Welcome to the NBA DFS Triple Threat here at Paydirt! This is going to be a daily article aimed at giving thoughts on three important aspects of the NBA DFS slate. We will talk through the most popular players on the slate, popular roster construction, and potential pivots and leverage spots. This article is best used with the projections models here at Paydirt (Found here), but it will still be valuable even as a one off piece of content. While the focus is on Draftkings, the content is applicable to Fanduel as well. Costs, Projections, and finishing percentiles format will be Draftkings/Fanduel.
ain Points
- The highest-owned players for tonight’s games are projected to be Josh Richardson, Dejounte Murray, Ausar Thompson, DeMar DeRozan, and Jalen Green. Notably, Butler, Herro, and Lowry are out for the Heat.
- A popular roster construction tonight will likely include 2 value players complemented by 5 mid-range players and 1 star. Ownership on the high end is concentrated on Tyrese Maxey and Desmond Bane. Based on this, Trae Young, Sabonis, and Wemby look like strong options on the high end.
- Players such as Miles Bridges, Bam Adebayo, and Jalen Johnson are intriguing GPP plays. Additionally, value plays such as Zaire Williams, Obi Toppin, and Nikola Jovic look like potential pivot opportunities.
Depending on the size of the slate, there may be multiple situations, value plays, and popular options that you need to consider. Join the Paydirt discord with this link for more updates and game theory on all the slates details: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF
NBA DFS Cash Game Core:
This core of players will help you build a strong foundation in cash games. While it is best to use all these players, it’s not a requirement
Dejounte Murray
Jalen Green
Ausar Thompson
DeMar DeRozan
Josh Richardson
NBA DFS GPP Core:
This core of players will help you build in differentiation in your lineups. These players are meant to be mixed in with some of the stronger chalk options. How many of these players you put in is dependent on the size of the field and personal risk tolerance.
Obi Toppin (Value)
Malik Monk (Midrange)
Jalen Johnson (Midrange)
Paolo Banchero (Stud)
Domantas Sabonis (Premium)
NBA DFS Final Thoughts
The popular build tonight is going to be more of a balanced build due to only one player over $10k. Focus is going to be on Heat, Hawks, Rockets, and Grizzlies. Thankfully, this makes it easy to get different tonight. You don’t need to outright fade these spots, however, leverage can be gained by playing the lower owned guys such as Jalen Johnson or Bam Adebayo. Additionally, you can play some of the lower owned spend ups such as Trae Young and Domantas Sabonis. The Paydirt models are heavy on HOU/MIA as spots to target with secondary exposure to MIN/SAC/CHI. Good luck and let’s bake some bread!
Powerful tools for every sport
One site, one affordable price
Join Free by signing up below for 3 days of full access!
- Make decisions using a players full range of outcomes, not just their median projection.
- Use actionable metrics based on leverage that help you identify mistakes the field is making and leverage them for your own success.
- Have access to experts in the field along with coaching opportunities to build your process.
- Jump in the Paydirt community discord and join conversations around your favorites sports all day, every day, for free.

