Isaiah 
Isaiah’s Protocol picks for the NBA DFS slate are built around DraftKings pricing, but are good across the industry with some slight adjustments to salaries on the various sites.
We have a loaded 9 game NBA DFS slate to look at tonight. There are obvious superstars available and some other options with great upside as well. DraftKings has priced the players well, so injury news during the day could be crucial to help fit all the right pieces into your roster.
I’m writing this up a little differently today as I wouldn’t be doing my job for our WinDaily family if I didn’t include a very key piece. Here’s the thing; if you’re using my favorite player on this NBA DFS slate, your average for remaining players drops to $5314. That eliminates virtually the entire core of this article. At the time that I am writing this piece, I don’t have all the injury news available. You will need that information to include him on your roster.
THE BEST PIECE
James Harden ($12800) The Rockets are on the front end of a B2B, with OKC on tap. Russell Westbrook has been ruled out tonight, for rest before his return to Oklahoma City, tomorrow. Harden has a 46.8% usage rate and a 46.7% assist rate and scores 1.85 FP/min without Westbrook on the floor. This basically tells you that James Harden will score points almost every single time the Rockets touch the ball. Atlanta is the 3rd worst defense in the league, they rank 29th in DEFF, and have the 8th fastest pace. Houston has the 2nd highest pace and is favored by 8, giving them a 121 point implied team total. Factoring in all these numbers it’s no surprise to see Harden projected for almost 70 DKFPTS tonight. Getting him on your roster will be tough, but not impossible.
THE CORE
Bradley Beal ($8500) Beal is questionable, and I don’t have a whole lot of information on this lower leg injury that has kept him out of 5 of the last 6 games. As of right now, he did not participate in the morning shootaround, so I don’t know how helpful this will be. He carries a 33.6% usage rate and scores 1.27 FP/min. Miami has a solid defensive unit ranking 11th in the league, but that hasn’t stopped Beal from averaging 51.2 DKFPTS/gm in 3 contests previous to this one. Simply put, If he’s playing, his salary is too cheap for his upside here. Pivot straight to Jordan McRae ($6600) if Beal is ruled out.
Jimmy Butler ($8200) Butler was out last game with a back injury. He’s been upgraded to probable and should be rested for this NBA DFS slate. The Pacers have questionable tags regarding injuries to Brogdon and Sabonis. I expect this game to stay close with both of them playing tonight, judging by the 1 point spread. Indy ranks 10th in defense and 11th in DEFF and 1st overall in DvsA at Butler’s position. Jimmy “buckets” has a 25.7% usage rate and scores 1.22 FP/min. Looking into Butlers splits I noticed that he scored 40.3 DKFPTS his last time out against the Pacers. He only shot 3 for 11 in that game. I expect him to go low owned tonight, and like his upside at this salary.
Serge Ibaka ($7800) Serge has played admirably since filling in for the injured frontcourt in Toronto. He’s averaged 34 DKFPTS over the last 2 weeks and has a double-double in each of his last 6 games. Ibaka has a 24% usage rate and scores 1.14 FP/min. We know how good it is to pick on the Hornets frontcourt. They rank 23rd in DEFF, and 26th in DvsA. Most of the ownership will be on Lowrys expensive price tag, after dropping close to 50 DKFPTS on yesterday’s NBA DFS slate. Serge provides some nice salary relief and a nice pivot off of Lowry, in a better match up.
Jaylen Brown ($7400) I’m just going to throw this out there. San Antonio can not cover the SG. Going back to New Year’s Eve, Burks had a monster game. It was Shai’s turn on the 2nd, and Bledsoe’s on the 4th. The Spurs rank 28th in DEFF, and 28th in DvsA. Jaylen carries a 23.6% usage rate and scores 1.07 FP/min. Brown went 10 for 18 in 32 minutes, dropping 45.8 DKFPTS the last time he saw the Spurs. Jaylen has a nice salary for this NBA DFS slate.
Others include: Joe Ingles, Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Eric Bledsoe
THE VALUE
Daniel Gafford ($4800) Wendle Carter Jr. has already been ruled out at the center for the Bulls with a sprained ankle. Gafford played well filling in for Carter on Monday going 6 for 13 points and 8 rebounds. He scored 27 DKFPTS in 25 minutes vs. Dallas. New Orleans ranks 22nd in DEFF vs. the center position so Daniel could provide salary relief in this decent match up.
Michael Porter Jr. ($3800) Will Barton has been ruled out tonight. Porter has a 22,5% usage rate, 14.8% rebound rate, 7.2% assist rate, and scores 1.06 FP/min. Dallas ranks 26th in DvsA. I expect him to start for Barton and is basically a free square on this NBA DFS slate.
Others include: Austin Rivers, Chris Boucher, Wes Iwundu, Oshae Brissett
Breaking news is extremely important on this NBA DFS slate and we will need some value so that we can get at some higher-priced stars into our lineups. I encourage all readers to join myself, and the rest of the WinDaily team in the Discord chat rooms as we break down and discuss our favorite plays of the NBA DFS slate. Thank you for reading my content and feel free to leave a comment, or hit me up on Twitter @IsaiahsProtocol.
GOODLUCK AND HAVE FUN
