Yesterday wasn’t the most exciting slate of NBA action, but it was a decent day for the Primer. All and all, I hope everyone was able to end in the Green! To round out the weekend, Sunday brings us another five-game slate. We have just one team (Memphis Grizzlies) on the back end of a back-to-back with the Knicks, Nuggets, Jazz, and the Rockets on the front end of theirs. So with that, let’s dive in.
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. 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
- MEM @ HOU (+11.5) O/U: 238
- UTA @ OKC (+13.5) O/U: 224.5
- TOR @ CLE (-4.5) O/U: 209.5
- NO @ DEN (-3.5) O/U: 227.5
- NY @ LAC (-3.5) O/U: 216.5
Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros
Core Plays
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG-OKC): $10,400 DraftKings, $10,200 FanDuel
SGA has been one of my favorite plays of late. Due to the injuries of Josh Giddey (hip) and Luguentz Dort (shoulder), SGA has taken on an insane workload. With Dort and Giddey out of the lineup, the Thunder point guard post an eye-popping 38.1% usage rate and is over 1.5 fantasy points per minute. I get he doesn’t have the best matchup today against the Utah Jazz, but you can’t ignore those numbers. SGA is one of my top plays tonight.
Brandon Ingram (SG/SF-NOP): $8,300 DraftKings, $8,200 FanDuel
Ingram has been locked in lately, especially over the last two games. Having another veteran player like CJ McCollum to run the floor has helped open things up for BI, and he’s playing looser. Over the past four games, we have seen Ingram go over the 25 point mark three times. His assists have also been steadily rising with the luxury of driving and kicking out to a shooter like CJ. BI has had six or more assists in six of his last seven games. Denver and New Orleans are two of the slower-paced teams in the league, but when a player is as locked in as Brandon Ingram is, he’s going to find a way to get his.
Cash Game Considerations
RJ Barrett (PG/SF-NYK): $7,900 DraftKings, $7,900 FanDuel
Before last game’s off shooting night, RJ Barrett was on a tear. Over his last four games, Barrett is averaging 45.9 DK points and 43.25 FD points. Even in the previous game where he shot an inefficient 6 of 26 from the field, he still put up over 30 fantasy points. So I’ll be going right back to the well with a player that’s been consistently returning six times the return on investment.
Darius Garland (PG-CLE): $8,600 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
Garland is coming off a massive fantasy performance where he put up over 60 fantasy points and a whopping 19 assists! Since he’s been handed the keys to this Cleveland Cavalier offense, he has not disappointed. He’s scored 25 or more raw points in his last five games, and he’s averaging 45.8 DK points over his previous six. Garland’s ability to shoot efficiently from inside and behind the arc, as well as rack up the assists, gives him one of the safest floors in fantasy. Coming off his monster game on Friday, he should be a popular option for cash games, and rightfully so.
GPP Candidates
Christian Wood (C-HOU): $8,000 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
Christian Wood has looked good in his past two performances. He’s scored over 20 points in both of them, grabbed a total of 19 rebounds, and dished five assists in each. He and the Rockets draw a tough matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, but Wood should have plenty of opportunities to have another big game. AT 238, this game has the highest total on the slate, and both of these teams are top five in pace of play, with Houston sitting at number one. Wood will draw Steven Adams, who isn’t the greatest defender so expect him to get plenty of buckets. This game should be a fantasy gold mine, even if it’s a blowout.
Reggie Jackson (PG-LAC): $8,700 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel
I like Jackson’s salary on FanDuel tonight. While I’m a little more hesitant, I will probably come in over the field on him on DraftKings, depending on where his roster percentage lands, of course. Like Garland, injuries have put Jackson in the position to lead this offense, and he hasn’t disappointed. He’s been over a fantasy point per-minute player with a 29.5% usage rate, and he’s been dropping dimes, averaging 8.2 assists over the past nine games. Coming off his massive 60 plus fantasy performance, I expect Jackson to continue dominating tonight against a bad New York Knicks defense.
Value Plays
Tre Mann (PG/SG-OKC): $5,500 DraftKings, $6,200 FanDuel
Someone else has to score besides SGA, right? So far, Mann has stepped up with rookie phenom Josh Giddey (hip) out of the lineup. Over the past seven games, Mann has averaged 32.4 DraftKings points and has scored double-digit raw points in each. He sees over 30 minutes a game in that span as well, so even in a tough matchup like the Utah Jazz, volume and opportunity alone should allow Mann to pay off a $5,500 salary over at DK.
Jalen Green (PG/SG-HOU): $5,600 DraftKings, $5,900 FanDuel
Things seem to be clicking lately for the number two overall pick. He’s put up over 30 fantasy points in four of his last five games while averaging 34.9 DK points in that span. The fast-paced, turn and burn type of game we should see tonight between the Rockets and the Grizzlies suits the young guard’s style of play well. The Grizzlies did play last night, so it’s possible they’re a little tired. However, Green coming off some rest, should have fresh legs, and be ready to continue his great recent play.
NOTE: As always, there will be better value to open up. These are the plays I like from a first look standpoint.
Advantageous Pricing
- Tre Mann (PG/SG-OKC): $5,500 DraftKings, $6,200 FanDuel
- Reggie Jackson (PG-LAC): $8,700 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel
- Darius Garland (PG-CLE): $8,600 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
- Bojan Bogdanovic (SF/PF-UTA): $5,300 DraftKings, $4,400 FanDuel
- Julius Randle (PF/C-NYK): $9,200 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel
- Pascal Siakam (PF-TOR): $9,400 DraftKings, $8,100 FanDuel
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Evan Ritter is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Evan, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter.