Another great night with NBA DFS, so let's keep on rolling. The NBA season is off to a great start and although my focus for the next several months will be on NFL, during the week I need something to do and will be dabbing a bit into NBA DFS. For me, it's a great way to try to build some bankroll for the upcoming NFL weekend. I am pretty conservative during the week with NBA, playing small amounts in cash games. That said, I might as well put out a couple articles on my DFS picks when I do play. Just note, I play periodically and don't expect to put these articles out on a regular set schedule. These will be less detailed than my NFL articles but as always will include guys I will be playing in my own lineups.
Tonight we focus on a small 3 game slate. Picks include a combination of value and top dollar plays. I utilize defense vs position in a lot of my NBA analysis and must point out www.hashtagbasketball.com and www.rotogrinders.com for their great collection of matchup and NBA data data. Prices are based on Draft Kings unless noted otherwise. Let me know your thoughts on tonight slate in the comments below. Make sure you check lineups prior to lock as a lot can change between now and tip off. Without further ado are my top picks on the slate.
TOP PLAYS
Anthony Davis - $11,300
The big guy to pay up for tonight. Anything Davis is coming off 5 straight games of 35 or minutes of playing time, so there is little question about his health. Yes, health is always an issue with Davis but for now, he seems to be playing without injury. In those last 5 games, Davis has shown us a ceiling of around 70-75 DK points with a floor around 30-35 points. That is a wide range of risk to assume but in great matchups, Davis is hard to ignore. To help in the matter, his salary has dropped to $11,300, the 2nd lowest it's been all season. Minnesota offers one of the easier matchups for both PFs and Cs this season, so the salary and matchup support Davis all the way. Couple all of this with the fact Vegas has this as the highest total game (235) and close (1pt spread), Anthony Davis will be a lock for me in all formats.
Paul George - $9,600
Paul George is almost an all format lock tonight with Russell Westbrook being out. With Westbrook missing the last 4 games, George has been an absolute beast for Oklahoma City. He has posted 3 straight 50+ DK point performances, playing massive minutes, and eating up a lot of the Westbrook missing usage. Rotogrinders Court IQ suggests George's usage jumps over 12% to 40% with the absence of Westbrook this season. The matchup with the Knicks is also pretty solid and I believe with recent performance and usage, George should be priced above his current $9,600. I recommend George as a safe high floor play tonight with some great upside.
Jeff Teague - $5,600
I scores Teague the other night on his first game back priced under 5k and he was an absolute steal posting 47 DK points. Although his price tag has risen, I like him again tonight for the Timberwolves. Last game he looked healthy, playing almost 35 minutes and had a day of rest, so we should expect a similar workload tonight. He is clearly a big benefactor with Butler removed from the team and I am hoping the usage we saw on Monday carries forward. More so, New Orleans has been very generous to point guards all season and if Payton returns for the Pelicans, he offers one of the best defensive matchups in the league for PGs. Yes, price has risen substantially but no enough to scare me off Teague tonight in a great matchup. Look for him to continue to hit value until his price rises more.
Last night was great, so let's keep it rolling into tonight. Good luck tonight and as always, let's win some money!