Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 01/01:
Dec 31, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts to his three-point basket in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-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!
San Antonio Spurs @ Detroit Pistons
Vegas Total: 224.0
Vegas Spread: Sas -7.0
Let’s get 2022 started with the San Antonio Spurs, they’ll be without Dejounte Murray again here so there will continue to be more minutes and usage for some of these secondary wing pieces such as Lonnie Walker and Devin Vassell in a great matchup with the Pistons. Derrick White was a guy I ended up getting a lot of last night and have no issue going right back to him here, he has a 22.7% usage rate and 1.08 fantasy points per minute with Murray off the court this season and looks like a solid secondary option here as he continues to produce nicely. Right when Keldon Johnson was starting to show some consistency it has fallen off over his last two games. I still don’t have an issue with him here due to the matchup, but probably more of a tournament guy. Then we can round this team out with Jakob Poeltl, he should be able to do whatever he wants down low here against a banged-up frontcourt. From the Pistons, Saddiq Bey and Hamidou Diallo had massive games last time out against the Knicks where Bey went for 51 DraftKings points and Diallo went for 63 DraftKings points. They’re both going to continue to play massive minutes and look like solid options here even at their elevated price tags. I would expect Derrick Walton Jr. to continue to start at point guard with this team being shorthanded, he’s not a good basketball player but minutes are king in NBA DFS. Then we can round this team out with Luka Garza who was a guy that I had a bunch of last time out due to the minutes upside he had, and he showed it, going for 39 minutes. The production wasn’t where we were hoping but he still didn’t kill you at that price tag.
5-star play: Saddiq Bey, Hamidou Diallo
4-star play: Derrick White, Jakob Poeltl, Keldon Johnson, Luka Garza, Derrick Walton Jr.
Deeper Value: Luka Garza
GPP Sleeper: Devin Vassell, Doug McDermott, Lonnie Walker
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Chicago Bulls @ Washington Wizards
Vegas Total: 218.0
Vegas Spread: Chi -2.0
Starting with the Bulls, Coby White has back-to-back 42+ point fantasy nights after shooting lights out last time out. I would expect he starts again here with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso out again, but probably more of a tournament guy at this point, I wouldn’t expect him to shoot 6-7 from three-point range again here. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan both look like fine options in a good matchup but are priced way up on DraftKings, I would get my exposure to them over on FanDuel at a discounted price tag. Nikola Vucevic has been really consistent as of late and a guy I have no issue getting to in any format, he’s shown a nice floor/ceiling as of late. From Washington, Bradley Beal returned last game and looked great going for 55 DraftKings points and now gets a matchup with the Bulls with his back-court partner out. With Spencer Dinwiddie off the court, this season Beal has a 32.2% usage rate and 1.21 fantasy points per minute and looks like a solid option again here. I’m going to continue to go back to Daniel Gafford as well with Montrezl Harrell out again. He has played at least 32 minutes in back-to-back games and has led to at least 35 DraftKings points in back-to-back games. He’s a great per minute guy and someone I’ll go back to the well on. Kyle Kuzma has begun to show some nice consistency as well and looks like a nice option here. Then we can round this team out with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as a GPP option on this shorter slate.
5-star play: Zach LaVine (FanDuel), DeMar DeRozan (FanDuel), Bradley Beal, Daniel Gafford
4-star play: Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Kyle Kuzma
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Los Angeles Clippers @ Brooklyn Nets
Vegas Total: 219.0
Vegas Spread: Bkn -12.0
Starting with the Clippers, they’ll be without Paul George while Reggie Jackson returned last game to play 31 minutes. It’s pretty clear he won’t be limited moving forward but this is a tough tag on DraftKings, I like him much more on FanDuel. Jackson being back will move me right off of Eric Bledsoe and makes Terance Mann more of a secondary tournament option. Marcus Morris continues to look great as well with at least 35 DraftKings points in five straight games and is playing a ton of minutes right now. Then we need to round out the Clippers with their frontcourt as Ivica Zubac has been ruled out. We saw Serge Ibaka get the start last night and still only got up to 18 minutes, that being said, I have no issue going right back to him here in a matchup that would seem to fit well for him at this price tag. From Brooklyn, we saw this team get healthier over the week with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and LaMarcus Aldridge all back in the lineup. They all returned to their usual roles, so I wouldn’t worry much about any sort of restriction. My favorite option from Brooklyn is going to continue to be Harden as he has at least 70 DraftKings points in three straight games and is just steamrolling teams right now but I won’t talk you off of Durant if that’s where you would rather go to.
5-star play: Serge Ibaka, James Harden
4-star play: Reggie Jackson, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge
Deeper Value: Serge Ibaka
GPP Sleeper: Eric Bledsoe, Terance Mann, Patty Mills
Denver Nuggets @ Houston Rockets
Vegas Total: 224.0
Vegas Spread: Den -7.0
Starting with the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic is the obvious play here and is probably the best spend-up option on the slate due to the matchup. He scored 54 DraftKings points in this spot earlier in the season and has at least 60 DraftKings points in three straight after going on a two-game downswing. This Rockets interior is not good and he should do whatever he wants here. I have no issue going back to Will Barton in this spot either, he’s playing a ton of minutes and gets a matchup that he can exploit on the wing. Assuming Aaron Gordon plays he’s a fine tournament option, but keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates surrounding his status here as he comes in as questionable. Then with Monte Morris out, I’ll have a bunch of interest in Facundo Campazzo, he should continue to start and has at least 25 DraftKings points in four of his last five games and has a nice price tag here. From the Rockets, Kevin Porter Jr. came back down to Earth last night, but I think this is the type of player he’s going to be moving forward this season. We know the upside is huge but will be volatile. The same can be said for Jalen Green who was held under 25 fantasy points last night as he dealt with some foul trouble. Christian Wood will have his hands full with Jokic down low, so it’s not the greatest matchup but he hung tough with Jokic earlier in the season and would be a guy I wouldn’t have an issue with going to in tournaments. Then the rest of this team is more MME-type plays than anything with guys like Eric Gordon and Jae’Sean Tate, who returned and dropped 40 DraftKings points last night.
5-star play: Nikola Jokic, Facundo Campazzo
4-star play: Will Barton, Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Christian Wood
Deeper Value: Facundo Campazzo
GPP Sleeper: Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, Aaron Gordon
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!
Golden State Warriors @ Utah Jazz
Vegas Total: 222.5
Vegas Spread: Utah -4.5
Starting with the Warriors, Steph Curry had a down game last time out but has been in good form as of late. This is a tougher matchup but I like Curry quite a bit as a tournament pivot due to the upside he provides. Andrew Wiggins continues to look solid and has seemed to develop some consistency this season, I have no issue with him here for the Warriors. Jordan Poole was set to return last time out before the game was postponed which makes me think he will be a full go here and won’t be limited. Poole back in the starting lineup will likely shift Gary Payton back to the bench and will get me off of him here. I do think we can keep going to Otto Porter Jr. in tournaments however with Draymond Green still out. I do think we can make a case for Kevon Looney here as well, they’ll need some size down low to deal with Gobert on the other end. From the Jazz, it sounds like Mike Conley will return here after resting last night while Joe Ingles comes in as questionable after missing last night as well, so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for that news. Donovan Mitchell has been great as of late and is coming off one of his best games of the season against the Timberwolves. I have no issue going right back to the well on him here. Rudy Gobert should be able to do whatever he wants against a small Warriors team assuming the Warriors aren’t successful in running him off the court. I was big on Jordan Clarkson last night with Conley out but was a pretty average performer, he moves back to a GPP guy here for me along with Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale.
5-star play: Steph Curry, Donovan Mitchell
4-star play: Andrew Wiggins, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic
Deeper Value: Kevon Looney, Royce O’Neale
GPP Sleeper: Otto Porter Jr., Kevon Looney, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Royce O’Neale
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NBA Lock of the Day: Facundo Campazzo (DK – $4.2k; FD – $5.5k)
I talked about Campazzo a bit in the Nuggets breakdown but I’m going to go right back to the well on him again with Monte Morris out. He should draw the start at point guard again and has been good as of late with at least 25 DraftKings points in four of his last five. 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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