Adam Strangis NBA DFS Picks and Pivots: 8.22
Welcome back NBA DFS fans! I’m Adam Strangis and I’ll be covering NBA DFS Picks and Pivots for Brian Tulloch for the next couple weeks. After months of being on pause, the league is back and so is DraftKings with big prizes pools to take down so let’s get started with our top NBA DFS Picks and Pivots: 8.22!
For those of you new to Picks and Pivots, the goal of this NBA DFS article each and every day is to provide you a “First Look” overview of the slate where we use DraftKings pricing as a baseline to help us get started. Rather than simply write out the “top plays,” this article will focus on slate strategy and roster construction with a GPP mindset to help you get started on your initial builds. Without further ado, let’s dive into today’s slate!
NBA DFS Picks and Pivots: Slate Breakdown
If we go by the last time we saw this set of four games, we might not want any high-priced player. Seemingly everyone had a miserable night and this should be mostly about bouncing back. Hopefully we can get some games that aren’t blowouts this time around, which should help.
Core Group
I’m starting at the top with James Harden after one of his worst games in recent memory. I would venture to say that around 50% ownership in double ups was the lowest percentage Harden has ever had without Russell Westbrook. On the one hand, he’s almost alway a dominating force without Westy. He flirts with 2.00 DKPM in that situation and is normally just a no question option. It was odd last game that he only took 16 shots in 36 minutes. I’m not an expert on Harden but he seemed very passive in that game. He hardly drove to the hoop and if he did, he looked to pass often. My bet is he comes back with a vengeance in this game, looking to put the Thunder on the brink.
With Harden being quite expensive, we need a salary saver and I’m looking at Ghost special in JaVale McGee. Maybe this is just my eyes, but he’s a better fit against Jusuf Nurkic with his athleticism. Even in a 30 point blowout, he played 13 minutes which matched Game 1. He flirted with a double-double and I suspect the minutes could go up. Portland is using Hassan Whitside with Nurk a good deal (roughly 15 minutes in Game 2). The price for McGee is still simply too cheap.
The last two player that I’ll be building my lineups around are Goran Dragic and James Ennis. Ennis needs to have Aaron Gordon still out for the Magic. For Dragic, he’s been playing at least 32 minutes a game and Kendrick Nunn is out of the rotation. Dragic has a 1.10 DKPM in that scenario and trails only Jimmy Butler in usage at 26.8%. Ennis is still just $4,300 and has scored 31 and 25 DK in both games. Without Gordon, he figures to be chalk in cash.
NBA DFS Picks and Pivots: The Wrap-Up
Some of the approach is depending on Gordon totally. If he remains out, we can attack the Magic value like Ennis, Gary Clark, Markelle Fultz and even DJ Augustin. I’m looking heavily at easy to get Giannis Antetokounmpo in my lineups to pay with Harden. Values like McGee, Ennis, Jae Crowder and Eric Gordon could make it happen, but we’ll need things to go our way with news.
Players in Consideration – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Nikola Vucevic, Nurkic, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Malcolm Brogdon, Steven Adams, Whiteside
Let’s jump into Discord and talk some hoops my friends. Time to make money!
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