Tony Cutillo 
Welcome everyone to my debut NBA DFS Top Targets article! My name is Shaun Evans and I will be breaking down my top plays for every slate. These targets will represent my core plays for any lineups built on DraftKings. With news rolling throughout the day and up until lock, the core plays may change. Make sure you are signed up for our premium package and in Discord for any changes. You can find me on there as “xfreshie” always dropping insight.
NBA DFS – Top Targets
Tyrese Haliburton $9,500 – Projection: 51.51 DK points – 5.42 Value Rating
Tyrese Haliburton comes into the slate as the top projected player and his stats back that up. He has been a walking double-double machine this season, averaging 21.8 points and 11.7 assists per game. Haliburton now gets another solid matchup versus the Toronto Raptors who he has seen twice already this season. In those two games, he has averaged 27 points and 14 assists while averaging a 51.4 field goal percentage and a 52.6 three-pointer percentage.
The Indiana Pacers play at the second-highest pace this season, averaging 105.9 possessions per game. Their opponents, the Raptors, are averaging just 102.8 possessions. With the fast-paced Pacers mixed with Tyrese Haliburton’s stats versus Toronto, it’s hard to pass up on him as a core piece of lineup building.
Precious Achiuwa $7,000 – Projection: 39.12 DK Points – 5.59 Value Rating
The Detroit Pistons are one of the worst teams this season when it comes to defending power forwards (and almost any position) which makes Precious Achiuwa a great play. The Pistons are currently allowing opposing power forwards to average 24.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Achiuwa already has shown that he can exploit the Pistons this season.
In the first meeting versus Detroit for Precious Achiuwa, he recorded 12 points with six rebounds and five assists in just 18.6 minutes. He is carrying momentum right now heading into tonight’s matchup. In his last five games, he is averaging 14.4 points. 11.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while averaging nearly 39.6 minutes. Locking in Achiuwa with Tyrese Haliburton will give us two players with a double-double bonus upside.
Dennis Schroder $4,500 – Projection: 28.43 DK Points – 6.32 Value Rating
Dennis Schroder pops up as the top value play of the slate with a 6.32 value rating in our projections which you can find here (another reason to sign up for our Premium pass). On the season, Schroder has averaged 13.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game. His last five games haven’t been nearly as impressive but Memphis has shown they struggle versus point guards this season.
On the season, Memphis is allowing opposing point guards to average 24.5 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds per game. Given the upside to coming off of the bench with the defensive struggles by Memphis versus guards, Dennis Schroder is going to be a great value play to target but ownership may come along with him.
NBA DFS – Betting Plays
If you haven’t already, Jason uploaded some early morning Precious Achiuwa bets which you don’t want to miss out on over in the Bet Tracker.
Andrew Nembhard over 4.5 assists +105 (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Andrew Nembhard gets a great matchup versus the Toronto Raptors when it comes to assists. The Raptors are allowing opposing guards to average 9.4 assists per game. Nembhard is averaging 4.6 assists in his last five games and recorded five in his first meeting versus Toronto. In our NBA Player Prop Model, he is projected for 6.45 assists and is at the highest edge percentage with 61.16%.
Jalen Duren over 12.5 Rebounds and Assists -130 (Bet365)
Jalen Duren is mainly making this list due to the rebounding upside he can have versus the New York Knicks. While the Knicks have been good overall, they allow a good chunk of rebounds to the center position with 13.2 rebounds per game. Duren recorded 12 rebounds in his first meeting this season versus them. Between rebounds and assists, he recorded 14. He is projected for 14.84 tonight with a 14.13% edge.
