DFSGhost 
Another great slate for us yesterday with our late night hammer combination of De’Anthony Melton, Desmond Bane, and Paul George makes us come into an NFL Sunday edition of the Gems with a chip on our shoulder. Today’s article will feature a Core 4 rather than a positional breakdown since there is a clear path on who I am going to use this early in the day. On Sundays, many NBA players take the day off to focus on NFL, but here at Win Daily Sports, there are no days off – it’s a Sunday 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:
- Proprietary Projection Model
- Articles of the Day
- Cheat Sheet (coming soon)
NBA Core Player #1: Steph Curry ($11,000 DK / $10,200 FD)
Talk about starting off the new NBA season with a bang! Steph Curry has been sporting a 34% usage rate for the 2-0 Warriors this season, where he’s posted a remarkable 33 PPG to alongside his 10 RPG and 5.5 APG. Taking 23 shots per night thus far, Curry has been as efficient as ever, hitting at a 45.7% clip, including 47.6% from behind the arc, where he has taken 21 3PA in two games. In a game versus the Sacramento Kings, who are always in the top 5 in pace and bottom 5 in defensive efficiency, including ranking 23rd versus primary ball handlers, my NBA lineups start with the greatest shooter of all time.
NBA Core Player #2: De’Aaron Fox ($8,300 DK / $8,500 FD)
Leading the charge for the Sacramento Kings once again is no other than De’Aaron Fox, one of the fastest and most electrifying players in today’s NBA. Sporting a 31.3% usage rate on the year, Fox has finally gotten the minutes he deserves, and while it hasn’t been a significant bump to his career average of 31.4 MPG, now seeing 35.5 MPG through two games into the season not only gives Fox more possessions on offense, but it also allows the Kings to keep games close. Playing in the best game environment of today’s NBA slate, Fox will have to keep up with Steph Curry, and I expect a much closer stat line to his 27/5/8 he posted versus Portland, than his 12/3/5 against one of, if not the league’s best defense, in the Utah Jazz, considering the fact that Golden State has consistently ranked in the NBA’s top 5 over the past few years in terms of pace of play.
NBA Core Player #3: De’Anthony Melton ($4,200 DK / $5,300 FD)
Filling in for the injured Dillon Brooks, De’Anthony Melton has been one of our most reliable sources of value on both of Memphis’ slates this NBA season, and today is no different. Sporting a 19.5% usage rate across 32 MPG for the Grizzlies, Melton has now averaged 21/5.5/2.5 with four 3PM per contest, shooting 56.7% from the field and 57.1% from behind the arc. With all eyes on Ja Morant on the second leg of a back-to-back, both Melton and Bane remain firmly in play.
NBA Core Player #4: Philadelphia 76ers Bench
I’m going to categorize the 76ers bench as a complete “player” in our Core 4 for today’s NBA slate because of the nature of this roster: with Ben Simmons remaining on the sidelines for the city of Brotherly Love, both their offensive and defensive schemes revolve entirely around Joel Embiid. However, a matchup against the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder combined with the fact that Embiid is already nursing a knee injury only two games into the season, makes the 76ers bench all that much more appealing today. Andre Drummond, who will play a vital role both coming off the bench for Embiid, and when he fills the center spot in the starting 5 when Embiid sits, is also injured with an ankle injury, labeled as doubtful to play today. Should the 76ers take the route of caution with the face of their franchise in addition to missing Drummond, there will be plenty of minutes to go around in the front court, where Paul Reed, Georges Niang, and Charles Bassey are all near, if not the minimum price across both DraftKings and FanDuel.
You can find us on Twitter @DFS_Ghost and @Bucn4life
