FanDuel & DraftKings NBA Cheat Sheet 1/29/20
Welcome to the wild world of NBA DFS. The final hour to lock can be a tiring with the injury news, but we hope to have you prepared with fill-in options and what to do when scenarios occur. The cheat sheet will fill you in on the top games to target, values, tournament picks, cash game options, and much more. Prices are set for DraftKings and FanDuel, and the focus will be on whatever the main slate is listed as for each site. Pricing is listed (FD/DK). Players with no designated listing are playable in cash and tournaments. Players with designated game styles are for those only.
Vegas Numbers
Highest Implied Team Totals
- Rockets (119)
- Trail Blazers (117)
- Nets (116)
- Jazz (113)
- Grizzlies (112)
- Thunder (112)
- Pacers (111)
Lowest Implied Team Totals
- Bulls (102)
Potential Blowouts
- None
Injury Report
- James Harden – Questionable
- Andre Drummond – Questionable
- Kyrie Irving – Questionable
- Clint Capela – Questionable
- LaMarcus Aldridge – Out
- Malcolm Brogdon – Questionable
- Marvin Bagley – Out
- Myles Turner – Questionable
- RJ Barrett – Questionable
Point Guards
- Russell Westbrook
- Damian Lillard
- De’Aaron Fox – GPP
- Derrick Rose
- Ja Morant
- Chris Paul
- Elfrid Payton
- Kris Dunn
- T.J. McConnell
Analysis: Russell Westbrook comes in as the highest projected point guard on the slate, and has a 33% usage rate this season. Portland’s defense has been in trouble all season, and Houston has a whopping 120 implied total. Even if Harden comes back, Westbrook has been tremendous of late. On the flip side of this game, Lillard has been on a tear, although some of that production came with McCollum out. He is averaging over 60 fantasy points in the last two weeks, and offers up a discount from Westbrook on FD, but not on DK. De’Aaron Fox is always an intriguing option, and has huge upside. His price isn’t too bad, but starting to rise with him averaging 40+ fantasy points over the last two weeks. Oklahoma City also ranks 23rd in defensive efficiency against opposing point guards. We will need to watch Malcolm Brogdon’s status for tonight, but T.J. McConnell will likely get run either way. Kris Dunn and Elfrid Payton remain fairly cheap for their recent production.
Shooting Guards
- James Harden – If Healthy
- Zach LaVine – GPP
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- C.J. McCollum
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Buddy Hield
- Dennis Schroder
- Dillon Brooks
- Bruce Brown
- Carris LeVert – GPP
Analysis: James Harden is questionable tonight, and his play was suffering before he took some time off. It is a good spot if he returns, but I could spend money in other areas as well. Zach LaVine is in a tough spot, but has a 31% usage rate and is averaging over 45 fantasy points in the last week. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the name I am after tonight. Great price tag on him, and has been a consistent option averaging nearly 40 fantasy points over the last two weeks. Victor Oladipo is back tonight, however we will let him get up to a normal workload before deploying him. Dillon Brooks continues to be a reliable shooting option, and has been tremendous of late. He gets the Knicks tonight, which is going to be a strong spot for most of the Grizzlies. Bruce Brown is a solid value with the Pistons tonight, and I like Carris LeVert in tournaments if Kyrie is out, even more so.
Small Forwards
- Danilo Gallinari
- Eric Gordon – Better play if Harden is out.
- Carmelo Anthony
- Marcus Morris
- TJ Warren
- Bojan Bogdanovic
- Darius Bazley – GPP
Analysis: Not an incredibly deep position again, but also not overly expensive. There are a few safe plays like Danilo Gallinari, who is averaging 37 fantasy points over the last two weeks. Eric Gordon’s price took a big turn after his 50 burger, and I won’t pay that price tag unless Harden is out tonight. TJ Warren is another safe option, averaging over 30 fantasy points per game over the last two weeks. Bojan Bogdanvoci is another one, and San Antonio ranks 18th against opposing small forwards. He is also averaging over 30 fantasy points per game. Houston ranks 28th in defensive efficiency against opposing power forwards this season, and Carmelo Anthony is averaging 30 fantasy points per game over the last two weeks.
Power Forwards
- Domantas Sabonis
- Julius Randle
- Nemanja Bjelica
- Jaren Jackson
- Jarrett Allen – GPP
- Thaddeus Young
- Brandon Clarke
- Trey Lyles
- Christian Wood – GPP
Analysis: Domantas Sabonis continues to crush, and averages 1.24 fantasy points per minute. I don’t mind paying his price tag on FD, but DK is a bit extreme when Julius Randle is $1,000 cheaper, averaging 40 fantasy points per game in the last two weeks, and Memphis ranks 23rd against opposing power forwards. Randle also has the highest usage rate of any power forward on the slate. Jaren Jackson and Nmanja Bjelica have been reliable mid range options lately, and I will continue to build around them with their mid 6K price tags. If you are looking for cheap options, Thaddeus Young is solid, Trey Lyles is under $4,000 and gets a minutes bump with Aldridge out.
Centers
- Rudy Gobert – GPP
- Andre Drummond – If Healthy
- Hassan Whitside
- Jonas Valanciunas
- Steven Adams – GPP
- Jakob Poeltl
- Thon Maker – If Drummond Is Out
Analysis: Andre Drummond is questionable tonight, which is a shame because it is a great spot. Brooklyn is a team we love to target centers against, especially high usage ones like Drummond. Steven Adams hasn’t played big minutes since returning, and I would use him as a pivot away from cheaper options. Jakob Poeltl is in a tough spot, but is still cheap enough to deploy and should hit value regardless. LaMarcus Aldridge is out, which opens up him and Lyles as value plays. I like Hassan Whitside tonight, and he has been dominating as usual.
