Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 12/26:
Dec 20, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges (1) during the second quarter against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-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!
Save 10% on a DFS Army NBA Season Pass with coupon code MADNESS
Before I get started, I need to shoutout a few huge VIP Member wins – “Phamacist” took 1st place in the $300k Fadeway contest which netted him $100k while “da_banditz” grabbed 1st place on FanDuel as well winning $10k- congrats guys!
NBA DFS Point Guard Plays:
Spend up: Trae Young (DraftKings $10.0k; FanDuel $10.1k)
It’s fairly tough to find a spend-up point guard option in a good matchup and I don’t even think I would classify this one as a good matchup. It’s a pace-down matchup against a slower-paced Bulls team. Trae has been in great form however with at least 59 DraftKings points in seven straight games and is averaging over 60 fantasy points per game over his last six. At the moment, the Domination Station has him projected for 51.45 DraftKings points giving him 5.15x his salary, the top point per dollar play in this high-priced range.
Mid-range: Coby White (DraftKings $7.8k; FanDuel $7.8k)
On the other side of that Trae Young matchup is Coby White at $7.8k on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The matchup is much better for him and the rest of this Bulls team in a big pace-up spot against the Hawks. The Bulls are the slowest team in the league while Atlanta is top five in pace, so this spot is going to look great. White has cooled down a bit as of late but he’s playing a ton of minutes and has been in great form ever since Zach LaVine went down. He has a 23.5% usage rate and 1.1 fantasy points per minute with LaVine off of the court this season.
Value: Tre Jones (DraftKings $4.8k; FanDuel $4.9k)
The value stinks at the position right now, so Tre Jones might be our best option. The Spurs have Victor Wembanyama listed as questionable, so the opportunity could open up if he’s forced to miss. As for Tre, he’s been in fine form, but playing around 20 minutes per game. Our lineup optimizer has him projected for 19.7 DraftKings points giving him the top point per dollar rating sub $5k at 4.1x.
Be sure to check out our BRAND NEW Proptimizer tool as well which provides our projection in relation to the PrizePicks line giving us max leverage to hammer home those best prop spots. Our props team has been killing it! CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT.
NBA DFS Shooting Guard Plays:
Spend up: Cade Cunningham (DraftKings $8.3k; FanDuel $8.6k)
I wanted to throw Anfernee Simons in this spot, but his game isn’t on the slate on FanDuel… I do like him over Cade at this price tag on DraftKings. Cade came down to Earth last time out in this matchup but has at least 56 DraftKings points in two of his last three games. The Nets rank 6th in fantasy points allowed per game to opposing shooting guards on the season, I have no issue going right back to Cade in this one, he has one of the higher ceilings in this range.
Mid-range: Bogdan Bogdanovic (DraftKings $6.5k; FanDuel $7.3k)
I like the price tag for Bogdanovic much more on DraftKings for obvious reasons, but I think he’s still in play over there at $7.3k. He came down to Eart a bit last time out but he’s averaging 34.8 DraftKings points per game over his last four games. The Domination Station has him projected for 31.75 DraftKings points giving him 4.88x his current price tag.
Value: Alex Caruso (DraftKings $5.4k; FanDuel $5.3k)
Yet again we strike out in the value range, so going up to the mid-$5k’s to find something we can comfortably play, and I think that’s Alex Caruso in a great matchup against the Hawks. As I mentioned with Coby White, this is a massive pace-up spot for the Bulls, and the Hawks are allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards on the season. He’s not the sexiest play, but he should get the job done in this one at a fair price tag.
NBA DFS Small Forward Plays:
Spend up: DeMar DeRozan (DraftKings $8.2k; FanDuel $8.6k)
If you haven’t noticed, the Bulls are going to look great today given the matchup with his Atlanta team. We get nice positional eligibility on DeRozan on DraftKings with SF/PF while he’s just SF on FanDuel, but the spot is good enough to force him in regardless. He has a 27.2% usage rate and 1.17 fantasy points per minute with LaVine off of the court this season and the Hawks are allowing the 4th most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards on the season.
Mid-range: Jeremy Sochan (DraftKings $6.0k; FanDuel $6.1k)
Sochan has been in great form as of late with at least 36 DraftKings points in two of his last three games and gets a great matchup against a bad defensive Utah Jazz team in this one. Utah is allowing the second most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards on the season, even though Sochan does a lot of his time at point guard, the spot is still going to look great. The lineup optimizer has him projected for 31.8 DraftKings points giving him 5.31x his price tag.
Value: Anthony Black (DraftKings $4.2k; FanDuel $4.6k)
Hopefully, we get some news before the slate starts because our current value plays are ugly. I do think Anthony Black is somewhat viable at the very least, the Magic have ruled out Markelle Fultz for tonight while Jalen Suggs comes in as questionable, Black should see good minutes regardless but sees a solid boost if Suggs is forced to miss. The matchup is about as good as it gets against this Wizards team, so if we’re still struggling for volume by the time lock rolls around, I have no issue with Black at this price and he has some solid positional eligibility on DraftKings.
NBA DFS Power Forward Plays:
Spend up: Victor Wembanyama (DraftKings $9.0k; FanDuel $10.2k)
The price tag is a lot more intriguing on DraftKings, but he’s more than playable on FanDuel as well. He misses their last game after stepping on the ball boy’s foot in pre-game warm-ups, but it doesn’t sound so serious so I think we can expect him to play here. Ever since the Spurs moved him to the five he’s been dominant for DFS. He came down to Earth last time out against the Bulls, but I’m okay overlooking that game. Moving him to center just gives him more opportunities for points, blocks, rebounds, you name it… and the matchup is great against this Jazz team.
Mid-range: Mikal Bridges (DraftKings $7.4k; FanDuel $7.7k)
This is the cheapest we’ve seen Bridges in a long time, generally, he’s in the mid-$8k range. He dropped a 50-burger last time out against the Pistons and gets that same exact matchup in this one. The Pistons are the worst team in the league, so Bridges should be able to do whatever he wants in this one. The Domination Station has him projected for 38.7 DraftKings points giving him 5.23x his price tag.
Value: Tari Eason (DraftKings $5.6k; FanDuel $6.2k)
I’m cheating a little bit here by going over $5k, but the cheaper you get, the uglier it gets at this position. Eason came down to Earth last time out playing just 20 minutes, but they’ve been willing to use him in the closing lineup as of late which has drastically helped his fantasy output. He’s always been a great per-minute producer and has a 19.5% usage rate and 1.14 fantasy points per minute on the season. The matchup is great as well against a fast-paced Pacers team that doesn’t play any defense.
NBA DFS Center Plays:
Spend up: Alperen Sengun (DraftKings $8.7k; FanDuel $8.0k)
We just touched on the Rockets a bit with Tari Eason but I think we can go to the high-end with Sengun as well in this spot. He’s coming off of a monster game last time out against the Pelicans and gets a great matchup again in this one against the Pacers. It’s a massive pace-up spot against the fastest team in the league and he feels slightly too cheap considering his ceiling.
Mid-range: Nic Claxton (DraftKings $6.7k; FanDuel $7.2k)
I absolutely love getting to Claxton on this slate, not only does he feel too cheap, but the matchup is elite. The Pistons are allowing the 2nd most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the season. He has 1.17 fantasy points per minute on the season and has a massive ceiling here. The lineup optimizer has him projected for 34.75 DraftKings points giving him 5.19x his price tag.
Value: Jalen Smith (DraftKings $4.1k; FanDuel $3.9k)
Smith can certainly be volatile, but he’s a lot like Tari Eason where he does the most in short spurts, so if he can run into a few extra minutes he has a real ceiling. He is essentially the direct backup to Myles Turner right now so he’s going to be out there whenever Turner checks out. If Turner were to run into foul trouble or anything like that, Smith has a great ceiling. He’s not going to play a ton of minutes in all likelihood, but he’s averaging 1.3 fantasy points per minute on the season, we can do much worse if you’re looking for a value option.
The only thing you are missing at this point is the key to unlock the next level of your game. Come inside and check us out!! We have experts sharing their secrets and experience on a daily basis. Combining that with the actual ability to ask them questions and get quick answers in return gives you a recipe for success that puts our army hats on leaderboards all over the face of DFS.
When you sign up, don’t forget to use promo code MADNESS to save 10% on your membership each and every month!
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…
