NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Tuesday (2/28)

It was sad to watch that Monday slate. We saw another superstar go down, with LaMelo Ball suffering a fractured ankle. It was a strange injury because it didn’t really seem like anything happened, but we take for granted what a grind it is to play 82 NBA games in a 200-day span. It does open up some value from a DFS perspective, but it’s sad to see players get injured on a nightly basis.

And here are our other top picks for Tuesday:

• NBA Player Prop Bet Rankings Picks & Predictions
• NBA Same Game Parlay Odds, Picks & Predictions
• NBA Player Prop Bet Odds, Picks & Predictions
• NBA PrizePicks Player Prop Bets
• NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions
• NBA Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions

Today’s NBA DFS Lineup Advice

Schedule and Odds

Schedule and Odds

• WAS at ATL (ATL -6) O/U: 233.5
• MIL at BKN (MIL -4.5) O/U: 227
• CHI at TOR (TOR -4.5) O/U: 219.5
• LAL at MEM (MEM -7) O/U: 236.5
• DEN at HOU (DEN -9.5) O/U: 232.5
• SAC at OKC (SAC -3) O/U: 237
• IND at DAL (DAL -6.5) O/U: 236.5
• SAS at UTA (UTA -9) O/U: 236.5
• POR at GSW (GSW -4) O/U: 236
• MIN at LAC (LAC -6) O/U: 232

Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros

Injury Report

• LeBron James (foot) OUT
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) OUT
• Stephen Curry (leg) OUT
• Kristaps Porzingis (knee) OUT
• De’Aaron Fox (wrist) Questionable
• Karl-Anthony Towns (calf) OUT
• Jamal Murray (knee) Questionable
• Kevin Porter Jr.(foot) Questionable
• Jordan Clarkson (thumb) OUT
• Anfernee Simons (foot) OUT
• Jusuf Nurkic (calf) OUT
• Draymond Green (knee) Questionable
• Andrew Wiggins (personal) OUT
• D’Angelo Russell (ankle) OUT
• Steven Adams (ankle) OUT
• Ivica Zubac (calf) Questionable
• Devin Vassell (knee) OUT
• Tre Jones (foot) Questionable
• Collin Sexton (hamstring) OUT
• Ben Simmons (knee) OUT

Core Plays

Anthony Davis (PF/C – LAL): $10,300 DraftKings, $11,000 FanDuel
With James and Russell expected to miss this game, AD should do everything for the Lakers. With those two off the floor this year, Davis leads the team with a 32 percent usage rate. More importantly, he’s averaging 1.6 DK points per minute. If you equate that to the 35 minutes we expect him to play, AD is projected to score 55-60 fantasy points. That’s a ridiculous total from a $10K player, and we know he has an 80-point upside as well.

Ja Morant (PG – MEM): $10,100 DraftKings, $10,000 FanDuel
Ja always shows out against big-name teams, and we expect him to go nuts against the Lakers. The main reason for that is this matchup, with LA ranked 26th in total defense while playing at the fourth-fastest pace in the NBA. That means Morant’s 49-point average for the year should be his floor, especially since LA allows the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.

Kris Dunn (PG/SG – UTA): $3,600 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel
It’s strange that we’re using Dunn as a core play, but injuries have forced him into this spot. Utah just traded away Mike Conley and lost Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson to injuries. That leaves Dunn as the only true ball-handler left, guaranteeing him 30-40 minutes. That’s huge considering his recent form, scoring 40 DraftKings points across 23 minutes in his most recent outing. That’s scary for San Antonio, who rank dead-last in both points allowed and defensive efficiency.

Cash Game Considerations

Nikola Jokic (C – DEN): $11,800 DraftKings, $12,200 FanDuel
The Joker has been the best cash game option for five years now. The big man has established a 50-point floor, averaging 60 DK points per game this season. That makes him impossible to fade, no matter who he faces, but this matchup is awesome. Houston ranks 27th in points allowed and 29th in defensive efficiency. The blowout potential is the only real concern, but Joker is averaging 1.9 DK points per minute in his two matchups with Houston this year.

Damian Lillard (PG – POR): $11,500 DraftKings, $11,200 FanDuel
If you watched Dame’s Sunday masterpiece, you know why he’s in here. Scoring 71 raw points is obviously absurd, but this guy has been playing like that for a month. In fact, Lillard is averaging 59 DK points per game across his last 16 outings. A matchup with Golden State is grand, too, with the Warriors ranked 26th in points allowed while posting a 25th OPRK against opposing point guards. Lillard always goes nuts against his childhood team, too.

Lauri Markkanen (SF/PF – UTA): $9,400 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel
The Spurs are the best matchup in DFS. We discussed how they rank last in points allowed and defensive efficiency, but they’re also surrendering the most fantasy points as well. That’s bad news with how Markkanen has been mauling his opponents, averaging over 42 fantasy points per game this year. He’s also got at least 43 DK points in four of his last five games, and that should be his floor in this fantastic matchup.

GPP Targets

Zach Collins (PF/C – SAS): $6,400 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel
Collins price is finally getting to where it should be, but he’s still a good value in this expanded role. ZC has taken over starting center duties because of the Jakob Poeltl trade, scoring at least 31 fantasy points in five of his six starts. He’s also posting a 36-point average in this newfound role and has always proven to be an elite per-minute producer. We don’t expect Utah to slow him down, ranked 22nd in points allowed and 24th in defensive efficiency.

OG Anunoby (SF – TOR): $5,800 DraftKings, $6,600 FanDuel
OG has struggled since his return, but he should never be below $6,000. This guy usually plays 35-40 minutes when he’s healthy and averaged over 32 DraftKings points per game in that role earlier in the year. We’re going to overlook one bad week because that’s how he played through the opening three months. We don’t expect Chicago to slow him down, with OG averaging 33 DK points per game in their two matchups.

Luguentz Dort (SG/SF – OKC): $5,000 DraftKings, $5,700 FanDuel
Someone needs to carry OKC’s offense with SGA sidelined. Dort is tied for the team lead in usage rate at 27 percent, averaging 1.1 DK points per minute in these circumstances. That’s led to Luguentz scoring at least 26 DK points in six of his last seven games. That’s absurd from such an affordable player, and he shouldn’t have any issues with Sacramento allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing wings.

Value Plays

Talen Horton-Tucker (SG/SF – UTA): $5,900 DraftKings, $5,900 FanDuel
We discussed how Utah is missing its three primary ball handlers, and it should allow THT to take on some of the ball-handling duties. He’s already been doing that since the Conley trade, scoring at least 30 DraftKings points in five of his last six games. That’s all you can ask for from a sub-$6K player, and it should be a sinch against the worst defense in the NBA.

Dennis-schroder.php” class=”fp-player-link fp-id-2780″ target=”_blank”>Dennis Schroder (PG/SG – LAL): $4,900 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
With D-Lo and LeBron both missing this game, Schroder should be the primary ball-handler for LA. He also doesn’t have to compete with Russell Westbrook for touches, and we could be in for 35-40 minutes and a 30 percent usage rate. We’ve seen Schroder score 50 fantasy points on three occasions earlier in the year in a similar role, and we don’t mind that Memphis owns a 21st OPRK against opposing point guards, either.

Daniel Gafford (C – WAS): $4,500 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel
It looks like Porzingis will be out for this game, which means Gafford should play 30 minutes as the starting center. We saw that in Washington’s most recent game, dropping 36 fantasy points across 30 minutes of play. The increase in minutes, rebounds, and shot attempts makes Gafford an elite value at this dirt-cheap price tag, and he should be in for another big night against a 21st-ranked Atlanta defense.

Advantageous Pricing

• Daniel Gafford (C – WAS): $4,500 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel
• Bradley Beal (SG – WAS): $7,600 DraftKings, $9,300 FanDuel
• Clint Capela: (C – ATL) $5,700 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel
• Saddiq Bey (SF – DET): $4,500 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel
• Fred VanVleet (PG – TOR): $9,700 DraftKings, $8,200 FanDuel
• Jarred Vanderbilt (PF – LAL): $4,100 DraftKings, $5,800 FanDuel
• Nic Claxton (C – BKN): $6,200 DraftKings, $7,400 FanDuel
• Michael Porter (SF – DEN): $5,700 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel
• Tari Eason (PF – HOU): $4,000 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
• Dwight Powell (C – DAL): $3,300 DraftKings, $5,100 FanDuel
• Walker Kessler (C – UTA): $6,700 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel
• Kawhi Leonard (SF – LAC): $9,200 DraftKings, $10,500 FanDuel
• Naz Reid (C – MIN): $4,500 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel

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