DFSGhost 
With the NFL season coming to an end, all eyes will be on the NBA before baseball season begins. Thus, we not only have a ton of contests at our disposal, but also some great games to go with it. It’s a Mojito Monday edition of the Gems – let’s ride.
One thing I want to clarify based on the questions I have received over the past few years is that I will never list a player under the $5,000 price tag simply because I use the projection model to identify all targets in this range and below. While there are often plenty of options that I like at $5,000 and less, since I often find myself with not only one – but multiple – in my NBA DFS lineups, you all have access to the very model I use to make my own selections, so when asking yourself: “Should I use player X or player Y?”, make sure to check the model because that is how I make all of my own decisions and I truly ride or die by it on a daily basis.
Before running to the DraftKings, FanDuel, or Yahoo lobby to construct your NBA DFS lineup after reading this article, please make sure to utilize the abundance of tools we have at Win Daily:
Sacramento Kings @ Brooklyn Nets (+4)
The new-look Kings travel to Brooklyn as road favorite in this one, and rightfully so. The Brooklyn Nets, fresh off having dealt one of their Big 3 in James Harden to the 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond, will certainly be in tough in the absence of Kyrie Irving tonight. However, this does open up their offense quite a bit, especially when no player is above $5,700 on DraftKings. While Cam Thomas has been rolling as of late with 17 or more points in his last five, including four games of 20+ points, this offense belongs to Seth Curry tonight, who will certainly see an uptick in opportunity versus what he saw in Philadelphia alongside Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Tyrese Maxey. Expect to see an increase to his assist rate and shooting opportunities, while Andre Drummond is wildly underpriced – if Steve Nash decides to run a bigger lineup than what he is accustomed to, but know that both LaMarcus Aldridge and Nic Claxton are scheduled to be active tonight as well in a crowded frontcourt. While this offense is far from a guarantee to run as it should, there is no doubt that the Nets are one of the teams to attack on tonight’s NBA slate.
On the flip side of this one, the combination of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will do work against a weak Nets defensive unit. In two games since the blockbuster deal, which saw Tyrese Haliburton head to Indiana, Sabonis and Fox have usage rates of 23.5% and 28.9%, respectively, while the two have combined for 45.5 PPG. While the Sacramento bench is somewhat appealing if you decide to go elsewhere with your studs on this NBA slate, it got a lot deeper with the returns of Maurice Harkless and Donte DiVincenzo, in addition to rookie Davion Mitchell.
San Antonio Spurs @ Chicago Bulls (-5.5)
With Zach Lavine (knee) scheduled to miss the Bulls’ remaining games until the All-Star break, we’re going back to the well with the combination of DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic. While the latter is one of my favorite players to target in NBA DFS considering how underrated he is on a nightly basis, the former is just on an undeniable run right now: DeRozan now has 30 or more points in six straight games for Chicago, where he’s sported a 37.7% usage rate and has posted a ridiculous 37.2/6/5.5 scoring line on 56.8% shooting. Of course, know that you’re largely committing the success of your NBA lineups on one game if you follow this route, but it’s one that I am more than okay with, not only because of DeRozan, but because of who you can run it back with on the other side: Dejounte Murray. Since Derrick White was traded to the Celtics in a surprising move, Murray has posted back-to-back 30-point games, where he’s also triple-doubled once and has averaged 31.5/8.5/13.5 on 60% shooting, while taking 20 FGA per night through a 31.1% usage rate. Facing a Bulls defense that has been lackluster on the perimeter in the absence of Lonzo Ball (knee), his price tag is lofty on such a big NBA slate, but there is no denying the upside Murray carries every time he takes the court.
Honorable Mentions:
- Toronto Raptors @ New Orleans Pelicans (+5)
- Golden State Warriors @ LA Clippers (+6.5)
You can find us on Twitter @DFS_Ghost and @Bucn4life
