Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 1/22:
Jan 10, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) dribbles defended by San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-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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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: Luka Doncic (DraftKings $11.2k; FanDuel $12.0k)
Luka is the only true spend-up option on the slate if we’re looking at $10k+ guys. The matchup is tough against the Boston Celtics but he’s about as matchup proof as they come. He shot 22% from three-point range last time out and was still able to drop 70 fantasy points. He’s going to attempt 20+ field goals regardless of whether they’re falling or not, he’s going to look like a great spend-up piece again in this one. The Domination Station has him projected for 59.45 DraftKings points which gives him 5.31x his price tag.
Mid-range: Tyrese Maxey (DraftKings $8.8k; FanDuel $9.0k)
I love the spot for Maxey here and his price tag has fallen below $9k on DraftKings. The Spurs are one of the worst defenses in the league this season, especially when it comes to opposing point guards where they’re allowing the third most fantasy points per game. The one issue in this one could be a blowout in a game that has a 14-point spread, that said, I’m always more willing to play guys on the team doing the blowing out rather than the other side. Our lineup optimizer has Maxey projected for 47.07 DraftKings points giving him 5.35x his current price tag.
Value: Mike Conley (DraftKings $5.4k; FanDuel $6.0k)
Mike Conley is never going to be a sexy option but he makes plenty of sense at this price tag in an elite matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. He had a massive game against the Hornets earlier this season with 36.8 fantasy points. We don’t have much for sub-$5k point guard value right now, so I think Conley is as good as it gets which could certainly change as the day goes on, but he’s going to grade out as nearly a 6x point per dollar option.
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NBA DFS Shooting Guard Plays:
Spend up: Kyrie Irving (DraftKings $9.0k; FanDuel $9.8k)
Similar to Luka, the matchup isn’t good but Kyrie has been in awesome form and is playing right around 40 minutes per game as of late. He’s averaging 53.1 DraftKings points per game over his last four games… oh and he gets a revenge game against his old squad! The Celtics have sneakily allowed opposing point guards to score at will this season as well, they’re allowing the 5th most points per game to opposing point guards on the season, I have no issue going right back to Kyrie in this one although I wouldn’t play him and Luka together.
Mid-range: Jaden Ivey (DraftKings $6.7k; FanDuel $7.5k)
Cade Cunningham was rumored to be returning tonight, but he is now listed as doubtful, so we can go right back to the well with Ivey in this one. I don’t know what took the Pistons so long to actually give him some point guard run and drop the Killian Hayes experiment, but they’ve done it. Ivey has been in unreal form averaging 42.8 DraftKings points per game over his last four. With Cade off of the court this season, he has a 28.1% usage rate and 1.15 fantasy points per minute. Pace up matchup against Milwaukee who has given up some big games to opposing guards this season.
Value: Gary Trent Jr. (DraftKings $4.4k; FanDuel $4.9k)
Trent bounced back nicely last time out and now has at least 22 DraftKings points in two of his last three games and the minutes have been good as of late. The matchup looks great as well against the Grizzlies who are throwing their B-team out there due to being so shorthanded. Trent can be fairly scoring-dependent, so it may be ugly if his shot isn’t falling, but I have no issue going back to him at this price tag. The Domination Station has him projected for 21.3 DraftKings points giving him 4.84x his current price tag.
NBA DFS Small Forward Plays:
Spend up: Jayson Tatum (DraftKings $9.7k; FanDuel $10.0k)
Boston is on a back-to-back, so we’ll want to monitor the Breaking News Feed over at DFSArmy to make sure he’s good to go, but if he’s a full go he’ll look great here. He’s due for some big positive 3-point regression, over his last four games he’s shooting 6-30 from 3-point range. The matchup is also elite against this Dallas team, it’s a +2.3 pace-up spot and Dallas doesn’t exactly play a ton of defense. Our lineup optimizer has him projected for 50.0 DraftKings points giving him 5.16x his price tag.
Mid-range: DeMar DeRozan (DraftKings $7.4k; FanDuel $8.2k)
DeRozan has been extremely solid as of late and has been a guy I’ve been falling on quite a bit, the SF/PF eligibility just makes things work. He’s going to continue to see a boost with Zach LaVine out again in this one. With LaVine off of the court this season, DeRozan has a 26.5% usage rate and 1.11 fantasy points per minute. He had a solid game in this spot last time these two teams played, I have no issue going right back to the well with DDR.
Value: John Konchar (DraftKings $3.9k; FanDuel $4.1k)
Konchar moved into the starting lineup last time out and had a pretty solid game at a dirt cheap price tag. I would expect he sticks around in the starting lineup again in this one and has SG/SF eligibility which is as good as they come especially at this price tag. He’s only SF-eligible on FanDuel, but I have zero issues going to him there as well. Memphis continues to be shorthanded which secures his minutes and he has a 10.3% usage rate and 0.84 fantasy points per minute with Morant, Bane, and Smart off of the court this season.
NBA DFS Power Forward Plays:
Spend up: Giannis Antetokounmpo (DraftKings $11.0k; FanDuel $12.3k)
I love going right back to the well with Giannis in this one, he’s going to look like a top raw option on the slate. He dropped 62 fantasy points in this spot on Saturday and is playing big minutes this season which is a change from what we’ve seen in years past. The Pistons are allowing the 3rd most fantasy points per minute to opposing centers on the season. Giannis is hard to label with a position but it tells me they don’t have a ton for rim protection, I love going back to Giannis here.
Mid-range: Karl-Anthony Towns (DraftKings $7.7k; FanDuel $8.0k)
Love the spot for Towns in this one and has PF/C eligibility on both DraftKings and FanDuel. This Hornets frontcourt does not scare me one bit, especially with Nick Richards coming in as questionable. He had nearly 45 DraftKings points in this matchup earlier this season, I think he should do whatever he wants again in this one. The Hornets are allowing the 3rd most fantasy points per game to opposing PFs on the season and 2nd most fantasy poitns per game to opposing centers on the season, he’s going to look great in all formats.
Value: Naz Reid (DraftKings $4.9k; FanDuel $6.3k)
Naz has a much better price tag on DraftKings than on FanDuel which is where I would prefer to roster him. He’s playing right around 25 minutes per game as of late and is a great per-minute producer, he has at least 29 DraftKings points in his last two games. Similar to Towns, the matchup is about as good as it gets and he has multi-position eligibility. He also had a huge game against the Hornets earlier this season with 35 DraftKings points, he’s not a guy I’m going out of my way to roster but if he makes things work, I like it.
NBA DFS Center Plays:
Spend up: Joel Embiid (DraftKings $11.4k; FanDuel $12.5k)
Embiid is right up there with guys like Luka and Giannis as the top raw option on the slate, and he has a matchup right there with Giannis in the elite category. The Spurs are allowing the 6th most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the season and Embiid has been on a heather over the last month. He’s averaging 61.5 DraftKings points per game over his last four games, the one issue here could be a blowout, but similar to what I said with Maxey, give me the guys on the team doing the blowing out.
Mid-range: Jalen Duren (DraftKings $6.8k; FanDuel $7.6k)
This is more of a price play than anything for me because I don’t think the matchup is all that great for his skill set and we’ve seen that in his production against the Bucks this season. This game also easily has the highest implied total on the slate at 247 and blew that number out of the water last time out at 276. The reason I don’t love the matchup is Giannis and Lopez down low are tough, but if he can stay out of foul trouble, he’s too cheap considering how fast-paced this one should play.
Value: Jontay Porter (DraftKings $4.2k; FanDuel $5.1k)
Porter hasn’t exactly been the most fun roster if you’ve played him at all over the last couple of weeks, he’s extremely volatile but is generally a good producer when the minutes are there. I would expect he will continue to start with Jakob Poeltl out again for the Raptors. He has a 16.5% usage rate and 1.03 fantasy points per minute with Poeltl and Siakam off of the court this season. We don’t have a ton of value at the position or on the slate at this point, he brings legit 8-9x upside at this price tag.
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