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 Caleb Martin, Ausar Thompson, Trey Lyles, Malik Monk, and Terry Rozier. Notably, we are approaching the trade deadline so players and lineups are in flux tonight. If you won’t be around to respond to news it’s recommended that you don’t play this slate.
- 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 Jayson Tatum, Wemby, Sabonis, and Trae Young. Based on this, spending up on Donovan Mitchell, Harden/Kawhi, or Steph Curry seems like a strong option on the high end.
- Players such as Jalen Duren, Tyler Herro, and Deni Avdija are intriguing GPP plays. Additionally, value plays such as Corey Kispert, Josh Richardson, and Marcus Sasser 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
Terry Rozier
Malik Monk
Ausar Thompson
Caleb Martin
Trey Lyles

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.
Josh Richardson (Value)
Jeremy Sochan (Midrange)
Jalen Duren (Midrange)
Kawhi Leonard (Stud)
Steph Curry (Stud)

NBA DFS Final Thoughts
The popular build tonight is going to be focused on a core of Caleb Martin and Ausar Thompson with 2 spend-ups. Thankfully, this makes it easy to get different tonight. Pivoting to other value players on the Heat/Pistons is one way to eat the chalk construction while building in leverage. Furthermore, there are several mid-range pivot options as well. Lastly, you can focus on the lower-owned spend-ups such as Donovan Mitchell and Steph Curry. The Paydirt models are heavy on BOS/SAC/DET/MIA as a spot to target with secondary exposure to the Spurs. Good luck and let’s bake some bread!
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