Isaiahs Protocol for the NBA DFS slate on 3/11

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Isaiah’s Protocol for the NBA DFS slate is researched using DraftKings (DK) pricing. The players are good across the industry with some slight adjustments to salaries on the various sites. Some players may not be listed here because I prefer them on FanDuel (FD). I like to advise all my readers to join the staff at WinDaily, in our Discord chat rooms, as we discuss some of the important news of the day and break down some of these intriguing plays even further.

Most of the players I recommendare best used together for cash game purposes. These players are also decentconsiderations for guaranteed prize pool (GPP) games when used individuallywith other contrarian type players.

We are looking at an interesting 6 game NBA DFS slate tonight. I think there is an abundance of decent mid-level players tonight which is pushing me towards a balanced approach to roster construction. While there are some value players available, expected injury/rest news should open up some more value so that we can get to the stars tonight.

THE GAMES

• Kristaps Porzingas ($9400) has sat out the last 4 back-to-back (B2B) games the Mavericks have played. I’m writing with the expectation that tonight will be no different.
• The Pelicans/Kings game has the highest total of 235 points. The Knicks/Hawks game is right behind them with 233 points expected. These 2 games are almost 15 points higher than all the rest of the games and are the best place to target players on this NBA DFS slate. Both games represent the 2 fastest-paced contests of the night as well.
• Jimmy Butler ($8000), Kendrick Nunn ($4800), and Tyler Herro ($3300) are listed as questionable. With the Heat being 10 point home favorites there may be some nice value opening up in this backcourt.

THE STUDS

Luka Doncic ($11000) Luka is a little banged up right now with a sprained right wrist. He also got sick last week and battled a sprained left thumb. None of these things stopped him from dropping 63.25 DraftKings fantasy points (DKFPTS) on the Spurs last night. Doncis’s 37.9% usage rate and 1.66 fantasy points (FP) per minute, both get huge bumps when Porzingas is off the floor. It’s not an ideal matchup against a Nugget team that ranks 13th in defensive efficiency (DEFF) and 7th in (DVA) which is a rank given to the opponent when facing this player’s archetype. Luka is basically matchup proof and needs to be considered when constructing your rosters.

Trae Young ($10400) With Luka projected to have 57.24% of the ownership, I don’t see how we don’t look to pivot to Trae’s 22%. He looked to be a little “off” in his last game and I hope that keeps his ownership low. Looking to be healthier after fighting the Flu last week, Trae carries a 37.1% usage rate and scores 1.44 FP/min. He’s squaring off against a Knick team that ranks 26^th in both DEFF and DVA vs. opposing point guards (PG). New York is also on the second half of a B2B after a dismal performance last night against the lowly Wizards. Young has averaged 67.4 DKFPTS in 2 games vs. the Knicks and is quickly becoming my favorite player on the entire NBA DFS slate.

THE CORE

Julius Randle ($7800) Randle had a sub-par performance against Washington last night and I’m hoping this keeps his ownership low. I’m going right back to the well tonight. Randle has a 27.3% usage rate and scores 1.15 FP/min. Julius also spanked Atlanta in both of his previous games to the tune of an average of 49.6 DKFPTS as the Hawks rank 16^th in DEFF and 19^th in DVA against opposing power forwards (PF). John Collins ($9100) is listed questionable but probable with an ankle sprain. Elfrid Payton ($6500) was also a little “off” last night and I love a little game stack to take advantage of this spot tonight.

Danilo Gallinari ($5900) Nothing eye-popping here. Danilo has a 23% usage rate and scores just over an FP/min. He averages between 30-32 minutes a game and scored 35.3 DKFPTS against Utah in his previous game with them. He may get a slight bump in production tonight if SGA misses this contest. The math checks out here as 35 DKFPTS gets him to 6X value. This makes him one of the most stable, and cheap, core options to start building your roster with.

Nemanja Bjelica ($5500) The frontcourt situation has gotten a bit murky in Sacramento with the return of Richaun Holmes ($5000). The one constant for the Kings all season has been Bjelica. He still managed to play 30 minutes last game with 3 big men available. I want to find some exposure to the best game on this NBA DFS slate and Nemanja looks to be a cheap answer. He has a 17.3% usage rate and scores just under an FP/min. The Pelicans rank 17^th in DEFF and 25^th in DVA vs. opposing PF’s.

I realize that this isn’t the sexiest of lists. I’m just trying to show that these players will be a “core” of my rosters. They should allow me to build in different ways involving higher-priced players and value, or a solid mid-tier roster that will be best suited for cash games.

THE OTHERS

Bam Adebayo ($9000), Tobias Harris ($8500), Christian Wood ($8100), Lonzo Ball ($7900), Zion Williamson ($7800), De’Aaron Fox ($7800), Al Horford ($7400), Elfrid Payton ($6500), Will Barton ($6200), Dennis Schroder ($6200)(a core play if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sits), Mitchell Robinson ($5700), Buddy Hield ($5400), Brandon Knight ($4900), Mike Scott ($4800)(only if Joel Embiid is out).

THE VALUE

Maxi Kleber ($4600) Averaging .88 FP/min, and 30+ minutes in games that Porzingas has missed, Kleber looks to be one of the best value plays on the NBA DFS slate.

Bobby Portis ($4200) Taj Gibson ($3100) is slowly being faded into oblivion and Portis looks to be the sixth man filling in at both the PF and Center spots. Mitchell Robinson ($5700) is no stranger to foul trouble and attacking this Hawks frontcourt has been DFS gold. Portis also fits nicely into that game stack I alluded to earlier.

Thon Maker ($3100) There aren’t any “Bigs” left in Detroit and Henson has an ankle injury. This is a minute/value play only if Henson misses the game.

Boban Marjanovic ($3000) Willie Cauley-Stein ($3000) was held out of the last game battling an illness. With no Porzingas, hit the lock button here if WCS has to sit again.

There are a ton of players to like tonight. I simply don’t have the time to write all of them up. 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 leave me a message on Twitter @IsaiahsProtocol.

GOODLUCK AND HAVE FUN