DFSGhost 
A small NBA slate awaits us tonight with the majority of teams in action yesterday. While individual plays matter every day, the key to success with few matchups on tap is strategy; by answering your burning questions on how to get to the top of the leaderboards, we’ll be in for another big night to follow up yesterday’s success. It’s Taco Tuesday’s edition of the Gems — let’s ride.
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:
Question 1: “Which approach are you taking when building a single lineup? Stars & Scrubs, Balanced, Game stack, etc.?”
Ghost: I’ll certainly be playing two studs on this NBA slate. With all of Luka Doncic (Q), Nikola Jokic (Q), Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Julius Randle in the player pool pending injuries, the upside for multiple 60+ fantasy point performances is impossible to pass up on.
Adam: It’s difficult to project a path at this point without knowing the status of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. If they are both out, my focus would shift to Anthony Davis since LeBron James is suspended for tonight. If Jokic plays, he’ll be the highest priority on the NBA slate and I would likely go balanced after that play.
Question 2: “Which stud is a lock for you on this slate?”
Ghost: If he plays, it has to be Nikola Jokic. The big man will obliterate the Trail Blazers interior, who has been struggling with or without Jusuf Nurkic on the floor. If he gets ruled out, I’ll likely be locking in Anthony Davis, who will be facing the 19th ranked defense in the NBA in New York, while also having the worst net defensive rating of any starting lineup in the league.
Adam: Jokic and his 2.05 fantasy points per minute without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. if he’s active. He will absolutely carve up the interior of Portland, given the chance. The Trail Blazers are 22nd in points in the paint allowed in the NBA, and Jokic is second in post-up points in the league this year.
Question 3: “Which stud are you most likely to fade in a single-entry contest or be underweight on in 150-max?”
Ghost: Russell Westbrook is someone that has a massive ceiling, and I will have one of three lineups with him, but if building 150, he’d likely be the one I’m most underweight on. While I do like this Lakers team and will have a ton of action from this game, the matchups for Talen Horton-Tucker and Carmelo Anthony are good enough for Westbrook to become more of a distributor, preventing him from hitting a ceiling in this scenario.
Adam: Russell Westbrook just because the Knicks are in the bottom half of the NBA in paint points and rebounds allowed and AD is one of the most active players in the paint so far. That’s not to say Westbrook doesn’t have potential against the perimeter defense of the Knicks but Davis is just a higher priority in my eyes. I’m also not likely to play Luka if he’s active coming off an ankle and knee injury.
Question 4: “If you had to pick one star and one value play to be in the winning lineup, who would they be and why?”
Ghost: The star-studded frontcourt combination of Jokic and Davis is one I’ll likely turn to. Moreover, the main value play I plan on being heavy on is none other than Hamidou Diallo off the bench, where the Detroit Pistons are severely depleted against a championship contender in Miami.
Adam: Jokic and/or Davis along with Ivica Zubac. Perhaps I’m stretching a bit with “value” since Zubac is $5,100 and I do like Cory Joseph if he’s going to play 35+ minutes for the Pistons at $3,900. However, this is a glorious spot for Zubac as Dallas is bottom 10 in points allowed in the paint and 26th in rebounds in the paint. Zubac has almost nine paint touches a game and is going to double-double if not more.
Question 5: “Give us a hot take for tonight’s slate.”
Ghost: Carmelo Anthony turns back the clock and gives us a vintage performance at MSG to be the second-leading scorer on the Lakers, behind Anthony Davis, where LA squeaks out a tight win.
Adam: Anthony Davis goes 30/15/5 in Madison Square Garden and carries the Lakers to a win without James.
You can find us on Twitter @DFS_Ghost and @Bucn4life
