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. I’d like to point out that the players I’m recommending are best used together for cash game purposes. These players are also decent considerations for guaranteed prize pool (GPP) games when used individually with other contrarian type players.
We are looking at a loaded 7 game NBA DFS slate. Injury news is abundant, so make sure you stay tuned throughout the day for any updates. 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 intriguing plays even further.
The NBA playoffs are right around the corner and there are only 4 days left to lock up seed spots. I’m going to change things up a bit in this article. Instead of just listing off my favorite plays in different salary tiers, there are some different strategies to consider on this NBA DFS slate.
Strategy
First off, I wanted to get this article out as early as possible as the DraftKings full slate locks at 12:30 PM EST. I’m hoping to catch the masses sleeping late and rushing to get their lineups in. There are 7 games on the Sunday slate and I’m seeing some areas to exploit. After taking a long look at the standings, there are opportunities to take advantage of. It’s imperative that we watch the news and touch base in the WinDaily Discord chat rooms to take advantage of players either resting or being limited due to already locking in a playoff seed.
15 of the 16 playoff spots are already locked in, making that 8th spot in the West a key place to target. Ironically, 2 of those teams have some key injuries I’m targeting right off the bat. Specifically, I’m talking about Memphis and Portland. The Grizzlies starting power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has a torn meniscus and will miss the rest of the season. Currently holding on to the 8th and final spot in the West, they square off in a tough game against Toronto. Looking to steal that spot is Portland, who looks to beat a Sixer team that just lost Ben Simmons who will undergo surgery to remove a loose body in his left knee.
There’s a couple other injuries around this NBA DFS slate I’m looking to target, but we’ll get to those in a minute.
The Stud
Damian Lillard ($10000) I fully expect Dame to put this team on his back and take full advantage of an inferior Philadelphia backcourt, as he carries the Blazers into the playoffs. Lillard scored almost 60 DraftKings fantasy points (DKFPTS) in 39 minutes in his last game verse the Sixers This time there’s more on the line and they’ll be without a solid defender in Ben Simmons.
Harden ($11300) is always in play but already has a playoff spot locked up and rest will be a factor against a Kings squad the defends the guard decently. Joel Embiid ($10600) has been an absolute beast in the bubble and I can’t argue if you want to go there. The way I see it is he has his hands full facing a frontcourt consisting of Nurcic and Collins, and it’s tough to get 2 of these guys in one NBA DFS lineup. Portland will look to take him out of the mix, leaving Damian as the cheapest and best option up top. This takes me right into my next play.
The Core
Tobias Harris ($8700) and Al Horford ($6500) Don’t think for a minute that Philadelphia is just going to lay down and cruise into the playoffs. A couple of wins will give them a much better seeding and their gonna need to find some offense without Simmons. Enter Tobias Harris. Harris is on fire right now going north of 40 DKFPTS in 3 of his last 4. Horford is now starting the 4 next to Embiid, and is simply too cheap in a matchup against Zach Collins. This game has stacking potential all over the place and if I can get C.J. McCollum ($7800) in there as well, I’m going to.
I want to mention some other guys I’m looking at before I get into some value that will make all this fit together nicely.
Fred VanVleet ($7500) Way too cheap for a guy that’s been absolutely dominating the Raptor offense. Squaring off against a Memphis team that is struggling to hold on to a playoff berth, without a key defender. Yes please.
Ivica Zubac ($5400) The Clippers miss Montrezl, but Zubac has been on an absolute tear. 48 points, 39 boards, 19-24 from the field, and 10-13 from the free throw line in the last 3 games. He also just so happens to be going in to that NBA DFS slate gold mine that is the Brooklyn Nets. They also look to be without Jarrett Allen and his sprained ankle. Did I mention that this game is also the “Late Night Hammer”. Love it.
The Value
I’m going to go through this quick as there is a lot of value available right now. I expect more to come.
Anthony Tolliver ($3100) and Brandon Clarke ($4900) Don’t love the matchup, but someone is going to get the minutes at power forward for the departed Jaren Jackson. Memphis needs to win badly.
Narlens Noel ($3900) hopefully he’ll be overlooked starting for an injured Steven Adams. My favorite value on the slate against a pitiful Wizard defense.
Ben McLemore ($3800) Most likely the chalk, he’ll be filling in for Russell Westbrook who’s nursing a bruised quad. He can drop bombs when given the opportunity and looks like he’ll be playing close to 30 minutes again.
Alec Burks ($4200) He may not start, but I’m predicting him to be given the task of keeping pace with Dame and the Portland Trailblazers. Without Simmons someone has to run the ball up the court.
There’s a ton of players I like. I simply don’t have the time to write them all 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 hit me up on Twitter @IsaiahsProtocol.
