DFSGhost 
It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for… Welcome back to the NBA, ladies and gentlemen, and the latest edition of Ghost’s Ghouls. While we have a GPP strategy article by the one and only Brian Tulloch, which you can find here, this article will cover your cash game plays for today’s slate. Cash games are not exactly something I typically recommend on a 2-game slate, but with the number of contests available, it’s worth getting your feet wet tonight in preparation for tomorrow’s 6-game NBA slate and hedge your GPP wagers. Without further ado, let’s dive into it.
The Lock: Donovan Mitchell, SG ($7,200 FD/ $7,000 DK)
If you have been keeping up with our NBA content in the past few weeks leading up to today’s opening slate, you’ll know just how much I love Donovan Mitchell today. He’s the primary handler for a Utah Jazz team that sees themselves in what can only be called the very definition of a pace up spot – Mitchell carries a whopping 30.5% usage rate thus far this season, which is higher than the likes of Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Moreover, while the Jazz rank 25th in the NBA in pace, the Pelicans are all the way up there, coming in as the #2 fastest team in the league. As I have mentioned on nearly, if not every livestream and SiriusXM show, these Pelicans/Jazz games crush the over every time – game totals are 270, 254, and 248 from most recent to least recent. In those three games, Mitchell is averaging a stellar 34 PPG to go along with 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1 steal while limiting his turnovers to 2 per game versus a lackluster defender in Lonzo Ball. At roughly 7K on each respective site, Donovan Mitchell is one of, if not THE best play on today’s NBA slate.
The Ghouls
Anthony Davis, PF ($10,400 FD / $10,000DK)
“Anthony Davis to the locker room” tweets will forever be embedded in every NBA DFS player’s mind, but we simply cannot ignore his matchup and raw points upside on today’s NBA slate. With LeBron nursing a groin injury and assuming the role of primary ball handler even more so than before without a true PG in the starting 5, I expect Davis to carry most of the usage in this game versus a depleted Clippers frontcourt that will be without Montrezl Harrell and with Ivica Zubac still recovering from his battle with coronavirus, while LeBron will be more of a distributor. Sporting a 28.7% usage rate on the season, Davis will seemingly get all the touches he wants whenever he takes the floor – and while his eye injury / injury history is worth monitoring leading up to lock, he’ll likely be the highest scoring player on the entire slate. Specifically on FD where the PF position is depleted to say the least, you’ll need – not want, NEED – AD in your cash builds today. AD has a 26.3/7.3/3.3/1.7/1.7 average scoring line in the Battle of LA this season, but with a team that will deploy the likes of Joakim Noah and JaMychal Green versus the All-NBA big man, lock him in with confidence.
Zion Williamson, PF ($7,100 FD / $7,500DK)
What more can be said about the reigning #1 overall pick? Zion took the NBA by storm like no other and is one of few players with a high ceiling on today’s NBA slate. Williamson may be edged out by fellow rookie standout Ja Morant for ROY, but there’s denying his presence in the NBA play-in round where the Pelicans sit 3.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies – the very team that Ja Morant has carried to the 8 seed in the West – for now. Williamson will have a tough task ahead of him with Rudy Gobert guarding the Utah Jazz paint, but he’ll want to assert himself early and often in this game to be ready for their playoff run. He’s sporting a 28.2% usage rate on the season and is a virtual lock for a double-double on any given night, making his floor tonight simply unavoidable. While his conditioning may be a point of question to fade in GPPs and turn to a player like Brandon Ingram instead, Zion will carry the heavier ownership. When playing cash games, it’s not necessarily strictly about building the best lineup, rather it’s about knowing what the field will do. They’ll lock in AD and Zion at PF on FD, and you should too.
Also Consider: Paul George, SG ($7,400 FD / $7,200 DK)
The Value
Jordan Clarkson, SG ($4,300 FD / $4,200DK)
Jordan Clarkson… man, oh man, do not let me down, Sir!We’ve been discussing his spot in this game for quite some time now, and mystance on it has not changed, rather it has only gotten stronger. In a pace upspot for the Jazz (see Donovan Mitchell blurb), Clarkson should thrive in thisgame environment whether he comes off the bench at the sixth man or seesminutes with starters. With an aging Mike Conley in the backcourt, I expectJordan Clarkson to see a ton of run tonight and really be the Robin to DonovanMitchell’s Batman. Considering he came off the bench all season long barring multipleinjuries to the Jazz, Clarkson’s 24.6% usage rate is rather impressive – this tellsus that when he is on the court, he’s heavily involved in the offense at alltimes – and that’s exactly what we need from our NBA DFS value plays. With BojanBogdonovic out for the remainder of the season, his 25.2% usage rate andspot-up shooting ability needs to be replaced for the Jazz to stay in thisgame, and look no further than Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles to be those guys.
Reggie Jackson , PG ($3,800 FD / $4,600DK)
Cue the Reggie Jackson chalk! I’m going to go out on a [slight] limb here and say Patrick Beverly will NOT play tonight despite not yet being ruled out officially at the time of writing; he’s yet to leave his hotel room due to mandatory quarantine since he left the bubble earlier and has not touched an NBA court since. Reggie Jackson is thus expected to slot into the starting lineup, and even if someone like Landry Shamet were to get the start over him, the former should see a ton of minutes and enough usage to hit value for our NBA cash games. At a mere $3,800 on FD and $4,600 on DK, he slots in perfectly to fit in other higher priced players such as AD and Zion while carrying enough upside to not destroy our lineups. Since coming over from the Pistons, Jackson has averaged 9.4/2.9/3.2/0.2/0.4 across 19.4 minutes per game and will be one of the best value plays on the NBA slate tonight. If Patrick Beverely were to play, it’s a quick pivot to him over Reggie Jackson, barring any minutes limitation on the former.
Also Consider: Joe Ingles, SF ($5,500 FD / $5,700 DK)
A Quick Note on NBA DFS
While there are many different sports and various contests pertaining to DFS along with their respective strategies, we focus on the main approaches to build both reliable cash and GPP lineups for a successful NBA night including pace, the projected over/under, one on one matchups (DVP), a player’s usage rate, and a team’s defensive rating. Make sure to stay active when building NBA lineups – if you cannot be in front of a computer, tablet, or on your phone an hour before lock, do not throw your money away! NBA DFS lineups can change at the blink of an eye and are the most variable compared to any other sport in DFS; players get injured, some sit for load management, and others find themselves on the DNP list for other reasons; any of which can sway your lineup and where to find value. Stay alert on the WinDaily Discord chat to follow along with our updated plays. GOOD LUCK TO ALL!
Follow me on Twitter @DFS_Ghost !
