Welcome to the Monday NBA DFS slate. I hope you’ve had a profitable weekend and a wonderful season as we inch closer to the playoffs. After a busy college basketball weekend, we’re back to making NBA lineups.
If you’re going to play NBA DFS, you must keep in mind lineup announcements and stay tuned for late swapping. That will be the easiest way to stay ahead of the field and in the money. We have six- and eight-game slates tonight, which is a little small for my taste and forces creativity. Ultimately, it’s about making the right choices and picking your spots, which is why I’m here. Let’s break down the top plays for this slate.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
Anthony Edwards (SG, SF – MIN)
- DraftKings: $9,500
- FanDuel: $9,300
The guard options drop off quickly after Luka Doncic today with Josh Giddey coming after Anthony Edwards. Considering the Minnesota guard is almost $3,000 cheaper than Doncic in a much friendlier DFS matchup, I’m opting for Edwards as my go-to guard tonight.
The Pacers will pace up the Timberwolves a lot in this game and have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing guards over their last 30 matches. Edwards is dealing with a thumb injury, so monitor that situation, but assuming he’s good to go, he will be highly rostered and a popular play tonight.
Scottie Barnes (PG, SF, PF – TOR)
- DraftKings: $8,700
- FanDuel: $9,400
If you know anything about me then you know this was an inevitable selection. Washington offers a delightful matchup for opposing DFS players, so I imagine Toronto will be one of, if not, the most rostered team tonight.
The Wizards have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing teams over their last seven games and the most this season. They will pace up the Raptors and have one of the worst defenses in the league. Scottie Barnes offers the guard-forward status on DraftKings we all love, without breaking the bank. He makes for an easy play here.
Zion Williamson (SF, PF – NOP)
- DraftKings: $9,200
- FanDuel: $9,100
It’s tough to throw someone like Zion Williamson as a core play when he’s been out for the last two games, but if he’s starting and playing his expected minutes, he might be the highest-rostered player on the slate. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing power forwards than Philadelphia in their last seven games and the second-most in the last 15 games.
Williamson has a monstrous 33% usage rate with nearly 30 minutes expected if he’s back. There will be a lot of New Orleans options tonight, so keep an eye on things here because it has the chance to open up a lot of value.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
Jakob Poeltl (C – TOR)
- DraftKings: $5,800
- FanDuel: $6,900
As the injury report is still not out during the typing of this article, there is a chance Jakob Poeltl sits tonight coming off the back-to-back as his injury designation is still not known. Assuming he does play, he makes for an excellent value option.
Honestly, whoever does end up playing for the Raptors can be a value filler within your lineups. It’s just a matter of who is playing. Poeltl didn’t play yesterday, so his rostership might be even more limited, but his usage rate has seen a nice spike when he is on the floor recently. At sub-$6,000 he’s an easy value option.
Klay Thompson (SG, SF – DAL)
- DraftKings: $6,400
- FanDuel: $5,500
Klay Thompson’s pricing is spiked now given the roster de-construction, but he is still a steal on FanDuel. Anthony Davis is still expected out as are some other ancillary pieces.
We’ve seen a minutes boost since the All-Star break for Thompson. His usage is up around 25% and he has guard-forward eligibility. I can’t say he’s my favorite cash option I’ve ever rostered but he isn’t the worst.
Aaron Gordon (PF – DEN)
- DraftKings: $6,500
- FanDuel: $6,300
Assuming Nikola Jokic is out, guess where more usage will go? The higher usage wasn’t exactly there yesterday, but Aaron Gordon did see a big minutes bump against Houston, seeing the floor for 37 minutes last night. He’s averaged a 23% usage rate over the last five games and has peaked at 35% against Golden State.
A lot of people are going to pivot to the Denver offense knowing they can’t roster Jokic, and that’s expected. They also are in one of the friendliest matchups on the slate and playing in a game with the highest total against the Bulls. My main point is that without Jokic in the lineup, most of the Denver starters are all great late-swap options.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
Tyrese Haliburton (PG, SG – IND)
- DraftKings: $8,500
- FanDuel: $9,100
Given Tyrese Haliburton’s pricing and rostership, he makes for a clear GPP target with his capacity to get over 60 fantasy points a game. It’s not the best option in terms of matchup, but Minnesota’s defense has taken a small step back while playing at a bit of a faster pace since the All-Star break.
You know the consistent minutes and you know the consistent usage. Haliburton is coming in around 10-12% rostered and has a chance for a ceiling performance I’d put higher than that. He is a simple leverage option.
Franz Wagner (SG, SF, PF – ORL)
- DraftKings: $8,900
- FanDuel: $8,100
On FanDuel, Franz Wagner is a solid play given his price and he should garner rostershop. On DraftKings, he’s way more of a GPP play. Between him and Paolo Banchero, you can flip a coin in your deeper GPPs but my option is Wagner.
Nobody is going to play this Orlando-Los Angeles game but somebody has to score. Wagner has seen a 30% usage rate consistently in the last two weeks, even with a healthy lineup, so there is a very real ceiling chance for someone who is sitting right around double-digit percentage rostership.
Jordan Poole (PG, SG – WSH)
- DraftKings: $6,300
- FanDuel: $6,600
I mentioned the guard drop-off earlier. Even with that and a limited player pool selection, Jordan Poole is still only expected to see around 12-15% rostership tonight. He’s off the injury report, has a 30% usage rate and despite Washington’s poor offense, this is a pretty friendly matchup.
Toronto has been a top-five pace-of-play team in their last 10 games, ranking 11th on the season. Their defense is fine but still sub-par for the whole year and they are likely sitting some key starters for the back-to-back. Rostering Wizards players always feels risky, but with Poole’s pricing and the matchup, he’s an easy option, even if his rostership gains some traction as we get closer to lock.
NBA DFS Value Plays
DeAndre Jordan (C – DEN)
- DraftKings: $3,000
- FanDuel: $3,600
This is assuming Nikola Jokic is out, but if that’s the case, DeAndre Jordan will be an absolute smash play tonight at minimum price on DraftKings. With Jokic out last night, Jordan played 38 minutes and managed 38 fantasy points.
Jordan is facing the Bulls at home in a fantastic matchup on a back-to-back. He will be highly rostered but there’s a chance he’s a free square tonight if he plays similar minutes.
If Jokic does play, another fine value center is Day’Ron Sharpe.
Ziaire Williams (SG, SF – BKN)
- DraftKings: $4,600
- FanDuel: $5,000
Despite the 219 total, Dallas’ defense is one I am targeting. They rank second to last in the league in efficiency over the last 10 games and still play at a top-10 pace. Ziaire Williams is questionable, so again, monitor injury news on his hamstring.
Assuming Williams plays, expect to get around 30 minutes out of him with a 16-18% usage rate. With a sub-$5,000 price tag, that’s not bad at all for value. Ideally, options will open up when players are confirmed out, but for now, Williams makes for a fine selection.
Jose Alvarado (PG – NOP)
- DraftKings: $4,900
- FanDuel: $5,000
It feels like Jose Alvarado lives on the value page. Even if everyone is healthy for the Pelicans on their back-to-back, Alvardo still feels like a solid play with 25 minutes as a starter and getting up to 10 points a game with a 17% usage rate.
Going against the 76ers is exactly the team I’m targeting with their putrid defense. A lot of rostership will end up on the Pelicans but I’m in on it as well.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
