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 very interesting 5 game NBA DFS slate tonight. I want to start things off a little differently today. I’m going to give you some of my general thoughts on this slate before I dig into some core plays that I have in mind.
The Pacers are in Miami, and the 76ers travel to Orlando. These 2 games represent 4 of the best defenses in the NBA, and the Magic have the slowest pace on this NBA DFS slate. Fading players from these games eliminate 6 of the top 9 salaries available. Let’s talk about the other 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best DFS players in the NBA. Coming off an embarrassing loss on Christmas day to the 76ers, Antetokounmpos match up against Atlanta is the stuff DFS dreams are made of. However, Giannis only scored 55 DKFPTS in 32 minutes the last time he faced the Hawks. That was without John Collins, who just returned from a 25 game absence due to suspension. Collins isn’t the best defender, but he has great instinct around the rim. Factor in the nagging back problems that Giannis has been dealing with, the potential for a blowout (limited minutes), and his inflated salary; I’ll be fading Giannis. On the flip side, Collins has a tough matchup against the Greek Freak. I’ll let others chase the 50 DKFPTS he posted in his return vs. Cleveland on Monday, and fade him as well. I wouldn’t normally suggest you fade 8 of the top 9 players on any NBA DFS slate, but bear with me. Let’s see what we have left.
THE CORE
Trae Young ($10,800) The opposition has been absolutely feasting on the Bucks backcourt since Bledsoe fractured his fibula. Trae has a 36.4% usage rate and scores 1.39 FP/min.
D’Angelo Russell ($7400) Russell has a 32.8% usage rate, scores 1.22 FP/min, and the Suns rank 27th in DvsA
Ricky Rubio ($7100) Rubio has a 24% usage rate, and scores1.14 FP/min. Golden State ranks 28th in DEFF against ball distributors.
Devin Booker ($6900) Booker has a 28.6% usage rate, scores 1.12 FP/min. The Warriors rank 29th in DvsA and 23rd in DEFF against his position. He’s simply priced too cheap on this NBA DFS slate.
VALUE
Aron Baynes ($4800) Baynes has a 21.7% usage rate and scores 1.09 FP/min. The Warriors rank 29th in DvsA, and Baynes has been playing close to 30 mins/gm. He dropped 59.5 DKFPTS in 28 mins the last time these two teams met, and not much has changed in the rotations since then. He’ll break the NBA DFS slate again if he comes anywhere close to duplicating that performance.
De’Andre Hunter ($4700) Hunter carries some risk here, but I need to find a forward. He only has an 18.5% usage rate and scores.71 FP/min. He still played 39 minutes on Monday in Collins’s return. The Bucks rank 4th in DEFF and Middleton is a good defender. I was surprised to see him averaging 32 DKFPTS in his previous 2 games against Milwaukee.
Wesley Matthews ($3700) Atlanta ranks 28th in DvsA against Wesley’s position, and he seems to have picked up some responsibilities in stuffing his stat sheet since Bledsoe went down. Averaging close to 30 minutes, in a matchup against this dismal Hawk backcourt, I like the savings here.
All 7 of these players fit intoone lineup, and actually form interesting stacks of the 2 best target games onthis 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 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
