FanDuel & DraftKings NBA Cheat Sheet 1/4/19

By Jason Guilbault | Jan 04, 2020, 8:56am

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

Bucks (119)
Nuggets (117)
Pacers (114)
Kings (114)
Mavericks (113)
Pelicans (111)
Thunder (110)

Lowest Implied Team Totals

Magic (101)
Hornets (102)
Cavaliers (103)
Bulls (104)

Potential Blowouts

Nuggets (-12)
Bucks (-11.5)
Mavericks (-11.5)

Analysis: The only two games that are under a 210 over/under are in Chicago and Orlando. However Boston and Utah are still teams I am targeting. I am less on the home teams there just due to it being a larger slate and I don’t want to pick on two top defensive teams. There are three blowout concern games listed above, and the Bucks are the only team I am backing off of just a little bit. Largely we can still use the studs from those games because we know the production will be there, and if there is a blowout, we know why. Overall there are a ton of higher implied totals to target tonight, and a late night game in Sacramento that should provide a ton of fantasy potential.

Injury Report

Bradley Beal – Questionable
Kristaps Porzingis – Out
D’Angelo Russell – Out
Kemba Walker – Questionable
John Collins – Questionable
Jonathan Issac – Out
Dejounte Murray – Out
Malcolm Brogdon – Out
Blake Griffin – Out
Enes Kanter – Questionable
Willie Cauley-Stein – Questionable
Bogdan Bogdanovic – Out
Tim Hardaway – Out
Delon Wright – Questionable

Analysis: We have a lot of similar names still on the injury report, so we know how to deal with these scenarios mostly. Washington has Bradley Beal listed as questionable, who missed last night’s game. Isaiah Thomas got suspended, but Jordan McRae, Troy Brown, and the remaining guards are all in intriguing here if Beal sits out again. Kemba Walker missed last night’s game due to illness, and we are not quite sure if he will be back tonight. Marcus Smart would be a chalk value again, and the remaining Celtics all get a bump in fantasy production. John Collins left last night’s game, and is closer to doubtful tonight. Jabari Parker would see a tick up in minutes. Aaron Holiday will fill in for the injured Malcolm Brogdon again. Dejounte Murray is expected to miss tonight’s game, and Derrick White will see a tick up in minutes for the Spurs. He is a dirt cheap value to consider. Kristaps Porzingis is listed as out tonight, which means Maxi Kleber is back into consideration.

NBA Daily Fantasy Research

Point Guards

Luka Doncic ($10,900/$12,400)
Trae Young ($9,000/$9,500)
De’Aaron Fox ($7,300/$8,600)
Chris Paul ($7,200/$7,800)
Jamal Murray ($6,300/$7,500)
Derrick Rose ($5,900/$6,100)
Lonzo Ball ($5,700/$6,500)
Aaron Holiday ($5,000/$5,600)
Derrick White ($4,600/$4,200)

Analysis: There are a lot of excellent spots for point guards tonight, and we will start with Luka Doncic, who is averaging 46 fantasy points per game over his last ten games. Charlotte is an exposable defense and Dallas has an implied total of 114. The matchup between De’Aaron Fox and Lonzo Ball is going to be a fun watch, and both have a ton of upside in this spot. Jamal Murray and Chris Paul will both have enticing matchups against bottom ten defenses against opposing point guards.

Shooting Guards

Jrue Holiday ($8,300/$7,900)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($7,800/$7,500)
Donovan Mitchell ($7,500/$7,900)
Devonte Graham ($7,400/$7,600)
Buddy Hield ($6,400/$7,100)
Damion Lee ($5,900/$6,500)
Jordan McRae ($5,700/$5,700)
Marcus Smart ($5,000/$5,400)
Jordan Clarkson ($4,400/$4,700)

Analysis: Jrue Holiday has been kind of underwhelming this year, but is in a good spot against the Kings. Buddy Hield on the other side of that game is a strong option. Hield has been up and down of late, but still has a 25% usage to target. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 40 fantasy points per game over the last ten games, and is a tremendous option against Orlando, especially with Mike Conley still out. We have a lot of the same value names at the position, who have been reliable of late.

Small Forwards

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,000/$11,500)
Brandon Ingram ($8,500/$8,500)
Jaylen Brown ($7,400/$7,400)
Gordon Hayward ($7,000/$7,000)
Will Barton ($6,800/$7,300)
Alec Burks ($6,000/$6,000)
Danilo Gallinari ($5,800/$6,500)
Troy Brown ($4,900/$5,400)
Glenn Robinson ($4,900/$5,300)

Analysis: If Kemba Walker is out again tonight, but Gordan Hayward and Jaylen Brown averaging over 1.00 FPPM with Walker off the court. Will Barton and Alec Burks are going up against pedestrian defenses and come in as mid-range plays. Brandon Ingram is averaging 39 fantasy points per game over the last ten. Against this Kings defense, he is a prime play at the position if you don’t want to spend up for Giannis.

Power Forwards

LaMarcus Aldridge ($8,400/$7,200)
Domantas Sabonis ($8,300/$8,900)
Jayson Tatum ($8,100/$8,000)
Richaun Holmes ($6,900/$6,900)
Draymond Green ($6,600/$6,300)
P.J. Washington ($5,400/$5,700)
Maxi Kleber ($5,300/$5,900)
Daniel Theis ($4,300/$3,800)
Michael Porter ($4,100/$4,000)
Christian Wood ($4,100/$5,900)
Jabari Parker ($3,800/$4,900)
Eric Paschall ($3,500/$3,500)

Analysis: There are a lot of power forward options top to bottom tonight, and don’t feel the need to spend up here. There is plenty of value where you can load up at other positions. PJ Washington has been excellent this season, and is averaging 28 fantasy points per game over his last ten games. Draymond Green and Richaun Holmes remain under $7,000 and are averaging over 30 fantasy points per game in the last ten games. Eric Paschall returned last game and played 26 minutes. He is dirt cheap.

Centers

Andre Drummond ($9,700/$9,900)
Nikola Jokic ($8,900/$9,400)
Rudy Gobert ($8,800/$8,000)
Steven Adams ($6,200/$6,800)
Myles Turner ($5,800/$5,300)
Dwight Powell ($5,100/$5,200)

Analysis: The trade talks have been flying for one of the NBA’s top centers, in this case Andre Drummond. However tonight he gets a Golden State defense that ranks 23rd against opposing centers this season. Drummond is averaging 44 fantasy points per game over the last ten games. Nikola Jokic is in a tremendous spot against Washington, who are bottom five against centers, and allowed fantasy points. Charlotte ranks 22nd against opposing centers this season, putting Dwight Powell in a strong spot, who is averaging 25 fantasy points per game over his last ten games.

Jason Guilbault

Jason Guilbault is the Brand Content Manager for Lineups.com, powered by Catena Media. He has worked 10+ in the sports betting & iGaming space as a writer and content manager. Jason has also written for DailyFantasyCafe, NBAMockDraft, & FantasyPros. He aims to bring the best sports data & insight to the industry for both novice & advanced users.