FanDuel & DraftKings NBA Cheat Sheet 1/9/19

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 (115)
• Pistons (114)
• Trail Blazers (113)
• Thunder (111)
• Timberwolves (111)

Lowest Implied Team Totals

• Celtics (106)
• Cavaliers (107)

Potential Blowouts

• None

Analysis: Only four games tonight, and no blowout concerns. We have some big games, and two TV games with the games in Oklahoma City and Philadelphia. Houston and Detroit have two of the larger implied totals tonight, and it is hard to really fade any team. Houston and Boston are coming off back-to-backs, although Kemba Walker was thrown out and might as well have rested another night. Russell Westbrook also rested on the first night. Detroit and Cleveland just played the other night, which tends to drive up ownership for whoever did well that night.

Injury Report

• Karl-Anthony Towns – Questionable
• Joel Embiid – Out
• Hassan Whiteside – Questionable
• Danilo Gallinari – Out
• Markieff Morris – Out
• Kevin Porter – Out
• Nerlens Noel – Out

Analysis: A few centers either out or questionable tonight. Joel Embiid is out due to a dislocated finger. When Embiid is out, Tobias Harris sees the most usage of any starting option. He has a 26% usage rate and 1.21 FPPM in over 600 minutes with Embiid off the court. Josh Richardson sees a 23.4% usage rate, Al Horford sits at 1.18 FPPM and a 22.6% usage rate. Ben Simmons has a 1.16 FPPM with Embiid off the floor. Karl-Anthony Towns is a game time decision, and with him off the court, Andrew Wiggins sees a 30% usage rate. Gorgui Dieng has averaged 1.16 FPPM with him off the floor this season.

Point Guards

• Damian Lillard ($8,700/$8,900)
• Russell Westbrook ($8,700/$8,400)
• Ben Simmons ($8,500/$9,000)
• Chris Paul ($7,200/$7,400)
• Kemba Walker ($7,100/$6,500)
• Derrick Rose ($6,600/$6,500)
• Collin Sexton ($6,100/$5,900)
• Darius Garland ($4,700/$4,800)

Analysis: For four games there are a ton of point guard options. Russell Westbrook is coming off a night of rest and gets a matchup heading into Oklahoma City. This game is sitting with a 226 total, and I love both sides of this one. Westbrook has a 35% usage rate over the last ten games, and is averaging over 40 fantasy points per game. Derrick Rose and Damian Lillard are the only two names at the position to have over a 30% usage in the last ten games. Kemba Walker is only $7,100 on FanDuel tonight, and while it is a tough matchup, I like the price enough to deploy him in any format. If you are looking cheaper, Rose and Sexton square off again and are averaging right around 30 fantasy points per game in the last ten games.

Shooting Guards

• James Harden ($11,200/$12,200)
• Andrew Wiggins ($7,000/$7,000)
• CJ McCollum ($6,700/$6,800)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($6,500/$7,100)
• Dennis Schroder ($6,000/$6,100)
• Josh Richardson ($5,900/$5,600)
• Bruce Brown ($5,100/$5,000)

Analysis: James Harden is coming off a monster triple-double, and is averaging over 50 fantasy points per game over the last ten games. He is a strong play to build around with a 36% usage rate over the last ten games. Andrew Wiggins has a high usage rate this season, and is back and healthy. If Towns is out, he becomes the leading Minnesota usage play. C.J. McCollum and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are prime plays tonight. Both are in a good spot against teams that rank bottom five against opposing shooting guards. I don’t mind Josh Richardson at his price tag with a tick up in usage given the Embiid news. Bruce Brown continues to be a value, although the price tag is trending upwards. The Cavs are a good matchup, and he is averaging right around 25 fantasy points per game.

Small Forwards

• Tobias Harris ($6,700/$7,300)
• Jaylen Brown ($6,600/$6,500)
• Carmelo Anthony ($6,100/$6,600)
• Gordon Hayward ($6,000/$6,600)
• Jarrett Culver ($4,900/$5,100)
• Cedi Osman ($4,600/$4,700)

Analysis: This is a fairly limited position, so Tobias Harris leading the 76ers in usage with Embiid off the floor is going to be one to plug in. The 76ers offense has been up and down this season, and while they will face a good Boston defense, Harris should see hefty minutes. Both Boston small forwards are in play tonight, and I prefer Jaylen Brown slightly here. He is averaging over 30 fantasy points per game in the last ten games. He also has a 27% usage rate in the last ten games. Jarrett Culver and Cedi Osman are the cheap options, which says a lot. Culver has been playing well of late, and even with guys back and healthy his emergence in the offense should continue.

Power Forwards

• Kevin Love ($7,200/$7,700)
• Jayson Tatum ($6,900/$6,700)
• Robert Covington ($6,000/$5,700)
• Sekou Doumbouya ($5,700/$5,800)
• Al Horford ($5,400/$6,000)
• P.J. Tucker ($4,100/$4,100)

Analysis: Kevin Love seems to have gotten over his issue playing on the Cavs, and lit up Detroit last time out. Love has been a solid fantasy producer this season, and the top power forward option. Detroit ranks 26th against opposing power forwards. We dive into Jayson Tatum and Robert Covington averaging around 30 fantasy points per game in the last ten games. Tatum of course has had the higher usage rate at 26% in the last ten games. Sekou Doumbouya has been playing more minutes, and is the young rookie starting to get more run. Great matchup for him to keep on moving in the fantasy world.

Centers

• Andre Drummond ($10,900/$10,200)
• Hassan Whiteside ($9,500/$9,300)
• Clint Capela ($7,700/$7,500)
• Steven Adams ($7,100/$6,900)
• Gorgui Dieng ($5,600/$6,300)

Analysis: Andre Drummond dropped the hammer on the Cavs, which is no surprise. He is averaging 47 fantasy points per game in the last ten games, and the Cavs rank 20th against opposing centers this season. Love Drummond as a pay up option. Hassan Whiteside is now questionable with an illness, but would be a tournament play if he gives it a go. I will be looking at Gorgui Dieng if Towns is out for cheap again, and Portland ranks just 22nd against opposing centers. Steven Adams and Clint Capela are back in play after a good week for both.