Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 12/19:
Apr 22, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts in the fourth quarter during game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-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 position by position and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter (X), 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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NBA DFS Point Guard Plays:
Spend up: Devin Booker (DraftKings $9.7k; FanDuel $10.2k)
Booker isn’t point guard eligible on FanDuel but I have no issue with him over there considering the size of the slate as well. His price tag on DraftKings has fallen under $10k for the first time since mid-November. The Suns will be without Bradley Beal again in this one and seemingly can’t get healthy this season. He has a 32.4% usage rate and 1.4 fantasy points per minute with Beal off of the court this season. The matchup is great as well against a bad Portland team, although it could be a slower-paced game. He has one of the higher ceilings on the slate without sacrificing a floor.
Mid-range: Devin Vassell (DraftKings $6.8k; FanDuel $6.5k)
Another Devin who isn’t going guard eligible on FanDuel, but again firmly in play at this price tag. The Spurs will be without Victor Wembanyama in this one which will open up a ton of opportunity in this offense. With Wemby off of the court this season, Vassell has a 28.3% usage rate and 1.16 fantasy points per minute. This should also be a high-paced game against the Bucks who we’ve seen give up some big games to opposing guards on the season. I love the price tag, love the matchup, and love the boost in production that is available with Wemby off of the court.
Value: Tre Jones (DraftKings $4.7k; FanDuel $4.7k)
It’s fairly clear where the value lies currently on the slate, and that’s with the Spurs. Tre Jones isn’t exactly the most comfortable roster, but you could do much worse if you need value at the position. He’s playing around 20-25 minutes per game and if the Spurs decide to move guys like Sochan and Vassell a position we could see an increase in playing time for Jones. He’s around 0.85 fantasy points per minute on the season with Wemby off of the court and does have a decent ceiling.
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NBA DFS Shooting Guard Plays:
Spend up: Stephen Curry (DraftKings $9.0k; FanDuel $8.7k)
The spend-up options are pretty thin at shooting guard unless you bring Booker over which is more than viable. Desmond Bane is the other option, but I can’t say I love the price tag with Ja Morant likely to make his season debut. SO, we go to Curry in a tough matchup against the Celtics. He has at least 43 DraftKings points in three of his last five games and we know he can get hot from three-point range at the drop of a hat. His price tag is trending down as well which makes it easier to stomach the matchup.
Mid-range: Brandin Podziemski (DraftKings $6.1k; FanDuel $6.2k)
Right back to the Warriors! Podziemski should continue to start as they’ve won back-to-back games with Andrew Wiggins on the bench and Podziemski is playing big minutes. He’s not a guy that just scores as well, he can rack up all the ancillary stats to go along with his shooting. He’s averaging right around a fantasy point per minute with Draymond Green off of the court and could see a boost if Chris Paul is forced to miss as well.
Value: Malaki Branham (DraftKings $5.0k; FanDuel $5.0k)
We’re going right back to the well with the Spurs and the value that opens up with Wemby out in this one. We don’t have any extremely cheap value so we’ll have to settle in the mid-range, but we’re getting multi-position eligibility on Branham on both sites. He’s playing right around 30 minutes per game as of late, so the minutes should certainly be there, he just needs to produce which is easier said than done oftentimes. That said, I do like the matchup a good amount in what should be a fast-paced game.
NBA DFS Small Forward Plays:
Spend up: Jayson Tatum (DraftKings $9.5k; FanDuel $9.8k)
Tatum is the only true spend-up option at the position, but I do think the matchup looks pretty good, especially with Draymond out for the Warriors. He’s been extremely consistent as of late averaging 46.1 DraftKings points per game over his last five. We haven’t seen him this cheap in a while either, so considering the size of the slate, I have no issue going right back to the well on a guy with a 30.7% usage rate and 1.31 fantasy points per minute which has the potential of going up if Kristaps Porzingis is forced to miss again as well.
Mid-range: Keldon Johnson (DraftKings $6.9k; FanDuel $7.0k)
Noticing a theme yet with these Spurs guys? Keldon is going to look great at this price tag with Wemby out and should only see his shot attempts go up, he has at least 14 shot attempts in four straight games and that number continues to climb. He’s put up a decent floor in back-to-back games with poor shooting as well, so if those numbers come up he’s going to look great. He has a 24.3% usage rate and 1.04 fantasy points per minute with Wemby off of the court and I like the game environment as well.
Value: Pat Connaughton (DraftKings $3.9k; FanDuel $3.9k)
This play isn’t for the faint of heart, but the price tag is just too cheap on him if you need a sub-$4k option. He returned from an ankle sprain over the weekend and got his minutes up to 17 last time out which I would expect is his minutes floor in this one. We get good positional eligibility on him as well at SF/PF on DraftKings and SF/SG on FanDuel. He probably doesn’t break the slate but certainly has the ability to get hot from the three-point line and grab a few boards as well.
NBA DFS Power Forward Plays:
Spend up: Giannis Antetokounmpo (DraftKings $11.0k; FanDuel $11.9k)
Now we get to the cream of the crop on the slate with Giannis… it may be hard to find the cheap value to get to him, but he’s going to project as the best raw option on the slate. It’s hard to put a direct position on Giannis but the Spurs are allowing the 4th most fantasy points to opposing centers on the season which tells me they’re giving up a ton at the rim where Giannis lives. Not to mention, the Spurs being without Wemby will put them at a huge size deficiency down low, so expect the rebound opportunity to increase as well. This game also has the highest implied total on the slate at 249, it’s a big spread but the Bucks have had trouble blowing teams out this season.
Mid-range: Jerami Grant (DraftKings $7.1k; FanDuel $7.3k)
The mid-range isn’t all that great at power forward on this slate but I do think we get a solid floor and ceiling with Grant. If the game stays close we know he’s going to play massive minutes, he’s played 38 and 41 minutes in his last two games which will help secure those opportunities. The Suns are a bottom 10 team in basketball in fantasy points per game allowed to opposing power forwards as well. He’s been successful in this matchup already this season with a 46-point DraftKings game as well, I think he looks very solid at this price point.
Value: Bobby Portis (DraftKings $5.3k; FanDuel $5.6k)
I’m cheating a little bit here by going over $5k, but the cheaper you get, the uglier it gets at this position. At least with Portis, we get PF/C eligibility on both DraftKings and FanDuel and he brings a huge ceiling as we saw a few games ago where he dropped a 50-burger on the Pistons. As I mentioned with Giannis, the Spurs have struggled with opposing big men this season and the lack of Wemby will only help that. Portis is a per minute monster and in the right game environment, he can certainly go off. I would expect around 25 minutes for him again in this one and is a guy that makes plenty of sense on these shorter slates.
NBA DFS Center Plays:
Spend up: Jusuf Nurkic (DraftKings $7.4k; FanDuel $7.8k)
The obvious spend-up option here is Giannis, but we already wrote about him, so we’ll go down in the price tier a bit to Jusuf Nurkic who gets a revenge game against his old squad. He dropped 44 DraftKings points on the Blazers earlier this season and has been in great form as of late averaging 42.6 DraftKings points per game over his last five games. The big thing has been the consistency in his minutes, seeing at least 30 minutes in each of those five games. The matchup is solid as well and we know the ceiling is massive when he’s getting the playing time.
Mid-range: Jonas Valanciunas (DraftKings $7.2k; FanDuel $8.0k)
Joe Val has been in elite form as of late averaging 47.9 DraftKings points per game over his last four games and gets a sneaky good matchup here if the Grizzlies do what they did last night. I was expecting them to start Jaren Jackson at the five again, but they moved him back to power forward and started Xavier Tillman at center. If they do this again, Valanciunas should be able to do whatever he wants down low. The ceiling is massive for a guy averaging 1.26 fantasy points per minute on the season.
Value: Zach Collins (DraftKings $4.9k; FanDuel $5.1k)
Love me some Zach Collins in this one, he should regain the starting center spot with Wemby out and see a big boost to his minutes. He has a 23.8% usage rate and 1.14 fantasy points per minute with Wemby off of the court this season. As I’ve mentioned, this game should feature plenty of fantasy point production as well with an implied total at 249, so the game environment will benefit him as well. He was in the $6k range when he was starting earlier this season, so we’re getting a massive discount on him in this one.
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