Written By: Ryan Humphries on Twitter & LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries

Straight Locks🔒 | NBA Props w/ Shannon & Tyler!

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

In typical Thursday fashion, we’ll have a smaller four-game NBA slate on tap. By small slate standards, this one sets up fairly well. All four match-ups are expected to be competitive with the largest spread being six points (IND -6 @ SAS). Finding solid value plays will be the largest hurdle but the upper and mid-range salary tiers are loaded with plenty of quality options. Let’s see what we can cook up tonight! Best of luck!

Today’s Key Injuries:

Raptors: None

Wizards: M. Morris - OUT

76ers: J. Embiid - Probable, D. Dedmon - OUT

Mavericks: None

Pacers: T. Haliburton - Questionable

Spurs: K. Johnson - OUT, M. Branham - Questionable, R. Langford - OUT, I. Roby - OUT, K. Birch - OUT

Clippers: I. Zubac - Questionable, M. Morris Sr. - Questionable

Warriors: S. Curry - OUT, J. Poole - Probable, A. Wiggins - 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.

💫 = Favorite Play

Point Guards/Shooting Guards to Consider 🏀

💫PG Luka Doncic, DAL | DK: $11.9k, FD: $12k | vs. PHI | Cash & GPP

The addition of Kyrie Irving has taken a bite out of Luka’s upside but on a four-game slate, taking the player with the highest floor is often the optimal route to take. Doncic has still secured at least 59.5 DKFP in four of the last five games and is coming off of a big 39-point performance on Tuesday. Both of these teams rank among the bottom five in pace (PHI: 26th, DAL: 29th) but this should be a tightly contested game with Dallas stepping in as three-point home favorites. Doncic has also performed better at home this season where he has averaged 63.0 FPPG (58.6 FPPG on the road).

💫PG Russell Westbrook, LAC | DK: $7k, FD: $7.9k | @ GSW | Cash & GPP

In three games with the Clippers, Westbrook has turned in DKFP performances of 44.75, 38.75, and 40.25 while averaging 1.35 FPPM. The Clippers draw the highest pace differential on the slate (LAC: 23rd in pace, GSW: 1st in pace), and the previous meeting between these teams this season resulted in a combined 258 points scored in regulation. Westbrook is going to take a back seat offensively to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but he should still put up double-digit shot attempts while cashing in on ample peripheral stat opportunities. He’ll be a more appealing play at a flat $7,000 on DraftKings, but there is still some meat on the bone at $7,900 on FanDuel as well.

💫SG/SF Bennedict Mathurin, IND | DK: $4.8k, FD: $5.2k | @ SAS | Cash & GPP

Bennedict Mathurin has put together a fantastic rookie campaign and, were it not for Paolo Banchero, Mathurin would be the favorite to win NBA ROTY honors. He’s coming off of a poor performance on Tuesday, where he shot just 1-for-7, but he still played solid minutes (26) off of the bench. Mathurin put up at least 26.0 DKFP in the six games prior to Tuesday’s dud and he’s usually going to put up around a dozen shot attempts -- so that last game can certainly be considered an outlier. The match-up also doesn’t get any better. Everyone is probably tired of hearing it, but the Spurs' defense continues to rank dead last in efficiency and Mathurin dropped 26 points and 36.75 DKFP in 28 minutes against San Antonio earlier this season. He’s a prime value target today and carries shooting guard and small forward eligibility on both sites.

Other Guards to Consider:

PG James Harden, PHI | DK: $9.5k, FD: $10.3k | @ DAL | Cash & GPP

💫PG Tyrese Haliburton, IND | DK: $9.2k, FD: $9.2k | @ SAS | Cash & GPP (Note: Haliburton is currently questionable)

SG Bradley Beal, WAS | DK: $8k, FD: $9.4k | vs. TOR | DK Preferred

SG/SF Donte DiVincenzo, GSW | DK: $5.6k, FD: $6.5k | vs. LAC | GPP Preferred

PG Delon Wright, WAS | DK: $4.6k, FD: $5k | vs. TOR | GPP Preferred

PG/SG Andrew Nembhard, IND | DK: $3.5k, FD: $4.3k | @ SAS | DK Preferred

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

💫SF/PF Kawhi Leonard, LAC | DK: $9.3k, FD: $10k | @ GSW | Cash & GPP

Kawhi Leonard leads all forwards in DFS pricing today but, much like Luka Doncic, if you roster him, you’re doing so to gain access to a high floor while simultaneously hoping for a ceiling-ish type game. He dropped 33 points and 54.75 DKFP against the Warriors in that high-scoring 134-124 Valentine’s Day game and the addition of Russell Westbrook has not impacted his offensive usage much at all. Leonard has played at least 39 minutes in three consecutive games and, as mentioned above in Westbrook’s spotlight, the Clippers receive the largest bump in pace on the slate against the Warriors, aka the league’s most uptempo offense.

💫SF Buddy Hield, IND | DK: $5.6k, FD: $5.9k | @ SAS | Cash & GPP

We’ll go back to the Pacers for value in their premium match-up with the defensively challenged Spurs. Buddy Hield owns some modest sub-$6k DFS salaries on both sites today and he is poised to do some damage from beyond the arc. Hield has attempted at least nine three-pointers in 12 of his last 16 games and the Spurs have allowed a league-high 39.5% opponent three-point percentage this season. To no one’s surprise, the Pacers head into this game with a slate-high 121.8 implied points, and despite some “so-so” recent performances, Hield has a great chance to return 6x value (or better) today.

💫PF Jeremy Sochan, SAS | DK: $5.3k, FD: $5.4k | vs. IND | Cash & GPP

The Spurs are terrible but they have some strong offensive potential tonight. The Pacers have not been playing great defense themselves, and they’ve given up an average of 121.5 PPG over their last 20 games. San Antonio will get some guard help back today with SG Devin Vassell set to return from a 25-game injury absence. PG Tre Jones is also off of the injury report after missing nine of the last 10 games. However, forward Keldon Johnson has been ruled out with a foot injury and it is unclear what sort of minutes Vassell and Jones will play -- both players, but specifically, Vassell should be facing some sort of minutes restrictions. So we’ll land here on Jeremy Sochan who has put up 290 DKFP and 32.5 DKFP in his last two games. Sochan is averaging 0.99 FPPM over his last five starts and he’ll be a strong bet to play 30+ minutes tonight. The Pacers have also ranked 26th, allowing 33.21 FPPG to opposing PF starters over their last 20 games.

Other Forwards to Consider:

SF/SG Klay Thompson, GSW | DK: $7.8k, FD: $8.3k | vs. LAC | GPP Preferred

💫PF/C Draymond Green, GSW| DK: $6.3k, FD: $7.4k | vs. LAC | DK Preferred

SF/PF Keita Bates-Diop, SAS | DK: $5k, FD: $5.3k | vs. IND | GPP Preferred

PF Reggie Bullock, DAL | DK: $3.7k, FD: $4.7k | vs. PHI | DK Preferred

SF/PF Jordan Nwora, IND | DK: $3.4k, FD: $4.8k | @ SAS | DK Preferred

💫PF/C Nicolas Batum, LAC | DK: $3.3k, FD: $4.1k | @ GSW | GPP Preferred (If M. Morris Sr. is out)

Centers to Consider 🏀

💫C Myles Turner, IND | DK: $7.4k, FD: $8.6k | @ SAS | Cash & GPP

Myles Turner has been cruising lately, racking up 44.25 DKFP, 40.5 DKFP, and 60.5 DKFP in his last three games. He gets the privilege of facing a Spurs team that ranks dead last versus opposing centers and allows an NBA-high 56.0 points in the paint per game. Turner is also an elite shot blocker, ranking 4th in the NBA with 2.3 BLK/Gm. Meanwhile, the Spurs allow the 8th most shot blocks per game. Turner is a bit pricey on FanDuel, but still very playable on a four-game slate. However, his $7,400 tag on DraftKings represents a major bargain.

C Charles Bassey, SAS | DK: $3.8k, FD: $4.8k | vs. IND | GPP Preferred

Bassey’s minutes are going to be difficult to trust coming off of the bench but now that he’s healthy and Jakob Poeltl is out of the picture, he has taken over the backup center role behind Zach Collins. Bassey is an elite fantasy point-per-minute scorer, averaging 1.41 FPPM across the last five games. In three of those five games, he dropped at least 26.25 DKFP despite not playing more than 21 minutes. The Pacers rank 23rd defensively against reserve players and they’ve been particularly bad against opposing centers off of the bench, as you’ll see on the graphic below.

Other Centers to Consider:

💫C Joel Embiid, PHI | DK: $10.8k, FD: $11.8k | @ DAL | Cash & GPP

C Zach Collins, SAS | DK: $6.4k, FD: $6.8k | vs. IND | Cash & GPP

💫C Jakob Poeltl, TOR | DK: $6.2k, FD: $8.4k | @ WAS | DK Preferred

C Kevon Looney, GSW | DK: $5.4k, FD: $5.7k | vs. LAC | GPP Preferred

C Mason Plumlee, LAC | DK: $5k, FD: $5.5k | @ GSW | GPP Preferred (If I. Zubac is out)

NBA Player Props 📊

Player Prop or Bet | Odds | Unit Bet Size

No standard prop plays today.

PrizePicks Power Play ⚡

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.

Jakob Poeltl MORE than 30.0 Fantasy Score

Russell Westbrook MORE than 7.0 Assists

🆕 Props AI 🆕

In LineStar’s ongoing mission to improve, innovate, and help you reel in some cash, we are introducing Props AI for NBA – available for LineStar Premium users! This tool can help you find value and mispriced odds on player props from sportsbooks and, more specifically, for PrizePicks and UnderDog Fantasy!

Speaking of props, put the Props AI tool to use by signing up for PrizePicks (Promo code: BETFULLY) or Underdog (Promo code: LINESTAR). You'll receive a 100% match on first deposits up to $100 PLUS a free two-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!