Christopher Day 
With yesterday’s 10-game slate leading to another massive day for the Win Daily crew, including a 100K win, we’re onto today’s 5-game NBA slate with plenty of good plays on tap. We already have news that Kevin Durant will be out for the Nets in this one, and could potentially miss the entire week, so let’s see how that affects our approach.
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:
Point Guards
Kyrie Irving ($9,700 FD / $9,300 DK)
Sporting a usage rate just above 35% with Durant and Dinwiddie off the floor, our NBA lineups begin with the one and only Kyrie Irving tonight. Not only is he a core play on both sites, but I will have nearly, if not 100% exposure in 150 lineups tonight – I am all in on the best ball handler in the league in this matchup versus Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell.
Damian Lillard ($9,200 FD / $9,800 DK)
The “other” stud PG on tonight’s NBA slate, Dame is still wildly underpriced on FD while being too expensive on DK considering you can get the man listed above for $500 less – but this will keep his ownership down and that is exactly what we need to win a tournament. Sporting a 30.3% usage rate in their first six games, Dame is averaging a cool 26.3/4.3/6.2 and has a beautiful matchup against two of the league’s worst defenders in Coby White and Zach Lavine in a game with the highest over/under on the NBA slate at 232.5.
Jamal Murray ($7,900 FD / $7,600 DK)
After a ridiculous run to the Western Conference semi-finals, Jamal Murray got off to a slow start in the new NBA season. However, with Joker dealing with foul trouble in the last two, it’s been Murray who has carried the Nuggets with 33.5 PPG across 38.5 MPG. If you’re not playing Joker, load up on an underpriced Murray, who has shot 59.5% from the field and 46.67% from deep in his past two games.
Also Consider:
- Dejounte Murray ($7,000 FD / $6,800 DK)
Shooting Guards
Paul George ($8,800 FD / $8,800 DK)
An early candidate for MVP of the NBA, Paul George is silencing the doubters that had him pegged for the exit door following the Clippers’ playoff letdown. Sporting a 31.5% usage rate on a team that has Kawhi Leonard is no joke, especially when it leads to a 25.1/5.7/5.1 scoring line. It’s early in the season, but PG13 has looked unbelievable and will be able to continue that against a rebuilding Spurs squad tonight.
Zach Lavine ($8,100 FD / $8,000 DK)
If the Bulls want to win any game on their schedule, Zach Lavine needs to be the one leading the charge. As +9.5 underdogs tonight, this is the spot we want to target the high-flying slasher since his ownership will be much lower than in tight games on this Bulls schedule, and his 31.5% usage rate and 24.6 PPG shows just how crucial he is to this Bulls team. With the Bulls consistently ranking in the Top 5 in pace ranking, you saw what Steph Curry did to these very same Trail Blazers, and while Lavine does not have the same shooting ability as Steph, he can score in bunches tonight.
Caris LeVert ($6,100 FD / $6,600 DK)
Leading the Nets in the NBA bubble last season, LeVert is one of those players that is in contention for Sixth Man of the Year in the early stages of this season. Now, with Durant and Dinwiddie both sidelined, LeVert will share the spotlight with fellow backcourt partner Kyrie Irving in a chance to really shine; having a 32.7% usage rate in the bubble was an indication of the kind of workload LeVert is in for tonight, and at a mere 6k on both sites, he’s simply way too cheap to avoid in the mid-range.
Also Consider:
- CJ McCollum ($8,900 FD / $8,400 DK)
Small Forwards
Kawhi Leonard ($10,100 FD / $9,100 DK)
Want your narrative of the night? Look no further than Kawhi facing his former franchise at Staples Center tonight. With the lack of rebounding the Clippers have been experiencing, Kawhi has really picked up the slack on the defensive end and will face one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the NBA tonight in the Spurs. His lack of efficiency from the field has been concerning, only shooting 40.2% from the field, but this matchup is too good to pass up on for the Klaw.
Joe Harris ($4,600 FD / $5,600 DK)
If you haven’t noticed the trend thus far with Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert, these Nets are all underpriced with the absence of Kevin Durant from the lineup. Enter Joe Harris, the sharpshooting wing who will have many more opportunities to launch his shot with Durant out of the lineup. With only 10.1 field goal attempts per game, Harris will see an uptick closer to the 12.8 he was averaging in the bubble, where he shot a ridiculous 59.8% from the field and 55.1% from deep.
Also consider:
- LeBron James ($10,200 FD / $10,100 DK)
- Keldon Johnson ($6,500 FD / $6,500 DK)
Power Forwards
Anthony Davis ($10,000 FD / $9,500 DK)
His 27% usage rate is quite concerning for a player of his magnitude, but these Lakers are the definition of Championship or bust. Whether he hits his ceiling in a game like this can be dependent on a ton of factors, such as a potential blowout spot or simply not being challenged to have to go bonkers, but it certainly won’t be because of a matchup versus the Memphis frontcourt that’s allowing over 56 FPPG to opposing bigs. The position is quite scarce on FD where you need to roster two PF, so be careful when fading him tonight.
Massive drop in talent after AD; consider the following and look for updates in Discord:
- Bojan Bogdanovic ($5,300 FD / $6,100 DK)
- Brandon Clarke ($5,100 FD / $5,300 DK)
- Robert Covington ($5,000 FD / $5,100 DK)
Centers
Nikola Jokic ($10,500 FD / $10,800 DK)
Struggling with foul trouble in his past few games combined with the fact that he is priced way up, few people will play the Joker tonight, and I plan on getting exposure to one of, if not both he and Jamal Murray in a ton of lineups. The best passing big man in the NBA, Joker is averaging a triple-double in 22.3/11.2/12.8 thus far and won’t stop any time soon.
Rudy Gobert ($8,200 FD / $7,700 DK)
My preferred option than the Utah Jazz guards, one of the best defenders in the NBA has been getting it done on the offensive end as well this season to the tune of 14.5 PPG to go along with 13.7 RPG. A model of consistency on both ends of the court, Gobert will need to see a ton of minutes to stop the 1-2 punch of Deandre Jordan and Jarrett Allen with KD ruled out.
Others to Consider:
- Jarrett Allen ($5,800 FD / $5,800 DK)
- Montrezl Harrell ($5,300 FD / $6,100 DK)
- Enes Kanter ($5,200 FD / $5,400 DK)
- Serge Ibaka ($4,500 FD / $5,600 DK)
Value Gems: Check the projection model here.
I will continue to stress the importance of having both the projection model and cheat sheet open when building lineups for a further player pool and to ease a decision between two players, in addition to finding additional value plays.
You can find me on Twitter @DFS_Ghost
