DFS NBA Full Court Press: FanDuel & DraftKings Main Slate - Apr. 1st, 2022

Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 04/1:

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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Dallas Mavericks @ Washington Wizards

Vegas Total: 220.5

Vegas Spread: Dal -8.5

We’ll kick this slate off starting with the Mavericks,  Luka Doncic has been in great form with at least 73 DraftKings points in back to back games and will be atop the projections tonight in terms of raw points and will be a nice option in all formats assuming we can find the value. I’ll continue to be underweight on Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie, as their consistency is hindered with Doncic in there. If you want to go there in tournaments I won’t talk you off of him, but not really priorities for me, although we do get a revenge game for Dinwiddie against his old Wizards team. Reggie Bullock has been playing all of the minutes he can handle and has been in solid form, however, on a huge slate, I’m not sure how much we’ll need to get to him here. Then we can round this team out with Dwight Powell and Dorian Finney-Smith as secondary tournament options as well, they come into this one in nice form. From the Wizards, it sounds like Kyle Kuzma will continue to be out here meaning more production for a lot of this team. The main piece being Kristaps Porzingis who has a 33.3% usage rate and 1.53 fantasy points per minute with Kuzma off of the court this season. I’m going to continue to have interest in Deni Avdija as well, the guy has been sneaky consistent with at least 27 DraftKings points in five of his last six games and gets a nice matchup here. Rui Hachimura and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope aren’t sexy DFS names but are in play as secondary GPP options at the very least after coming off of nice games last time out. Then we can round this team out with Tomas Satoransky who should continue to start at point guard at a cheap price tag. He’s been solid since taking over the starting job for Washington with at least 22 DraftKings points in four straight games.

5-star play: Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis

4-star play: Deni Avdija, Tomas Satoransky

Deeper Value: Dwight Powell, Tomas Satoransky

GPP Sleeper: Jalen Brunson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Quick shoutout to VIP member “Cenzamatic” on a massive $20k win on Tuesday night! Sometimes paying up for double studs works, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant brought it home for him with the help of some Stanley Johnson and Pistons value. Good work and congrats man!

Toronto Raptors @ Orlando Magic

Vegas Total: 219.0

Vegas Spread: Tor -9.5

Starting with the Raptors, Pascal Siakam has been in great form as of late and gets a great matchup with this Magic frontcourt, he’ll be a guy I like in all formats again here. The minutes look like they’re back to being fully back for Fred VanVleet who has at least 32 DraftKings points in four of his last five games. That being said, I do like the FanDuel price tag better where he’s almost $1k cheaper. I’ll have no issue with Scottie Barnes as well, he should continue to play big minutes as well. The price tag is starting to come back down to a more playable range as this team begins to get healthier. OG Anunoby seems to have found his footing and has gotten his minutes back. I like the price tag on him and will look like a nice mid-range option. Gary Trent Jr. will be more of a GPP guy with these guys mostly back, but the minutes will be there for him, and can light it up in a hurry but is very scoring dependent. Lastly, Precious Achiuwa is a fine GPP guy as well, the minutes should continue to be in the 20-25 range, and gets a nice matchup here. From the Magic, Wendell Carter Jr. comes into this one as questionable, so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates on his status. Cole Anthony has been tough to trust as of late even with the Magic missing some of their main pieces. He’ll continue to be more of a tournament guy for me due to the volatility he’s shown. Franz Wagner and Mo Bamba both look like solid options in this price range, if we operate under the assumption that Carter Jr. is good to go I’ll keep Bamba for tournaments as well. Then we saw Markelle Fultz finally have a big game last time out but I wouldn’t expect to see him get much more than around 22ish minutes, so you’ll need him to be pretty efficient but the price tag is nice.

***UPDATE – Wendell Carter Jr. has been ruled OUT tonight – see the Breaking News Channel for updates on the below***

5-star play: Pascal Siakam

4-star play: Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Wendell Carter Jr., Franz Wagner

Deeper Value: Precious Achiuwa, Markelle Fultz

GPP Sleeper: Gary Trent Jr., Precious Achiuwa, Cole Anthony, Mo Bamba, Markelle Fultz

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Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics

Vegas Total: 221.5

Vegas Spread: Bos -15.0

Starting with the Pacers, I’m going to leave this team’s breakdown to our Breaking News Channel due to the amount of news we’re waiting on from them. Malcolm Brogdon, Oshae Brissett, Goga Bitadze, and Isaiah Jackson all come into this one as questionable and will impact the minutes and usage the rest of this team will see. I will say, this is a tough matchup with a great Boston defense, so it’s not the best spot for the guys that are good to go. From the Celtics, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum should be able to do whatever they want in this one. The Pacers haven’t been able to stop anyone all season long and there’s a reason the Celtics come in as 15 point favorites here. Brown is averaging 49.2 DraftKings points in three games against the Pacers this season and is coming off a 50 burger last time out. They’ll be without Robert Williams for the next month or so meaning we should continue to see Grant Williams in the starting lineup. He’s not a huge per minute guy at just 0.69 fantasy points per minute with Williams off of the court this season but will be a fine value option if nothing else opens up on this slate. Al Horford is over a fantasy point per minute with Williams off of the court and will be a fine option here, but he’ll be one of the first guys off of the court if this game turns into a blowout, so he’ll need to be efficient. Then Marcus Smart and Derrick White will continue to be secondary GPP guys with Brown and Tatum back in there. Lastly, I do think Daniel Theis could see some blowout run and get you there at a cheap price tag if you need a GPP dart.

5-star play: IND TBD, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown

4-star play: IND TBD, Al Horford, Marcus Smart

Deeper Value: Grant Williams, Daniel Theis

GPP Sleeper: IND TBD, Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Daniel Theis

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Sacramento Kings @ Houston Rockets

Vegas Total: 231.5

Vegas Spread: Sac -2.0

We saw this matchup the last time these two teams played and turned out to be very conducive to fantasy points, so we should be able to find a good amount of plays in this one. We’ll start with the Kings, Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox will be out again for this one meaning we should see guys like Davion Mitchell and Damian Jones again. Below is how this team operates with these two off of the court over the past four weeks:

• Davion Mitchell – 26.2% usage rate; 0.99 fpm
• Damian Jones – 18.5% usage rate; 1.05 fpm
• Donte DiVincenzo – 19.8% usage rate; 0.89 fpm
• Harrison Barnes – 18.1% usage rate; 0.70 fpm
• Chimezie Metu – 24.0% usage rate; 0.88 fpm
• Trey Lyles – 18.2% usage rate; 0.93 fpm

These would be my main options from Sacramento, I don’t really have a ton of interest in guys like Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb who either aren’t great per minute guys or will see volatile minutes. This is an elite matchup against a bad Rockets defense, so I would imagine I have a good amount of exposure to this team at this time. Mitchell, Lyles, and Jones all had big games last time out and will look like great options again here. From the Rockets, Christian Wood has been shut down for the rest of the season which will open the door for Alperen Sengun and the rest of these bench guys to show what they have. Sengun missed their last game and comes into this one as questionable, so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates surrounding his status. Assuming he starts, he’ll look like a solid option and has averaged 31.77 FanDuel points per game in seven games without Wood this season. The matchup sets up well, so no issue getting up to his elevated price tag either. Jalen Green has been really good as of late with at least 40 DraftKings points in three straight games and will be a guy I like in all formats again here. Kevin Porter Jr. had probably the best game of his career last time out on his way to 70 DraftKings points. We can’t expect that kind of production again here, but the matchup is obviously great for his skill-set. Then we can round this team out with Jae’Sean Tate who could see a higher rebound equity with Wood off of the court at a nice price tag. He was a core play for me last time out but saw limited minutes due to foul trouble, I’m willing to look over that and go right back to him here.

5-star play: Davion Mitchell, Damian Jones, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun

4-star play: Donte DiVincenzo, Harrison Barnes, Trey Lyles, Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate, KJ Martin

Deeper Value: Chimezie Metu, KJ Martin, Usman Garuba, Bruno Fernando

GPP Sleeper: Josh Christopher, Chimezie Metu, KJ Martin, Harrison Barnes,

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Phoenix Suns @ Memphis Grizzlies

Vegas Total: 228.5

Vegas Spread: Pho -7.0

Starting with the Suns, Devin Booker came back down to Earth over his last two games and is probably a guy that I’ll be lower on going forward until his price tag adjusts to Chris Paul being back. The same can be said for Chris Paul as he had a down game last time out, but he’s looked great since returning from injury and is a guy I wouldn’t have an issue going right back to here as a secondary option. Deandre Ayton has been extremely consistent as of late and the price tag hasn’t really moved, he’ll look like a nice option in all formats. Then the rest of this team is fine for GPP fillers, but not anyone that I think we need to get to on a 10-game slate. It’s worth noting that Cameron Johnson is expected to return here so expect Jae Crowder and Torrey Craig to take a bit of a minutes hit. From the Grizzlies, it’s looking like it will be a rest day for their starting five as Desmond Bane, Steven Adams, Tyus Jones, and Jaren Jackson come into this one as doubtful. I would expect we see guys like De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, Xavier Tillman, and Ziarie Williams enter the starting lineup and will play a bunch of minutes. Even with these four guys out the Grizzlies still have 11 guys available, so they won’t need to play every second of every minute, but the minutes will definitely be there for them. My favorite guys at this moment would probably be Melton, Brooks, Tillman, and Brandon Clarke. They’re the best per-minute guys active tonight and will be guys I get a good amount of exposure to. The guys averaging more than a fantasy point per minute with Jones, Jackson, Morant, and Bane off of the court this season are listed below:

• John Konchar – 15.7% usage rate; 1.10 fpm
• Xavier Tillman Jr. – 19.5% usage rate; 1.02 fpm
• De’Anthony Melton – 23.6% usage rate; 1.15 fpm
• Brandon Clarke – 26.5% usage rate; 1.28 fpm
• Kyle Anderson – 22.9% usage rate; 1.04 fpm (small sample size)
• Dillon Brooks – 30.9% usage rate; 1.02 fpm (small sample size, but would expect these numbers to come up if anything)

5-star play: De’Anthony Melton, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman

4-star play: Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, John Konchar, Kyle Anderson

Deeper Value: Xavier Tillman, Brandon Clarke, John Konchar

GPP Sleeper: Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges

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Los Angeles Clippers @ Milwaukee Bucks

Vegas Total: 232.0

Vegas Spread: Mil -8.0

Starting with the Clippers, I think we could see some funky stuff here with Paul George especially. With him just coming off of an injury and this being on the back end of a back-to-back, I’m almost expecting that he sits tonight… but watch out for that news. I just hate trusting Ty Lue, he came out and said Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, and Nicolas Batum would be on a minutes limit for the rest of the season and they played 40, 39, and 38 minutes last night against the Bulls. These are all guys that I could see sitting here as well. I suppose I’ll operate under the assumption that everyone is active, but I’m going to toss my computer in the dishwasher when it comes out that they’re all being rested (just preparing myself at this point). Paul George has a 34.4% usage rate and 1.30 fantasy points on the season and I would think they want to get him ramped up for the playoffs, so he should see another 30+ minutes here assuming he plays. The only other guys I would have interest in from the Clippers are in the frontcourt with Isaiah Hartenstein and Ivica Zubac. Right as we thought Hartenstein was going to take the keys from Zubac he saw just 18 minutes last night and will be a tournament guy going forward. Zubac is in the same boat, he saw 32 minutes last night but has been extremely volatile as of late. From the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in great form with at least 70 DraftKings points in back-to-back games and will look like a high-end spend-up option in this one again as he continues his MVP bid. Jrue Holiday has been in great form as well with at least 44 DraftKings points in three straight games and will look like a fine GPP option here. Khris Middleton lost a good chunk of minutes after he was ejected last night but still had a nice fantasy night, he’s a solid secondary option here. Brook Lopez had his worst game since returning from injury last night and saw his price come up overnight, so more of a deeper GPP guy here. Oppositely, Bobby Portis has seen his minutes decrease as he’s moved back to the bench with Lopez back and is just overpriced right now. Then we can round this team out with Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton as GPP value options…but I don’t think we’ll need them on this slate.

5-star play: Giannis Antetokounmpo

4-star play: Paul George, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, Ivica Zubac, Isaiah Hartenstein, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis

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Detroit Pistons @ Oklahoma City Thunder

Vegas Total: 220.0

Vegas Spread: Det -4.0

Starting with the Pistons, they’ll be without Jerami Grant again here along with Marvin Bagley coming in as questionable after leaving early last night. I would think Bagley just sits this one out, they don’t have any reason to push him here. If we operate under the assumption that he’s out we should see Kelly Olynyk enter the starting lineup and would be one of my favorite value options on the slate in an elite matchup against the Thunder.  Olynyk has been a great per minute guy in his career and has at least 25 DraftKings points in three of his last four games. Cade Cunningham will continue to look like a solid option as well, he couldn’t ask for a better matchup, as this Thunder team looks more like a G-League team than anything right now. Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes cooled off a bit last night but are guys I have no issue going right back to in this matchup. Then we can round out the team with Saddiq Bey as a secondary option, he can be a little more volatile than I love to get to. From the Thunder, they’ll be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tre Mann again here. We’ll probably end up having to roster a couple of these Thunder guys again with them having just eight active bodies tonight in a great matchup. Guys like Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Isaiah Roby are the options I feel most comfortable with. That said, Aaron Wiggins and these ancillary pieces performed well relative to their salaries as well.

***The below assumes Marvin Bagley is OUT***

5-star play: Cade Cunningham, Kelly Olynyk, Theo Maledon

4-star play: Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, Aleksej Pokusevski, Isaiah Roby

Deeper Value: Vit Krejci, Lindy Waters, Cory Joseph, Kelly Olynyk

GPP Sleeper: Cory Joseph, Saddiq Bey, Vit Krejci, Lindy Waters, Aaron Wiggins, Olivier Sarr

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Portland Trailblazers @ San Antonio Spurs

Vegas Total: 231.0

Vegas Spread: Sas -14.5

Starting with the Blazers, They’re extremely similar to the Thunder in that the starting lineup is going to be gross, but man they can produce some value at their respective price tags. Drew Eubanks was a guy I was lower on last time out as I expected people to chase his game against the Thunder. He gets a revenge game against his old team here and will continue to play big minutes if you want to get some exposure here. Brandon Williams is another fine option here, I do like targeting this Spurs team with opposing point guards so he and Kris Dunn will look like solid options for me in this spot. CJ Elleby and Keon Johnson will look like solid secondary pieces as well, I just don’t think either of them are great DFS players. Greg Brown got the start in his return from injury last time out and is a guy I think is a fine value option, but we won’t have any shortage of value on this slate, so probably more of a tournament guy. From the Spurs, Dejounte Murray has bounced back in a big way over his last few games with at least 55 DraftKings points in three straight games and gets an elite matchup here. He’ll look like a top spend-up option on this slate. Keldon Johnson has also looked good over his last handful of games as well and is a solid tournament option, I just have a hard time pulling the cash trigger on him. Jakob Poeltl is averaging 39.3 DraftKings points per game in two games against the Blazers this season and a guy I have no issue going right back to here against Eubanks down low. Josh Richardson has been in solid form as of late but I don’t think he’s a guy we need to get to on this slate. Then we can round the team out with Devin Vassell as a secondary filler piece if you happened to land on him.

5-star play: Dejounte Murray

4-star play: Drew Eubanks, Brandon Williams, Kris Dunn, Jakob Poeltl, Keldon Johnson

Deeper Value: Greg Brown

GPP Sleeper: CJ Elleby, Keon Johnson, Devin Vassell

Use the 2021-22 NBA DFS Sim Model and build stronger lineups for cash games and/or large-field tournaments! Run the slate 1000 times and see who comes out on top most often, who creates value, and who is most likely to post that gpp-winning outlier…

New Orleans Pelicans @ Los Angeles Lakers

Vegas Total: 234.0

Vegas Spread: Lal -1.0

We saw these two teams match up a couple of games ago, so we have a little something to go off of here. Starting with the Pelicans, Jonas Valanciunas has been playing great as of late with at least 40 FanDuel points in six straight games and looks like a solid option again here. CJ McCollum has cooled off a bit as of late, but should be able to do whatever he wants against this Lakers defense and is a fine secondary tournament option. Brandon Ingram has been in great form as of late and gets a revenge game against the team that drafted him. Then guys like Devonte’ Graham and Herb Jones are more filler pieces than anything on a big slate. From the Lakers, it sounds like Anthony Davis is going to return here. I would think he’s limited since he’s been out since the middle of February, so I think we can safely fade him but will impact the rest of the guys on the team due to the usage that he demands. I think I’m still okay getting to some Russell Westbrook in GPPs due to the form he’s been in, but I don’t know that I would get to him in cash games. I’ll have no problem going back to Malik Monk either, he’s been in good enough form and the minutes will continue to be there for him. The guys that will take the biggest hit will be the group of Dwight Howard, Wenyen Gabriel, Carmelo Anthony, and Stanley Johnson… I’ll probably be off of them here, especially on a big slate.

5-star play: None

4-star play: Jonas Valanciunas, CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk

Deeper Value: None

GPP Sleeper: Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook

NBA Lock of the Day: Kelly Olynyk (DK – $3.7k; FD – $4.1k)

We saw Marvin Bagley leave the game early last night and I’ll be operating under the assumption that he misses the game tonight. With that being said, I would imagine Kelly Olynyk will slide into the starting lineup and has a 22.2% usage rate with 1.12 fantasy points per minute with Jerami Grant and Bagley off of the court this season. He’s been in good form and will be a guy I love especially in a nice matchup. 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!

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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 SharpBets 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…