Isaiah 
Isaiah’s Protocol for the NBA DFS slate is built around DraftKings pricing but is good across the industry with some slight adjustments to salaries on the various sites.
We are looking at a loaded 6 game NBA DFS slate tonight with a lot of intriguing pieces to play with. There is not a ton of value available at the time in which I’m writing this article. There are some questionable players to keep a watchful eye on though. Kawhi Leonard has yet to play in back to back games this season. Zach Lavine is also carrying a questionable tag with a neck injury. Trae Young has a bruised ankle but I expect him to play. Al Horford has some Achilles soreness, and Eric Gordon has a lower leg issue. Jimmy Butler and Clint Capela have already been ruled out. I advise all my readers to join the staff at WinDaily in our Discord chat rooms as we discuss important news as it unfolds.
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THE STUDS
Trae Young ($10400), Damian Lillard ($10200), Bradley Beal ($9900), Russell Westbrook ($9800).
Take your pick. These guys all have the capabilities to put up 60+ DraftKings fantasy points (DKFPTS) on this NBA DFS slate. I’m personally leaning towards Dame in guaranteed prize pool (GPP) formats.
Lillard has a 31.7% usage rate which is actually the lowest of the 4. He also has the toughest matchup on paper. Miami ranks 1st in defense verse position (DVP) and 2nd in (DVA) which is a rank given to the opponent when facing this player’s archetype. This combination has Lillard’s projected ownership at 9%. Damian is the top-ranked point guard (PG) on today’s slate. Narratives aren’t really my thing but Lillard also comes into this contest fired up after losing his last game, in a playoff race, to a blown call by the referee. Jimmy Butler is going to miss this game as well.
Westbrook has the toughest matchup. Trae and Beal both have similar upsides. Young has a higher ceiling as he is rested after missing the last game and could easily dominate this Knick backcourt. I like Beal best for cash games as he’s the cheapest of the bunch and has the best match up. Memphis ranks 26th in DVP and 28th in DVA. This game also has the highest total (239) and fastest pace on this NBA DFS slate.
THE CORE
Julius Randle ($8400) Randle had 34.8 DKFPTS in just 22 minutes last time vs. this depleted Hawk frontcourt that ranks 25th in DVP.
Joel Embiid ($8200) The media has been tearing into Embiid all week blaming him for the Sixers losing streak and other deficiencies. Enter the Bulls horrendous frontcourt ranking 27th in DVP. I expect Joel to absolutely smash this spot today and this is the cheapest salary I’ve ever seen him at.
Paul George ($8100) I don’t expect Kawhi to play tonight. George has a 31.9% usage rate that gets a 3.5% spike without Leonard on the floor. He scores 1.35 fantasy points (FP) per minute. All things considered, Paul is projected to score 47 DKFPTS tonight in 33 minutes. That gives him 6X value at his salary in a favorable matchup against Cleveland’s 17th ranked DVP and 22nd ranked DVA.
Hassan Whiteside ($7600) Again, the cheapest I’ve seen his salary since mid-January. He scores 1.35 FP/min and has a matchup against his old team (Miami) which ranks 29th in DVA. Hassan also hates to miss games and is listed as probable after sitting out last game with a lower leg issue. Whiteside is projected for almost 50 DKFPTS in 33 minutes. That gives him just over 6X value on this NBA DFS slate.
THE OTHERS
I can’t write up everyone but I’m going to want some exposure to these players as well.
Donovan Mitchell ($7300), Collin Sexton ($6500), Ja Morant ($6300), Bojan Bogdanovic ($6000), Goran Dragic ($5900), Brandon Clarke ($5000), Dillon Brooks ($4900).
I love the Clarke play at 1%projected ownership over Brooks at 28%.
THE VALUE
Gary Trent Jr. ($3800) I haven’t really seen anyone mention him. Anfernee Simons has a concussion making Trent the leading backup for both Lillard and McCollum. He’s been ballin lately. Gray scored 29 DKFPTS on the Spurs Wednesday, then turned around and dropped 31 on the Jazz in 38 minutes Thursday night.
De’Anthony Melton ($4000) My optimizers have been pushing him into every lineup I’ve built all morning no matter what I’ve done to stop it. I’m not crazy about the match up. Contrary to belief, Washington has switched up their backcourt and Ish Smith and Shabazz Napier are actually decent defenders. Melton is better known for his defense anyway. He’s also been in a slump lately. Here we are though.
There’s a ton to digest and a lot to talk about on this NBA DFS slate. I highly 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. Thank you for reading my content and feel free to leave a comment, or hit me up on Twitter @IsaiahsProtocol.
GOODLUCK AND HAVE FUN
