Let’s hope the five games we start the day with on tonight’s slate are the five games we end with. At the time of this writing it certainly appears that is the case but the past few days should serve as a reminder to be nimble and plugged into the current news you must be.
For those who have yet to subscribe, what are you waiting for? Until then you will get our three lineup core picks to whet your appetite. DFS is not simply about knowing how to pick which players will perform the best but you also need to fit them into the constraints of a salary cap. Our core plays will get you started in the right direction in that endeavor prior to digging into some other players of interest.
In case you hadn’t heard there was a trade yesterday in the NBA. While none of the players who will be filling out a change of address form will be taking the floor tonight the Rockets will be and when it comes to increases in role and playing time, DFS owners have to be like vultures. With John Wall (knee) and James Harden (traded) both out of the lineup for Houston someone still has to score. Eric Gordon ($5,100 DK, $5,200 FD) is still listed as questionable for tonight with a lower leg injury but it does appear he will be taking the court which is good as the guard is the closest thing the Rockets have to a proven threat. Twice in his last five games Gordon has scored 20 points and when given the opportunity in the past he has shown the ability to be a volume scorer. Tonight should be a good opportunity for the guard to improve on both the 12.4 points he is averaging so far this season and the 24 minutes per game he is playing.
With all of the focus on Houston and Brooklyn in yesterday’s deal with Harden as the centerpiece it’s easy to forget that Victor Oladipo is also going from Indiana to Houston as part of the trade. Tonight the impact can be felt in two ways as the Pacers work to keep pace with a strong Portland backcourt in a game where offense will likely be on display. Malcolm Brogdon ($8,300 DK, $8,600 FD) is having the best offensive year of his career with 23 points per game as the Pacers are leaning on their point guard playing him 39 minutes a game. The good news is that Brogdon appears to be up to the ask and that is especially a good thing tonight as he will be relied on even more heavily coming off his worst scoring game of the season with 13 points. All wasn’t lost as Brogdon still passed out eight assists which is right there with season average of 8.8.
To save some funds among our core group let’s stay with the Pacers as Edmond Sumner ($3,200 DK, $3,500 FD) is elevated into the starting lineup. This will be the second straight game he finds himself in the starting lineup after playing 31 minutes against Golden State on Tuesday in place of a resting Oladipo. Sumner scored 12 points while grabbing four rebounds and based on his price, we aren’t asking much more than that from him to return positive value.
I want to be clear that while these core plays can be used in both GPP and cash games you should have different variations of your lineups to match each contest. Gordon and Brogdon translate across both contests but Sumner is a GPP target which is where the majority of our attention is generally focused.
Subscribers can now expect us to continue digging into today’s slate and the players under consideration with three players in each salary tier to form your lineup. So, keep on going and take a look at what we have to offer. This is just the beginning though. For a one-time fee of $99 per year we have all sports covered here including NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, NASCAR, and League of Legends. We know how profitable these picks can be so you can even try it out for one month for free.
Now that we have our core lineup plays let’s dig into three players from each of the three salary tiers; expensive, moderate, and value priced.
With just 10 teams taking the floor tonight and a lack of true superstars Nikola Jokic ($11,000 DK, $11,200 FD) is going to be highly owned tonight. Given what we have seen from the center so far this season (26.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 2.6 steals per game) Jokic is as close to a must play as they come. This isn’t to say there aren’t other centers who aren’t worthy of your attention but the potential and upside Jokic offers, along with a pretty substantial floor, is like non-other and you simply can’t put yourself in that much of a hole to start. And did we mention that Jokic had seven steals in his last game?
Now it is time to flip a coin between Damian Lillard ($9,300 DK, $9,200 FD) and CJ McCollum($8,400 DK, $9,500 FD) as it is becoming clear we will be staying up late watching the backcourt battle between Portland and Indiana. Lillard is coming off a 40-point performance on Wednesday against Sacramento while he also handed out 13 assists but McCollum wasn’t too bad himself with 28 points and 10 assists while also adding seven rebounds. Between the two guards Lillard wins in the upside department but McCollum is the more budget friendly option. Aside from flipping a coin I would let the salary cap decide for you.
To this point we have ignored the forward position so let’s look at one of the better options on the slate in Pascal Siakam ($8,500 DK, $8,900 FD). Any potential issues appear to be behind Siakam as sitting the last game of 2020 for disciplinary reasons along with whatever struggles he was having are in the distant past. After coming close a few games ago Siakam posted a triple-double on Monday in his last game with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. You don’t want to catch yourself chasing one of the better games of the season for any player but with season averages of 23.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game it really isn’t that far off for Siakam.
As a matter of strategy we have targeted Charlotte’s front court at times this season but that doesn’t mean they are without their own DFS options. P.J. Washington ($6,300 DK, $6,500 FD) is averaging 33 minutes per game while settling in as a steady option for the Hornets and coming off his second double-double on the season in which he scored 16 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and adding six assists. I’m not expecting the last part of that stat line on a daily basis but with 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game the rest is reasonable. Over his last three games Washington has been showing off his offensive ability with 17 points per game.
For all of the talk about where we are going to find offense on Houston we can’t forgot about targeting them as well as they are a team currently in flux. For that we look to San Antonio’s starting backcourt and Lonnie Walker ($5,600 DK, $5,200 FD). Walker is coming off a game against Oklahoma City in which he paced the Spurs with 24 points which followed a 25-point outing against the Timberwolves. After a slow start to the season from an offensive perspective Walker appears to be finding his groove and as he is averaging 31 minutes per game, I would expect to see that continue.
If you do choose to go in a different direction from Jokic let us offer Myles Turner ($6,600 DK, $7,800 FD) as a worthy alternative. The pace Turner is on from a blocked shot perspective is just absurd with 4.8 per game but this isn’t a new skill we have yet to see from him. He isn’t going to score 22 points and grab 12 rebounds every night like he did in his last game as that came after a game in which he scored just six points along with six rebounds, but those blocked shots help to give us a solid floor.
I touted Precious Achiuwa ($4,400 DK, $4,100 FD) in his last game but it wouldn’t be right of me to say I expected him to go out and score 17 points and grab 13 rebounds but it certainly was a welcome performance. Now that we know what he is capable of there is no reason not to expect another strong game from the rookie tonight as his 36 minutes of playing time doesn’t appear to be going anywhere just yet.
Talk about making an entrance. Miami is having some real issues finding viable players but Gabe Vincent ($4,200 DK, $4,500 FD) stepped right into the starting lineup on Tuesday as if he had been there all along. Vincent played 36 minutes and scored 24 points while adding three assists and two steals in his first game of the season. With just eight players available again tonight the playing time is going to be there for Vincent yet again and someone has to shoot the ball for Miami, so why not him?
What you see with Monte Morris ($4,100 DK, $4,400 FD) is what you get from the guard and sometimes there is nothing wrong with that. Morris averages 24 minutes per game off the bench with 10.6 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game for what has been relatively static and predictable production. If he gets hot there is always the potential for more points but Morris generally doesn’t deviate from his season averages and should you be looking for a secure option to fill out your roster, he is your man.
