Friday was one heck of a slate with many close games and three of the top teams in the Jazz, Suns, and Timberwolves all being upset. Saturday brings us a challenging seven-game slate to tackle, but it should be another fun one nonetheless. So let’s go ahead and get things rolling.
The Primer is a first look article filled with all the information you need to help get your lineups started. We’ll begin with the schedule and odds to highlight which game environments stand out. We follow that up with the injury report, an essential part of any DFS player’s daily process. Then we shed light on some of our top plays of the slate, including core building blocks, GPP candidates, cash game considerations, and salary relief targets. Finally, we’ll always wrap up with our advantageous pricing segment, which uncovers price discrepancies between FanDuel and DraftKings.
So without further ado, let’s jump into another edition of the NBA DFS Primer brought to you by FantasyPros.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Schedule and Odds
- CLE @ CHI (-2.5) O/U: 221.5
- IND @ SA (-6) O/U: 236
- MIN @ MIA (-5.5) O/U: 225.5
- MIL @ GS (+1.5) O/U: 233
- SAC @ UTA (-10) O/U: 231.5
- TOR @ DEN (-5.5) O/U: 225
- WAS @ POR (+7.5) O/U: 219
Note: MIN, CLE, MIA, UTA on back ends of back to backs
Injury Report
- Anthony Edwards (knee) questionable
- Jimmy Butler (illness) questionable
- Caleb Martin (knee) questionable
- Victor Oladipo (injury management) OUT
- Caris LeVert (foot) questionable
- Zach LaVine (knee) questionable
- Alex Caruso (wrist) questionable
- Nikola Vucevic (hamstring) probable
- Ayo Dosunmu (groin) probable
- Otto Porter Jr. (illness) OUT
- Gary Payton II (knee) OUT
- Andre Iguodala (back) OUT
- Aaron Gordon (foot) questionable
- Will Barton (ankle) questionable
- Bones Hyland (knee) probable
- Bojan Bogdanovic (leg) OUT
- Kristaps Porzingis (knee/rest) OUT
- Afernee Simons (knee) OUT
- Malcolm Brogdon (concussion) OUT
The injury report can change at any minute, and all player statuses are subject to change whether they’re on the injury report or not. Paying attention to as much news as possible is crucial to long-term success in DFS. It can also give you a severe leg up on anyone in the field who fails to do so. Once the later game information becomes available, be sure to take advantage of late swapping. Late swap allows you to get off the chalk and plug-in value plays that may not have been expected or get to a high upside play in an attempt to take one last run at the top of the leaderboard. Keeping up with all the news and information that comes out can be a lot to manage, but it’s essential.
Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros
Core Plays
Dejounte Murray (PG-SA): $10,800 DraftKings, $10,800
Dejounte Murray is quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch in the NBA. He’s easily one of the best point guards and all-around players in the entire league. The young guard’s ability to contribute in multiple categories makes him one of the better fantasy players to target, as well. Murray is averaging close to a triple-double on the season with 20.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists a game. He’s scored over 50 fantasy points in five consecutive games now. Murray now gets another cake matchup against an Indiana Pacers team who ranks 26th in defensive rating (113.5), 24th in defensive rebounds (33.7), and 26th in points in the paint allowed (50.4). Dejounte Murray is a walking triple-double who should have no problem putting up another big game against the substandard defense of the Pacers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF/C-MIL): $12,200 DraftKings, $11,800 FanDuel
This game will feature Steph Curry ($10,000 DK, $9,300 FD) and Giannis Antetokounmpo, two premier talents and the faces of the NBA. It’s going to have a playoff atmosphere and one I’m sure the teams have had circled on their calendar since the start of the season. I can’t wait to watch this game. As far as DFS goes, this is the exact type of game Giannis lives for, and I don’t think the Warriors are going to have an answer for him. This isn’t the same Warriors defense we saw earlier in the year since the loss of Draymond Green. Giannis has scored 65 or more fantasy points in three of his last four games and should be well on his way to making that four of five tonight. Giannis had a triple-double in his previous game against Golden State, going for 30 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and three blocks. Expect another huge night from “The Greek Freak.”
Cash Game Considerations
Darius Garland (PG-CLE): $9,200 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel
Darius Garland has taken over this Cleveland Cavalier offense. Jarrett Allen (finger) is now out of the lineup for a lengthy period of time, and he will most likely have to take on an even more prominent offensive role. The All-Star point guard is coming off a career night two games ago against the Indiana Pacers, where he put up 41 points, five rebounds, and 13 assists. In addition, he’s posted four double-doubles in a row, averaging 27 points and a stellar 13 assists during that span. With a 27.9% usage rate, Garland has one of the safest floors in fantasy basketball right now.
Rudy Gobert (C-UTA): $7,800 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel
Rudy Gobert is a rebounding machine, averaging 14.7 a game. In my mind, he continues to be underpriced, but it’s allowed for him to have an excellent floor. Gobert now gets to face off against the Sacramento Kings, who have a bottom-of-the-barrel defense, especially against big men. Two games ago, Julius Randle went for 46 and 10 while Nikola Jokic dominated this Kings’ defense with 38 points and a whopping 18 rebounds in their last game. The Kings have an OPRK of 29th on DraftKings and 30th on FanDuel. Rudy Gobert should dominate and easily pay off a sub 8k salary.
GPP Targets
Evan Mobley (PF/C-CLE): $7,500 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel
I mentioned how the Jarrett Allen (finger) injury has impacted Darius Garland‘s recent play, and it’s done the same for rookie Evan Mobley. He’s 51 DraftKings points and 51.6 FanDuel points over the last three games. Mobley has had a double-double in each of his previous three games, averaging 20.3 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. FanDuel has adjusted for his recent play, but DraftKings hasn’t entirely caught up, making him an excellent GPP target tonight against a bad Chicago Bulls defense.
Buddy Hield (SG/SF-IND): $7,300 DraftKings, $7,200 FanDuel
Buddy Hield has fit right into this Pacer’s squad and has taken on a significant role. Hield has been a sneaky good DFS play, as well. He’s not a player who will break the slate, but he’s had an excellent floor since being traded. We know Hield can shoot the ball, but he’s also contributed rebounds and assists. Buddy will give you a solid floor with a low roster percentage, but if he can get hot from the field, he could smash his price tag.
Value Plays
Jordan Poole (PG/SG-GS): $5,700 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel
Jordan Poole‘s recent play has been phenomenal, and when role players for the Warriors get rolling like this, they’re a dangerous team. He’s a thousand dollars more expensive on FanDuel, so I will be targeting him more on DraftKings, but he’s a viable option on either side. Over the last five games, Poole has averaged a stellar 38.8 DK points and 23.8 raw points. Surprisingly, the Bucks don’t defend the guard position well with an OPRK of 21st on FanDuel and 25th on DraftKings. So I see no reason not to continue to ride the hot hand of Jordan Poole in a game that Vegas projects to have a lot of scoring, as the implied total of 233 suggest.
Monte Morris (PG-DEN): $5,200 DraftKings, $5,600 FanDuel
Monte Morris is another guard who has really turned it on and has been playing well as of late. The veteran point guard has scored 30 or more fantasy points in three of his last four games and has played 30 plus minutes in all of those games, as well. He does draw a tough matchup against the Toronto Raptors, but when you’re hot, you’re hot, and I think Morris is still at a price point that allows for some more value to be squeezed out.
Goga Bitadze (C-IND): $3,600 DraftKings, $4,900 FanDuel
Bitadze (foot) is questionable for tonight’s game against the Spurs, so be sure to check his status before deciding to plug him into your lineups. However, I think he’s a viable value option if he can go. Over the last two games, he’s totaled 35 points and 15 rebounds in less than 25 minutes on the floor. That type of play should earn him some more minutes, so he’s worth taking a shot on, especially over at DraftKings, where he’s only $3,600.
NOTE: As always, there will be better value to open up. These are the plays I like from a first look standpoint.
Advantageous Pricing
- Goga Bitadze (C-IND): $3,600 DraftKings, $4,900 FanDuel
- Jordan Poole (PG/SG-GS): $5,700 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel
- Evan Mobley (PF/C-CLE): $7,500 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel
- Darius Garland (PG-CLE): $9,200 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel
- Stephen Curry (PG-GS): $10,000 DraftKings, $9,300 FanDuel
- Tyrese Haliburton (PG/SG-IND): $9,000 DraftKings, $8,300 FanDuel
- Jrue Holiday (PG-MIL): $7,900 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel
- Anthony Edwards (SF/SG-MIN): $7,600 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel
- Josh Hart (SG/SF-POR): $7,900 DraftKings, $5,900 FanDuel
- Karl-Anthony Towns (C-MIN): $10,600 DraftKings, $9,400 FanDuel
- Domantas Sabonis(C-IND): $9,300 DraftKings, $8,400