Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 1/8:
Jan 5, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) dribbles against Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) in the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-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: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (DraftKings $10.4k; FanDuel $11.8k)
It’ll be tough not to like Gilgeous-Alexander again in this one in an elite matchup with the Wizards. He’s playing a bunch of minutes and is averaging 53.7 DraftKings points per game over his last five games. Washington is allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards on the season. The price tag is better on DraftKings, but he’s firmly in play on FanDuel as well. Currently, the Domination Station has him projected for 62.03 DraftKings/62.97 FanDuel points, and will be the top spend-up option for me on the slate.
Mid-range: Collin Sexton (DraftKings $5.8k; FanDuel $7.1k)
Sexton will continue to start for the Jazz and is playing good minutes. The matchup looks great against a fast-paced Bucks team in this one and they’ve been prone to allowing some big games to opposing guards on the season. Similar to SGA, the price tag looks better on DraftKings but is still firmly in play on FanDuel. The lineup optimizer currently has him projected for 30.8 DraftKings/30.16 FanDuel points and makes perfect sense as a mid-range option.
Value: Andre Jackson (DraftKings $3.1k; FanDuel $3.9k)
The Bucks will be without Damian Lillard and Cameron Payne in this one, so it’s kind of unclear what they’ll do with their starting point guard spot. I have a feeling it’ll be Andre Jackson in the starting lineup no matter if they start him at point guard or just move Khris Middleton to point guard and shift some other things around. Regardless, I think we see some nice minutes for Jackson in this one and it’s a good opportunity for the Bucks to give him solidified minutes. With Lillard and Payne off of the court this season, he’s averaging 0.76 fantasy points per minute on the season.
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: Terry Rozier (DraftKings $8.3k; FanDuel $8.8k)
The Hornets continue to be shorthanded with guys like LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, Mark Williams, and P.J. Washington still out. Rozier will continue to be the playmaker in this offense and will look great in all formats. He’s playing massive minutes and has a 28.9% usage rate and 1.13 DraftKings points per minute with these guys off of the court this season. It’s not a great matchup against a slow-paced Bulls team, but they don’t scare me defensively.
Mid-range: Khris Middleton (DraftKings $7.0k; FanDuel $7.0k)
Middleton is going to be one of the best plays on the slate in terms of his value and expected outcome tonight. The Bucks will be without Damian Lillard which will open up a bunch of shots and usage in this offense. With Dame off of the court this season, Middleton has a 32.5% usage rate and 1.27 fantasy points per minute and they’ve taken the training wheels off on him consistently playing over 30 minutes per game over the last couple of weeks.
Value: Bilal Coulibaly (DraftKings $4.6k; FanDuel $4.9k)
I can’t say I love Coulibaly here, but I’m using the Domination Station to help me out and find some sort of cheap option for the position. We have him projected for 22.15 DraftKings points/21.81 FanDuel points which floats him right around 5x his price tag. He has SG/SF eligibility on DraftKings which helps, but just SG on FanDuel. The matchup is fine, but has at least 22 DraftKings points in two of his last three, I don’t love the play, but I think you can do worse.
NBA DFS Small Forward Plays:
Spend up: Jayson Tatum (DraftKings $10.3k; FanDuel $10.5k)
Tatum comes into this one as questionable, so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates as we get closer to lock. That said, I’ll operate under the assumption that he’s good to go here and gets an elite matchup. This Pacers team is the fastest team in the league and doesn’t play any sort of defense and Tatum has been great against them this season averaging 60.4 DraftKings points per game in three games. The Pacers are allowing the 5th most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards and the most to opposing power forwards, Tatum looks great in all formats.
Mid-range: Deni Avdija (DraftKings $6.4k; FanDuel $6.4k)
Massive game for Avdija last time out against the Knicks and has been pretty consistent as of late. He’s averaging 38.6 DraftKings points per game over his last five games and the minutes have been secure which gives him a nice floor at the very least. He sneakily grabs those ancillary stats as well with a double-double in three of his last five. The Domination Station has him projected for 32.3 DraftKings/31.3 FanDuel points.
Value: Kris Dunn (DraftKings $4.3k; FanDuel $5.0k)
The production came down to Earth last time out but he’s been fairly consistent as of late and playing 20-25 minutes as the starting point guard. Similar to Collin Sexton, I love the matchup in a fast-paced game against a Bucks defense that has allowed some nice games to opposing guards this season. He’s averaging right around a fantasy point per minute on the season and has multi-position eligibility on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The lineup optimizer has him projected for 5.26x his price tag on DraftKings and just under 4.6x on FanDuel.
NBA DFS Power Forward Plays:
Spend up: Giannis Antetokounmpo (DraftKings $11.7k; FanDuel $12.8k)
Giannis looks like the top raw option on the slate in a great matchup with the Jazz. As I’ve mentioned with a number of other Bucks players, they’ll be without Damian Lillard in this one which will open up a ton of usage and opportunity in this offense. Giannis has a 36% usage rate and 1.71 fantasy points per minute with Dame off of the court this season. Utah also doesn’t really have anyone they can throw on Giannis defensively, maybe Walker Kessler? But he doesn’t exactly scare you, Giannis looks great if we can find the value to get to him.
Mid-range: Jalen Williams (DraftKings $7.0k; FanDuel $7.5k)
I like the player and the matchup a lot more than the price tag, but the mid-range at the position feels like it’s priced pretty tight, so I like going to Williams in this one. The matchup is elite against this Wizards team that is probably the worst defensive team in the league. He’s been in great form and playing a bunch of minutes, he has at least 35 DraftKings points in three of his last five games. The Domination Station has him projected for 33.8 DraftKings points/33.7 FanDuel points.
Value: Corey Kispert (DraftKings $3.9k; FanDuel $4.5k)
There are a number of non-sexy options here with guys like Kelly Olynyk, Pat Connaughton, and Nikola Jovic, but I’m just going to take the savings on Kispert and he projects to go over 5x on DraftKings. He’s probably a DraftKings-only play for me, but I’m not even sure that I’ll get a ton over there either. He’s extremely scoring-dependent and playing just 15-20 minutes per game as of late. He’s a fine punt option, but certainly not a guy I’m going out of my way to play.
NBA DFS Center Plays:
Spend up: Bam Adebayo (DraftKings $8.8k; FanDuel $9.1k)
It’s a sneaky tough matchup against the Rockets, but Bam is going to look great again in this one. The Heat will be without Jimmy Butler yet again along with Caleb Martin at the wing. Bam has at least 45 DraftKings points in three of his last four games and has a 27.5% usage rate and 1.26 fantasy points per minute with Butler and Martin off of the court this season. He’s also playing a ton of minutes which gives him a nice floor/ceiling combination.
Mid-range: Chet Holmgren (DraftKings $7.7k; FanDuel $8.5k)
If you can’t tell, the Thunder are going to look great tonight! Chet hasn’t been in the best form over his last few games but the matchup is great against the Wizards who are allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the season. Outside of those last three games, he’s been extremely consistent this season. The Domination Station has him projected for 42.5 DraftKings/43 FanDuel points, he’s going to look great in all formats.
Value: Walker Kessler (DraftKings $5.1k; FanDuel $6.6k)
I think Kessler is sneaky tonight, they’ll need his size and defense down low against Giannis and Lopez, so we could see some additional minutes for him. The price tag is obviously much better on DraftKings where I think he’s playable in all formats, while more of a tournament guy on FanDuel. That said, if he does see even a few more minutes he’s going to look great as a guy who averages 1.06 fantasy points per minute on the season.
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…
