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NBA DFS & Props Shows w/ Tyler & Shannon 

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

The complexion of Monday’s NBA main slate will look quite different depending on your DFS site of choice. The DraftKings main slate will feature all eight games that are on the NBA schedule today, while FanDuel has chosen to exclude the three games in the 10 o’clock ET window (NYK/GSW, MEM/SAC, ATL/LAL). As usual, we’ll keep the in-depth discussion to only players competing in the five mutually shared games while listing preferred “DK Main Slate Only” players at the bottom of each positional section.

Regardless of which site you’re playing on today, this looks like a doozy of a slate. Not only are there quite a few injury situations to monitor but there are a ton of lopsided match-ups on the board this evening. Only one game on the day has a spread narrower than 6.5 points, and that game (MIA @ PHI) happens to own the lowest over/under on the night (208.5 points). So we’re kinda getting out of the frying pan and into the fire to begin this new week of NBA DFS. Be aware that these sorts of hectic slates will become much more commonplace as the regular season continues to wind down. Regardless, let’s see if we can find the correct pieces to the puzzle today! Best of luck!

Today’s Key Injuries

• Cavaliers: D. Mitchell - OUT, E. Mobley - OUT, M. Strus - OUT, D. Wade - Doubtful

• Pacers: None

• Pistons: C. Cunningham - Questionable, S. Fontecchio - Questionable, A. Thompson - OUT, Q. Grimes - OUT

• Celtics: J. Tatum - Questionable, J. Brown - Questionable, K. Porzingis - Probable, J. Holiday - OUT, A. Horford - OUT, S. Hauser - OUT

• Heat: J. Butler - Questionable, T. Herro - OUT, N. Jovic - OUT, K. Love - OUT

• 76ers: J. Embiid - OUT, T. Harris - Questionable, D. Melton - OUT

• Trailblazers: M. Brogdon - OUT, J. Grant - Doubtful, M. Thybulle - Questionable

• Bulls: C. White - Doubtful, A. Caruso - Questionable, J. Phillips - OUT’

• Timberwolves: K. Towns - OUT, R. Gobert - Questionable, K. Anderson - Questionable, M. Morris - Questionable

• Jazz: L. Markkanen - Questionable, J. Clarkson - OUT

DraftKings Main Slate Only

• Grizzlies: V. Williams Jr. - Doubtful, S. Pippen Jr. - OUT, L. Kennard - OUT, L. Stevens - OUT, Z. Williams - OUT, D. Rose - OUT, M. Smart - OUT, Y. Watanabe - OUT

• Kings: T. Lyles - OUT

• Knicks: J. Randle - OUT, OG. Anunoby - OUT

• Warriors: None

• Hawks: B. Bogdanovic - Questionable, O. Okongwu - Questionable

• Lakers: L. James - Questionable, A. Davis - Questionable, C. Wood - OUT, C. Reddish - OUT

Main Slate Match-Ups w/ Game Totals & Point Spreads

Top DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Plays

Note: NBA position designations are never going to perfectly align between the major DFS sites. For the purposes of these newsletters, positional designations will default to DraftKings.

Top Point Guards/Shooting Guards 🏀

SG/SF Anthony Edwards, MIN | DK: $10k, FD: $10.3k | @ UTA

This slate is quite full with potential value options but the amount of studs available to spend up on are in somewhat short supply. Getting Anthony Edwards into your lineups won’t be an overly difficult proposition and he heads into tonight’s game in top form. Over his last five starts, Edwards is averaging 31.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 3.4 STL+BLK/gm on a hefty 36.2% USG% to go along with 1.39 FPPM and 53.7 DKFP/53.8 FDFP. He’s gone for at least 51.75 DKFP/52.9 FDFP in four of his last five and erupted for at least 65.0 DKFP/64.5 FDFP twice in that span. These teams just played each other two nights ago and Edwards posted a mammoth stat line of 31 points, 10 boards, five assists, three steals, and three blocks across 35 minutes. We’ll get that same sort of ceiling tonight since the Jazz have ranked dead last versus shooting guards over their last 20 games.

PG/SG Dalano Banton, POR | DK: $5.6k, FD: $5.1k | @ CHI

One of the more enticing values on the slate today will be Dalano Banton. The fifth-year guard out of Canada is having a bit of a late-season breakout and he has been given the starting nod in seven of Portland’s last eight games. In his last five starts, Banton is averaging 1.05 FPPM and 22.2 PPG on a rock-solid 23.8% USG%. He has played exactly 42 minutes in three of his last four starts (only one of those games went into OT). I’m not overly confident he’ll go for 40+ minutes again tonight, especially if Scoot Henderson’s minutes restriction is lightened (or lifted altogether), but it would seem likely that he plays mid-30s minutes as a traditional starter. However things shake out, Banton is a great bet to return value on these $5k DFS price tags, and this may be the last time we see him priced this cheap.

PG Payton Pritchard, BOS | DK: $4.8k, FD: $4.2k | vs. DET

Another likely popular, but tough-to-fade, value guard today will be Payton Pritchard. Boston’s top two stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are both listed as “questionable” while Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Sam Hauser are all ruled out. The most important injury, as it concerns Pritchard, is the one to Jrue Holiday. Holiday most recently sat out last Monday’s game against Portland -- Pritchard received the spot start and supplied an 11/8/8 stat line across 30 minutes (33.5 DKFP/32.6 FDFP). He also picked up some extra minutes in last night’s blowout win over the Wizards. Jrue Holiday played just 22 minutes last night, which led to Pritchard playing 35 minutes off of the bench, and he produced a 14-point, 13-assist double-double (43.75 DKFP/41.5 FDFP). The Celtics (-15.5) are the heaviest favorites on the slate but Pritchard could end up playing mid-30s minutes even if this game trends toward a blowout. Regardless, as long as he starts, there are few scenarios in which he puts up a dud at these $4.8k/$4.2k price points.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Jalen Brunson, NYK | DK: $9k, FD: N/A | @ GSW (DK Main Slate Only)

SG Desmond Bane, MEM | DK: $8.2k, FD: N/A | @ SAC (DK Main Slate Only)

PG/SG Anfernee Simons, POR | DK: $7.7k, FD: $7.6k | @ CHI

PG Darius Garland, CLE | DK: $7.6k, FD: $7.9k | @ IND

PG D’Angelo Russell, LAL | DK: $7.5k, FD: N/A | vs. ATL (DK Main Slate Only)

PG/SG Derrick White, BOS | DK: $7.1k, FD: $7.7k | vs. DET

SG/SF Caris LeVert, CLE | DK: $6.8k, FD: $7.5k | @ IND

PG/SG Ayo Dosunmu, CHI | DK: $6.5k, FD: $6.1k | vs. POR

SG/SF Malik Monk, SAC | DK: $6.4k, FD: N/A | vs. MEM (DK Main Slate Only)

PG Mike Conley, MIN | DK: $5.8k, FD: $5.6k | @ UTA

PG/SG Marcus Sasser, DET | DK: $4.4k, FD: $4.2k | @ BOS (Preferred if Cunningham is out)

SG Sam Merrill, CLE | DK: $4.2k, FD: $4.7k | @ IND

SG/SF Svi Mykhailiuk, BOS | DK: $3k, FD: $3.5k | vs. DET (Pending BOS injury report)

Top Small Forwards/Power Forwards 🏀

SF/PF DeMar DeRozan, CHI | DK: $8.3k, FD: $8.5k | vs. POR

This slate is fairly thin on top-end forwards, especially if we’re just talking about the five mutually shared games between the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates. DeRozan has been a bit of a bust in his last couple of games -- not that he’s played awful, necessarily, but he hasn’t returned value on his $8k+ salaries. However, we’ll look for him to take advantage of a bottom-10 defensive team tonight. This game possesses the second slowest combined pace on the slate; usually, that’s a bad thing when it comes to DFS. However, DeRozan has averaged 51.0 FPPG (+23%) in down-paced games this season. If we can get a 50-burger out of him tonight, I believe we’ll be more than happy with that outcome.

SF Isaac Okoro, CLE | DK: $4.9k, FD: $5.4k | @ IND

I don’t believe anyone ever salivates at the prospects of rostering a low-usage wing player like Isaac Okoro, but he’s priced fairly and will bring some 6x upside tonight. The Cavs are still without three of their starters (D. Mitchell, E. Mobley, M. Strus) and it has led to some big minutes for other rotational players. Okoro has started nine consecutive games and, over the last five, he is averaging a substantial 35.7 minutes/gm. Unfortunately, he has produced just 0.64 FPPM in that span. However, he gets a match-up bump tonight -- the Pacers rank dead last versus starting small forwards over their last 20 games and they’re allowing 1.03 FPPM to the SF position in that span. Even if Okoro only gets to around 0.80 FPPM tonight, he’s going to flirt with 30 fantasy points, assuming he continues to play around 35 minutes. On a very “meh” slate for forwards, we’ll gladly be content with that.

PF/C Jalen Smith, IND | DK: $4k, FD: $4.6k | vs. CLE (DK Preferred)

This will be more of a “DraftKings preferred” play since Jalen Smith has both power forward and center eligibility on DK (center-only eligible on FanDuel), and he comes in at a flat $4,000. The Pacers are fully healthy at the moment and Smith will typically only play around 18-20 minutes off of the Indiana bench. However, considering that he has averaged 1.19 FPPM over his last 20 games off of the bench, 18-20 minutes is often going to be enough time for Smith to return value on a $4k price tag. He’s posted at least 23.25 DKFP in three of his last four games and, in two previous match-ups with the Cavaliers this season, Smith has averaged 24.4 DKFP in just 18.0 minutes/gm. Quick math -- another 24.0-ish DKFP would be a 6x return and that’s certainly in Smith’s wheelhouse tonight.

Other Forwards to Consider

SF/PF LeBron James, LAL | DK: $10.3k, FD: N/A | vs. ATL (DK Main Slate Only - Currently Questionable)

SF/PF Pascal Siakam, IND | DK: $7.7k, FD: $8.3k | vs. CLE

PF/C Jalen Johnson, ATL | DK: $7.5k, FD: N/A | @ LAL (DK Main Slate Only)

PF/C Naz Reid, MIN | DK: $7.3k, FD: $7.8k | @ UTA (Only if Gobert is out + Reid starts)

PF Gregory Jackson, MEM | DK: $6.1k, FD: N/A | @ SAC (DK Main Slate Only)

SF/SG Aaron Nesmith, IND | DK: $5.3k, FD: $5.7k | vs. CLE

PF/C Precious Achiuwa, NYK | DK: $5.3k, FD: N/A | @ GSW (DK Main Slate Only)

SF/PF Jamie Jaquez Jr., MIA | DK: $5k, FD: $5.2k | @ PHI (Preferred if Butler is out + Jaquez starts)

SF/PF Georges Niang, CLE | DK: $4.5k, FD: $5.2k | @ IND

SF/PF Toumani Camara, POR | DK: $4.4k, FD: $4.9k | @ CHI

SF/PF Harrison Barnes, SAC | DK: $4.2k, FD: N/A | vs. MEM (DK Main Slate Only)

Top Centers to Consider 🏀

C Deandre Ayton, POR | DK: $8.2k, FD: $8.2k | @ CHI

Ayton has some volatility at center but when he’s locked in and playing big minutes, he can also provide some slate-breaking upside. In his previous five starts since returning from a hand injury, Ayton is averaging a massive double-double with 27.2 PPG and 15.0 RPG to go along with 50.8 DKFP/49.1 FDFP per game. Portland has kept him out on the floor even in the face of blowouts, and he has averaged 38.3 minutes/gm while playing no fewer than 33 minutes in that five-game span. The match-up with Chicago is fairly middle-of-the-road, but Ayton has been putting up massive numbers in more difficult match-ups than the one he’ll have tonight.

C Tristan Thompson, CLE | DK: $3.1k, FD: $3.6k | @ IND

This slate is pretty barren when it comes to viable cheap center-only eligible plays. However, if you’re looking to take a gamble on a complete punt, then Tristan Thompson may be worth a look. Thompson recently returned from a 25-game absence, but it was due to a suspension and not injury-related. He played 15 minutes off of the bench on Saturday in his first game since serving the suspension. He has averaged a respectable 0.90 FPPM this season and he should likely be the first big off of the Cavaliers’ bench tonight. With Evan Mobley still sidelined, Thompson has a chance to play closer to 18-20 minutes and he has shown the ability to break out for 20-30 fantasy points when playing those sort of minutes this season. Thompson is certainly a low-confidence play, but he could pay dividends on his dirt-cheap DFS salaries.

Other Centers to Consider

C Domantas Sabonis, SAC | DK: $10.5k, FD: N/A | vs. MEM (DK Main Slate Only)

C Nikola Vucevic, CHI | DK: $8.5k, FD: $8.1k | vs. POR

C Myles Turner, IND | DK: $6.7k, FD: $7k | vs. CLE

C Clint Capela, ATL | DK: $6.5k, FD: N/A | @ LAL (DK Main Slate Only)

C Isaiah Hartenstein, NYK | DK: $5.2k, FD: N/A | @ GSW (DK Main Slate Only)

PrizePicks NBA Power Play of the Day ⚡

Here is a two-pick “Power Play” I’m liking for today's NBA action over on PrizePicks! Nothing is ever a guarantee to hit but I put my own money on these bets so I don't just lightly throw these out there without believing they'll cash! If it hits, it will return 3x the wager.

Deandre Ayton MORE than 19.5 Points

Andrew Wiggins MORE than 16.5 Points + Rebounds

🔥 Props AI 🔥

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Speaking of props, put the Props AI tool to use by signing up for PrizePicks (Promo code: LINESTAR) or Underdog (Promo code: LINESTAR). You'll receive a 100% match on first deposits up to $100 PLUS a free month subscription to LineStar Premium. Many people may not realize that you can legally place prop bets in most states using UnderDog (or PrizePicks) – it’s called Pick'Em, and it’s incredibly easy.

That will wrap us up with today’s “Daily Dribble” edition! Once again, you can find me on Twitter or in LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries. Good luck everyone!