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 Javon Freeman-Liberty, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Caris LeVert, Jayson Tatum, and Sam Hauser. Notably, CLE will still be without Max Strus, Evan Mobley, and Donovan Mitchell. Additionally, Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and half the Raptors are all out tonight.
- 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 Doncic, Jokic, and Tatum. Based on this, spending up on Kevin Durant or Victor Wembanyama seems like a good option on the high end.
- Players such as Darius Garland, Chris Paul, and Michael Porter Jr. are intriguing GPP plays. Additionally, value plays such as Malakhi Branham, Davis Bertans, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 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
Javon Freeman-Liberty
Caris LeVert
Sam Hauser
Jayson Tatum
Trayce Jackson-Davis
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.
Malakhi Branham (Value)
Chris Paul (Midrange)
Dalano Banton (Midrange)
Cade Cunningham (Stud)
Victor Wembanyama (Stud)
NBA DFS Final Thoughts
The popular build tonight is going to be focused on a core of Freeman-Liberty/Jackson-Davis/LeVert/Tatum with one of Jokic or Doncic. Thankfully, this makes it easy to get different tonight. You can pivot to lower-owned options on these teams such as Chris Paul, Michael Porter Jr., or Darius Garland. Additionally, you can leverage the chalk build by playing lesser-owned options like Wembanyama or Kevin Durant over Tatum. The Paydirt models are heavy on TOR/BOS/CHI as spots to target with secondary exposure to the Cavs and Hornets. Good luck and let’s bake some bread!
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