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.
Main Points
- The highest-owned players for tonight’s games are projected to be Victor Wembanyama, Quentin Grimes, Scotty Pippen Jr., David Roddy, and Cam Thomas. Notably, Julius Randle is OUT for the Knicks and they have a great matchup versus CHA. Additionally, LaMelo Ball and Kyrie Irving are out tonight as well.
- A popular roster construction tonight will likely include 3 value players complemented by 3 mid-range players and 2 stars. Ownership on the high end is concentrated on Luka and Jokic. Based on this, spending up on Giannis or Shai Glizzy seems like a strong option on the high end.
- Players such as Keegan Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Franz Wagner are intriguing GPP plays. Additionally, value plays such as Naz Reid, Royce O’Neal, and Payton Pritchard 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
Scottie Pippen Jr.
Cam Thomas
Quentin Grimes
David Roddy
Victor Wembanyama

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.
Cam Whitmore (Value)
Kevin Huerter (Midrange)
Jalen Green (Midrange)
Jayson Tatum (Stud)
Jokic (Premium)

NBA DFS Final Thoughts
The popular build tonight is going to be focused on value and midrange plays from the Knicks and Grizzlies value with Wemby. Thankfully, it’s fairly easy to get different tonight with so much focus on select spots. While there is ownership on some Nets, the Jazz are getting ignored in that same game environment. Similarly, no one is playing Wizards on the other side of Wemby. HOU/LAL is also going overlooked despite having a high total and close spread. Finally, Giannis and Shai are both projected to be well under-owned relative to their ceilings. The Paydirt models are heavy on BKN/NYK/MEM as spots to target with secondary exposure to the Nuggets. Good luck and let’s bake some bread!
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