The self titled BBall Oracle back again here to break down some NBA DFS. We have a large 10 game slate right before the All-Star break. #1 piece of advice as always is to be up to date on injuries, as the info in this article will only be up to date as of Tuesday night. I’d expect quite a bit of phantom injuries and rest for players right before the break.
Let’s get down to it. Pricing is always (Fanduel/DraftKings). I mostly play tournaments and my picks will always bias towards volatility and upside.
Guards
Spend ups ($9k and over)
Luka Doncic ($11,800/$11,700)
Luka below 12k is always in play for me as long as the matchup is decent, although it remains to be seen how much his upside is impacted by Kyrie Irving. He’s an expensive but good spend up option if you can afford it.
LaMelo Ball ($9,900/$10,400)
LaMelo is more in play for me on FD than DK because of the price difference, but he’s in an excellent matchup against the Spurs. The early total on Hornets vs. Spurs is 241.5 and both of these teams are so awful that it shouldn’t be a blowout either way. Trash in real life can be great for fantasy. This game against two of the worst teams in the league should have a high pace and zero defense, which is a great fantasy environment to be in.
Tyrese Haliburton ($8,900/$9,500)
A better play on FD because of the price, but could be played on either site. He’s a higher priced option here if you don’t want to spend all the way up at guard.
Middle-to-High (7k-8.9k)
Jalen Green ($7,400/$6,800)
More of a DK play because of the price difference, but could be played on either site. Purely a tournament play, as he can kill your lineup or score 40 real life points. He’s the definition of volatility, buyer be warned.
Derrick White ($7,000/$7,000)
No Jayson Tatum, no Jaylen Brown, no Marcus Smart, and they’re playing the Pistons? Yeah sign me up for all of that. Derrick White is going to have a lot of heavy lifting to do here and is underpriced for being essentially the #1 guy for this game.
Middle ($5k-6.$9k)
Malcolm Brogdon ($5,600/$6,000)
Everything I said about Derrick White plus he’s pretty cheap on FD especially. Has a very nice floor for this price with potential for more.
Max Strus ($5,000/$5,000)
No Kyle Lowry and more importantly no Tyler Herro means Strus should start and be the 3rd option on a ridiculously short handed Heat team. The Heat are down a lot of bodies and only ran an 8 man rotation last game with Strus getting 41 minutes and 20 shot attempts finishing with 23/7/4.
Value Town (Under $5k)
Malaki Branham ($5,000/$4,600)
With Tre Jones out Branham will continue to start and he has a great matchup against the Hornets. He offers some salary relief and has a nice ceiling for his price. Note that he is PG/SG on DK and SF only on FD.
Forwards
Spend ups ($9k and over)
LeBron James ($10,300/$10,800)
LeBron is reportedly playing here after missing a few games. Going total narrative here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if LeBron wants to have a statement game with the the new look Lakers right before the All-Star break. Even if that’s total bologna, he’s still LeBron and firmly in play as the only big spend up option at forward on this slate.
Jimmy Butler ($9,400/$8,800)
As mentioned in the Strus writeup, the Heat are down a lot of bodies and Butler should be forced into big minutes and usage here.
Middle-to-High (7k-8.9k)
Zach LaVine ($7,600/$8,500)
This is a FD play only for me with the price difference. With DeMar DeRozan out, he’s in a nice spot here as the #1 option against the Pacers.
Middle ($5k-6.$9k)
Gordon Hayward ($5,600/$5,800)
Hayward just turned back the clock in his last game with a 26-5-8 line. I wouldn’t expect quite that much, but he’s still a good play here in this range.
Jeremy Sochan ($5,500/$5,000)
Sochan is a tournament play only here, as he’s extremely volatile, but the game environment gives him a good chance at a ceiling game.
Value Town (Under $5k)
Bennedict Mathurin ($5,000/$4,600)
How did his price get all the way down here? Mathurin doesn’t do much besides score, but he is always a threat to go off for 20+ points and can easily pay off this low salary.
Centers
Spend ups ($9k and over)
Nikola Jokic ($12,000/$11,800)
Jokic is really expensive as always, but he needs to be in consideration especially if you play multiple lineups.
Middle-to-High (7k-8.9k)
Don’t really like any centers in this range. Moving along!
Middle ($5k-6.$9k)
Mark Williams ($5,700/$5,300)
Love this matchup against Zach Collins and the tanking Spurs. With Mason Plumlee gone he’s now the starter and has a tremendous ceiling in this matchup if he can get around 30 minutes.
Value Town (Under $5k)
James Wiseman ($4,500/$3,400)
No idea how much he’s going to play on his new team, but reports are he is going to be the starter over Duren. If that’s true he’s super cheap and if he gets 25+ minutes he can pay off his price. Monitor the news and if he isn’t starting don’t play him. Tournament play only, obviously.
Isaiah Jackson ($4,500/$3,600)
This is purely an injury play, Myles Turner is questionable with a back injury and Daniel Theis is questionable with a thumb injury. If Turner is out, both Theis and Jackson are good plays. If both Turner and Theis are out, Jackson would become a must play. Note Jackson is a PF on FD and C on DK.
