, but not guys that you need to force in by any means. Then Kemba Walker looked somewhat legit last night, but the minutes just aren’t there for him right now, he’ll continue to be a fade for me until his price comes down or the minutes come up. From the Hawks, Trae Young now has at least 47 DraftKings points in three straight games, I have no issue with him in tournaments, although the Knicks play sneaky good defense at times. Clint Capela continues to look great and is getting more consistent minutes than he was earlier in the season. He has at least 45 DraftKings points in three of his last four games and is someone I like again here. John Collins is more of the GPP guy due to the volatility he has, but the minutes should be right around the 30 range, I’m going to overlook his 23 minutes of playing time last night. Bogdan Bogdanovic is finally at a price where I think we can make a case for him and is in better form as of late as well. Then you can round out the Hawks with Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish as value options, they’re pretty scoring dependant but has huge upside relative to his price tag.
5-star play: Trae Young, Julius Randle (FanDuel)
4-star play: Julius Randle (DraftKings), RJ Barrett, Clint Capela, John Collins
Deeper Value: Cam Reddish
GPP Sleeper: Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish, John Collins
Phoenix Suns @ Brooklyn Nets
Vegas Total: 224.5
Vegas Spread: Bkn -1.5
Starting with the Suns, similar to what I wrote on them yesterday, but I don’t have an issue with either Devin Booker or Chris Paul here, they’re generally not guys I get to especially on big slates. For some reason, they always feel priced about where they should be and are pretty hard to predict a “ceiling” game when they’re both active. Deandre Ayton does feel like he’s too cheap however and I like the matchup with the Nets down low, I like getting to him in all formats due to the form he’s in. We can round the Suns out with Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder as GPP flyers, but I don’t think you’ll need them on this slate. The Suns as a whole just aren’t a team I get to all that much when they’re fully healthy. From the Nets, it sounds like Bruce Brown will return here which is actually somewhat of news given the amount of value we were looking at on this team over the past couple of weeks. The obvious pieces from the Nets will be Kevin Durant and James Harden. They’re both priced up but I have no issue with getting to either of them here, Harden has been in better form, but his price tag reflects that. LaMarcus Aldridge has at least 33 DraftKings points in three of his last four games and is a guy I like for GPPs. He’s hard to trust in cash games because Steve Nash has no issue just pulling him off the court for some reason. Then you can round the Nets out with Patty Mills who has seen his price come up recently, but for good reason, he has been producing very nicely and a guy I like in all formats even with Bryce Brown back in action.
5-star play: Kevin Durant, James Harden
4-star play: Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, Patty Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, LaMarcus Aldridge
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Vegas Total: 211.5
Vegas Spread: Mia -1.5
Starting with the Heat, Jimmy Butler hasn’t been in the best for over his last two games but the minutes are still massive, and gets a revenge game here against his old team. I have no issue going right back to him here. The same can be said for Bam Adebayo who has been held under 40 DraftKings points in five straight games. I wonder if whatever illness he was fighting had something to do with that though. He’s had a few days to recover and a guy I don’t mind for tournaments. I have a hard time paying the price tag on Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry when this team is at full strength, I’ll consider them both secondary GPP guys in this one. Lastly, Duncan Robinson can always be played in tournaments, he showed us what he can do when he gets up the three-pointers, scoring 31 DraftKings points last time out, but the price is up on him as well. From the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic got his minutes up to 29 yesterday which makes me think there are two possibilities tonight. Either he’s off his minutes restriction, or on the back end of a back to back he gets the night off for rest. That’s just reckless speculation, but if he plays I’m operating under the assumption that he’s a full go here. Both Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan will take a hit with Vucevic back, I’ll wait for their prices to come down a bit before I go back to them with Vucevic back in the lineup. Lonzo Ball will continue to be a GPP guy for me, it’s hard to predict when he’ll have a nice game with his supporting cast demanding more usage than ever. Then you can round the Bulls out with Alex Caruso as a secondary play, he should continue to play big minutes and gets it done all across the stat sheet. Coby White is somewhat interesting as well, he’s played at least 24 minutes in two of his last three games and shot lights out last night… an interesting GPP sleeper at the least.
5-star play: None
4-star play: Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo
Deeper Value: Coby White
GPP Sleeper: Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Coby White, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry
Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Vegas Total: 205.5
Vegas Spread: Cle -9.5
Doesn’t it feel like the Magic have been on every slate for the past week? We’ll get started with the mentioned Magic where Cole Anthony comes in as questionable again here, but I’m going to operate under the assumption that he’s out until we see the news that he’ll play. Keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates on him. Jalen Suggs followed up his nice game against Charlotte with 27 DraftKings points last night. His price really hasn’t moved all that much either and is a guy you can look to again here. He has a 28% usage rate and just about 0.88 fantasy points per minute with Anthony off the court this season. Mo Bamba has been all over the place lately and is going to be strictly a tournament option for me until we see some consistency out of him. Whereas the price tag on Wendell Carter Jr. just continues to be too cheap, it came up to $5.8k from last night but after dropping 48 DraftKings points on the Bulls I’m going to have no issue going right back to the well on him here. Then Franz Wagner has seen his price come up a bit as well, but for good reason, he’s still a bit too cheap here and a solid option again especially if Anthony misses. From the Cavaliers, it sounds like Evan Mobley is going to return in this one so it will be interesting to see if he’s on any sort of minutes limit. If we get news that he’s a full go it’s hard not to like him in this matchup. The same can be said for Jarrett Allen, we might like the Orlando bigs for DFS, but they’re not exactly the greatest of defenders yet. Darius Garland has shown some consistency as of late with at least 34 DraftKings points in four straight games and is a guy I like going back to here. Ricky Rubio is a solid pivot from him at a cheaper price tag as well. Mobley being back will hurt the minutes for Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love, but I expect they take priority over Cedi Osman, as Markkanen was playing big minutes when Mobley was active earlier in the season, so I’m not all that concerned with his minutes. He has at least 31 DraftKings points in three straight at a nice price tag.
5-star play: Wendell Carter Jr., Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen
4-star play: Mo Bamba, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Evan Mobley, Ricky Rubio, Lauri Markkanen
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Mo Bamba, Kevin Love
Charlotte Hornets @ Houston Rockets
Vegas Total: 226.0
Vegas Spread: Cha -6.0
Starting with Hornets, LaMelo Ball has been a guy I’ve been wanting exposure to on FanDuel over DraftKings due to the price difference, but now the price is catching up and he’s not exactly in the best of form. I would probably leave him for tournaments here, as he does have that 60 point upside especially in a good matchup with the Rockets. Miles Bridges has been fine and a guy I won’t have any issue with if you wanted to go to him here, the matchup is nice. Gordon Hayward looked good last night against Minnesota and would have no issue going to him again here, I like the discount you get on him over Bridges, but the volatility is baked into that. Terry Rozier came down to Earth last night as he shot the ball just nine times, the price tag is up a bit on him but in a nice matchup, I have no issue getting to him in tournaments. PJ Washington got up to 24 minutes last game with Mason Plumlee out. Plumlee comes into this one as questionable as well, if he misses I think you can go back to Washington here at a nice price tag. Lastly, you can make a case for Kelly Oubre for GPPs, but he’s been incredibly volatile this season. From the Rockets, it’s really just two guys that stand out to me. With Jalen Green out/off the court his season, Kevin Porter Jr. has a 28.8% usage rate and 1.03 fantasy points per minute and Christian Wood is at a 25.2% usage rate and 1.27 fantasy points per minute. You’ll probably see more minutes from Eric Gordon and he makes for an interesting option as well but is pretty scoring dependant. The matchup is nice for these guys against Charlotte as well, you can throw Jae’sean Tate in there as an option as well, but probably more of a secondary guy.
5-star play: None
4-star play: LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Kevin Porter Jr., Christian Wood
Deeper Value: PJ Washington
GPP Sleeper: Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, PJ Washington, Kelly Oubre, Eric Gordon, Jae’sean Tate
I wanted to give a quick shoutout to VIP member “GhostfaceKillaa” on his $30k win earlier in the season. A pivot to Curry off the chalky Doncic was the key for him, congrats man!
Washington Wizards @ Dallas Mavericks
Vegas Total: 211.5
Vegas Spread: Dal -7.0
Starting with the Wizards, Bradley Beal was a guy I had a lot of interest in again last night against the Thunder and he was a bit of a letdown again. We heard this yesterday, but this is a nice bounce-back spot again for him and the price has come down closer to the $9k range… I like him quite a bit here. The price tag on Spencer Dinwiddie seems like it’s finally adjusting and had a terrible night last night. I think I’ll wait until he’s closer to the mid-$5k range, but he’s certainly more in play now than he was at $7k. Montrezl Harrell is another guy that seems pretty fairly priced to the point where I don’t know that the GPP upside is there with a healthy-ish frontcourt. Then the only other viable options for me on this team are Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford as secondary GPP options, Kuzma has at least 31 DraftKings in three of his last five games… it’s pretty much Beal and a whole lot of nothing from the Wizards. From Dallas, Luka Doncic returned last game to play 41 minutes, so it’s pretty evident he won’t be limited at all. It’s a nice matchup for him and is one of the top raw options on the slate if you can afford him. Jalen Brunson comes into this one as questionable, but it feels like he’s more on the doubtful side of questionable. Just keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates on him, but guys like Tim Hardaway Jr. and even Luka would see more usage with him off the court. Kristaps Porzingis has been in really good form as of late, but the price tag is going to be tough for me to swallow with Luka back on the court, he’s deep GPP only at that price point.
5-star play: Bradley Beal, Luka Doncic
4-star play: Kyle Kuzma, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Montrezl Harrell, Daniel Gafford, Kyle Kuzma, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kristaps Porzingis
New Orleans Pelicans @ Utah Jazz
Vegas Total: 215.5
Vegas Spread: Utah -12.5
We’ll round this slate out starting with the Pelicans and we actually saw this game last night so we have a little something to go off of here. Brandon Ingram has seen his price drop to under $8k on DraftKings, but it still feels a bit too high. He’s been held under 40 DraftKings points in six straight games and this isn’t exactly a great matchup. Jonas Valanciunas has been pretty volatile as of late compared to the consistency we saw earlier in the season but it’s mostly due to his minutes being all over the place. He’s a GPP only play for me in a tough matchup down low with Gobert. Devonte’ Graham should be lifted from any sort of restriction he was on, he played 29 minutes last night and is a guy I like quite a bit at this price tag. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a fine tournament play given his upside, but not someone I would touch in cash games. I’ll have some interest in Josh Hart as well, he had a letdown game last night but is going to continue to play big minutes. From the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell seems to be in some sort of funk, he’s been held under 40 DraftKings points in four of his last five games. The price seems nice on him but if he’s struggling I’ll just wait for him to get right. That said, he has 60 fantasy point upside every time he touches the court so you can still make a case for him in GPPs. Rudy Gobert struggled in this matchup last night but had some foul trouble issues. I don’t love the price tag at this point… he’s more of a secondary cash option for me. Then Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic are fine secondary options. Conley is probably your cash guy where Bogdanovic is more of your GPP type play due to his shooting dependency. You can throw Jordan Clarkson and Royce O’Neale in that GPP category as well.
5-star play: None
4-star play: Devonte’ Graham, Donovan Mitchell, Josh Hart, Mike Conley
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Jonas Valanciunas, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neale
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NBA Lock of the Day: Wendell Carter Jr. (DK – $5.8k; FD – $5.8k)
It feels like I’ve played Wendell Carter Jr. in about six straight slates, but them an is too cheap, simple as that. He has at least 36 DraftKings points in back-to-back games and was in the mid -$6k range for most of the season. He’s at least $600-$800 too cheap right now and I’m going to take advantage of the price tag again here. At this point in the day, I would think he makes my core, but check out our VIP Cheat Sheets as we get closer to lock for staff picks on Core plays, 8x locks of the day, and tiers notes as well!
As always, watch Twitter for updates throughout the day, and stay updated in our VIP Coaching forums as news breaks throughout the day!
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