Draftkings NBA

I know we were only off for a couple of months but it still feels like it has been forever and I’m incredibly excited to get back to the NBA grind. We didn’t have a cash article on the two game slate but this 13 gamer is perfect to get us started when it comes to building your bankroll over the 72 game season. We all enjoy playing the NFL but the NBA for me has created the largest runs in terms of profits night after night. Every single night you have an opportunity to grow your profits and put yourself into position to be successful over the long term. Especially for this Cash Game NBA Breakdown for 12.23! And don’t forget to check out our NBA Projection Model and Cheat Sheet to lock in the best of them!

Since this is a large slate one thing you’ll need to do is plant your flags on certain games. Unless you have a min priced lock play in a low scoring game you want to focus on the highest totals with lower spreads and build your core that way. Enough minutia though let’s get into my Cash Game NBA Breakdown for 12.23.

There are games I will focus my attention on in cash. By no means is this list comprehensive given the size of the slate so if you don’t see player on here that doesn’t mean that you should fade that player. These are just the spots that I have chosen to focus my attention on in my cash contests. Additionally, we want to build our NBA cash lines the same way that we do NFL cash lineups. Try to limit full game stacks and do not worry about high ownership. You can run multiple players from the same games but try to avoid “game stacks” or where the majority of your build revolves around one contest.

New Orleans Pelicans @ “Florida” Toronto Raptors: 229.5 Total/Raptors -5

Atlanta Hawks @ Chicago Bulls: 231.5 Total/Hawks -2

San Antonio Spurs @ Memphis Grizzlies: 231.5 Total/Grizzlies -2

Utah Jazz @ Portland Trail Blazers: 229 Total/Blazers -1

Dallas Mavericks @ Pheonix Suns: 237 Total/Suns -1

One thing you’ll notice these first couple of weeks is that I will largely avoid the deep analytics. I’ll be relying on totals, rotations, and potential value spots based on mispricing based on injuries and bias that I think we’ll see in favor of teams that played in the bubble (it seems to have affected DraftKings algorithm a bit as well).

Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.23: Studs (Above 8K)

Luka Doncic, Mavericks, PG, $10,000(DK):

This is a steep price tag for a season opener but one, it’s Luka. Two, he’s playing the Suns. Three, he’s in the highest total game of the night. Finally, he’s opening the season without Kristaps Porzingis on the court. Even at 10K he is underpriced. He would be 12k in this scenario if we were in the middle of the season.

Trae Young, Hawks, PG, $9,400(DK):

Another high usage stud player in a smash spot is Trae Young. He had a couple of hiccups due to injury last season but when he was healthy he was a monster from a point per minute standpoint and his usage rate was only rivaled by Luka, Giannis, and Santa…I mean James Harden (Sorry, I get the two fat bearded guys in red mixed up this time of year.) We have ourselves a pace up scenario, with an improved/healthy Bulls team with a low spread and a 231.5 point implied total making this a prime spot for Trae.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.23: Mid-Priced (Between 5-8K)

Zach Lavine, Bulls, SG, $7,900:

I can pretty much copy and paste much of what I said about Trae Young with Zach Lavine but I can say it with a $1,500 dollar discount. Bulls should be much improved being a year older and in much better health. I’ll be attacking this game from many different ways in my GPP builds. Levine regularly exceeded 50 DK points last season even with a variety of injuries slowing him down last year.

Donovan Mitchell, Jazz, PG/SG, $8,000(DK):

The entire Jazz team is underpriced. The pace of this game should be one of the highest on the night. Utah was 9th in pace last year and with Hassan no longer in Portland, they should have an increase from their already decent 16th fastest pace (pace quickened in the bubble but I don’t know if that will stand). Mitchell finished the season with a usage rate of over 30% and came out of the gate playing 34 minutes or more in five of the first six. He also took at least 21 shots in three of four. He’s not shy in any way in the early going. I’ll be a little lighter with him in cash due to his hot/cold nature shooting. If I choose to run two cash lines today, he’ll be in the second given his multiple 60+ DK point outings to finish up last year.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.23: Value

Hassan Whiteside, Kings, C, $3,800(DK):

Hassan has outplayed Richaun Holmes in every way in this preseason and looks motivated to prove he isn’t a bust after being dealt to the Kings. He finished one rebound shy of a double double in two contests in limited minutes during the preseason. If he gets the starting nod he’ll certainly be the highest owned value play of the evening. He’s had a reasonable amount of success over his career against Jokic averaging over 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 11 games. With pricing this disrespectful he only needs half of that to hit cash value on DK.

Lauri Markkanen, Bulls, PF, $4,800(DK):

One injury riddled season and the DFS sites have forgotten that Lauri was christened the Unicorn 2.0 upon entering last season. When healthy, Markkanen played over 30 minutes a game and finished with over 40 DK points in 6 of with first 11 games last season. He’s already playing over 25 minutes in preseason outings with no signs of injury slowing him down. I don’t need to go too in depth as we’ve already discussed the total and pace of this game. He should be a core value piece in your builds tonight.

Thanks for taking the time to look through my Win Daily Sports Draftkings Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.23. Looking forward to seeing some green screens this evening. Any questions about the breakdown, I will be available all day in the WinDaily Discord Chat. Don’t forget to subscribe to the WinDaily Youtube channel and follow @WinDailySports on Twitter to stay current and up to date on all of our fresh new content!

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What’s happening ladies and gentlemen? Right back to another two game NBA playoff slate. Just want to make sure that I own this. I planted my flag on the no Jokic side last night and it bit me. Not only did he go off but the pieces I targeted due to him being limited didn’t pan out because of his performance. So for that I do apologize to you all. I hold myself to a high standard and I’m not above admitting my screw-ups. But today is another day we have some interesting if not completely unexpected scenarios today with the Bucks one game away from being beaten by the Heat.

Slate Note: Most of what I’m writing tonight is banking on Giannis sitting or being limited in some form tonight, if he ends up playing and you need some advice on your build head into our discord and we will gladly help you make the needed pivots to take home some cash. Additionally, with the slate being as small as it is I have reduce the number of plays in my article and I have gone to a tier ranking based on price. If you guys would like for me to go back to the old way just let me know and I will make that happen. Just trying out something new.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.8: Top tier for the sake of this slate is anyone over 8K.

Lebron James, Lakers, 11.2(DK)/11.1(FD):

This doesn’t need much explanation as to why he is the top play in terms of studs today. Numbers aside for him which are clearly great, Giannis Antetokounmpo is hobbled and may not play, and I never trust Harden when the playoffs roll around. So if I’m paying all the way up in cash, Lebron is my guy

Bam Adebayo, Heat, 8.7K(DK)/8.5K(FD):

If we are prescribing to the notion that Giannis will sit or be limited that gives a bump to the potential output for Bam on both sides of the court. Not having him around scooping up boards and stopping up the lanes will free up plenty of room for a guy who’s minutes, rebounds, and points have already been on the rise over these last two games.

Khris Middleton, Bucks, 8.6K(DK)/8.0K(FD):

Continuing my assumption the the Greek Freak’s injury being a concern Middleton becomes the next man up in terms of usage. There is plenty to go around but we’ll get to that later. Khris sees a 7% usage increase when Giannis is off of the court that leads to a 7.5 FanDuel score increase per 48 minutes.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.8, Mid Tier: Mid Tier will be from 5K to 8K.

Eric Bledsoe, Bucks, 6.2K(DK)/5.2K(FD):

The pricing between these two sites are a bit crazy today but oh well. The scenario here is almost verbatim what I stated for Middleton. If the freak sits, Bledsoe has a 7.5% usage increase that translates to an extra 11.50 FanDuel points per 48 minutes. Makes the choice very simple.

Robert Covington, Rockets, 6.5K(DK)/6.7K(FD):

Everything is in the card for Covington to have a big night, he is playing nearly 40 minutes a game, he is shooting well over 50 percent from the floor, and I would have to imagine that the Rockets realize that the Lakers have the ability to completely shut down their two best offensive weapons. If they get locked down Houston NEEDS to lean on Covington heavily as the third option in that offense. We all know that he has that kind of ability, the only question that I have is will the two alpha personalities of Harden and Westbrook concede their usage for a better situation or will they try to play hero ball?

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.8, Value Tier: Value Tier is below 5K.

Rajon Rondo, Lakers, 3.9K(DK)/6.2K(FD)

They really did go a little overboard with Rondo’s pricing on FanDuel putting him at a price where you could easily fade for cash games, but for DraftKings he is an absolute lock in 100 percent of your lineups. He looks like he is back to full health and the Lakers are wasting no time making use of his playoff experience.

Ersan Ilyasova, Bucks, 3.0K(DK)/3.7K(FD) (read closely):

This is a play if two things happen. First, Giannis sits, and second Ersan gets the start. We have not seen anything from him since he injured his elbow and I have heard zero word of him even playing. But….if both of those things happen you should lock him in. Even if he only plays 25 minutes he produces at well over a point per minute in scenarios where he starts and is an easy path to 30 DK points.

Thanks for taking the time to look through my Win Daily Sports FanDuel & Draftkings Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 9.8. Looking forward to seeing some green screens this evening. Any questions about the breakdown, I will be available all day in the WinDaily Discord Chat. Don’t forget to subscribe to the WinDaily Youtube channel and follow @WinDailySports on Twitter to stay current and up to date on all of our fresh new content!

What’s happening ladies and gentlemen? We find ourselves in the process of navigating the tricky dog days of the NBA playoffs. We only have a little two-game slate and with us getting into round two that’s going to be the norm here and beyond. With slates like these I typically recommend avoiding cash contest but if you are still running cash lineups have no fear. I still have my selections for you to help you continue your winning ways. A lot of what we say between the articles will be echoing the same thing due to a shortened slate so bear with us if it sounds a little repetitive. Enough talking , here are my cash game NBA Breakdown For 9.7.

Slate Note: My picks are going to be a good bit less due to the size of the slate but there should be a few guys that we can take advantage up tonight. I am personally off of Nikola Jokic in all formats if he plays. Additionally I’m going to format my plays by price not position today.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.7: Top tier for the sake of this slate is anyone over 8K.

Kawhi Leonard, Clippers, 10.1K(DK)10.6K(FD) :

Top of the mountain and for good reason. Kawhi just goes out and does his thing moves on. He’s been playing in the high 30’s-low 40’s most nights and you pretty much know that he will give you a good score on most nights.

Paul George, Clippers, 8.3K(DK)/7.3K(FD):

“Playoff P” finally looks like he is earning his goofy moniker. He hasn’t had a ceiling game by any stretch but he’s given you numerous performances of over 40 DK points which is a decent enough floor for cash.

Kyle Lowry, Raptors,8.2K(DK)/9.2K(FD) :

Lowry has caught fire of late in his last three games his minutes, shot attempts, and rebounds have increased giving him two 50+DK and one 40+DK point performances. I’m going to ride the hot hand on this one it is that easy.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.7, Mid Tier: Mid Tier will be from 5K to 8K.

Fred Van Vleet, Raptors 7.8K(DK)/7.9K(FD):

If you don’t think Lowry will continue what he has been doing, or if you want to pair them up really Van Vleet is your guy. Even with Kyle going crazy Fred is still getting his normal 5-6x production. He’s playing low to mid 40’s minutes and in seven of his last 10 he has thrown up at least 10 three point attempts.

Jaylen Brown, Celtics, 7.5K(DK)/7.7K(FD):

I’m just waiting on Brown to go off and now that Hayward is out of the picture I can see a 50DK point outing any day now. Everything is there, his minutes, shot attempts and rebounds are all in a position to where he just needs a few of them to start falling and it will be a huge boon for everyone who can get the night right.

Jerami Grant, Nuggets, 5.2K(DK)/5.0K(FD):

Even if Jokic goes I think he will be severely limited and end up not being out there much leaving it to guys like Grant and Paul Milsap to carry the load underneath. Grant played 40 minutes in game two and returned 6x value while going 1-9 from the field. If he takes his normal 8-10 shots and makes five or 6 of them with all else being equal you’re looking at a fantastic night for Grant.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.7, Value Tier: Value Tier is below 5K.

Paul Millsap, Nuggets, 4.7K(DK)/4.9K(FD):

If I am off of Jokic than I almost need to be on Millsap. For tournaments I fear that he might be too chalky to play tonight, luckily for us we don’t worry about that in cash. He returned a beautiful 8x value on his salary in game one, followed by a meh outing. In game two however, he played more minutes, took more shots, and was overall more involved in the offense. He just didn’t get the ancillary stats that helped him in game one which is not the norm for him. He usually gives you a little in the assist and steals category every night. Not much, but it makes the difference when a guy is priced down.

Ivica Zubac, Clippers, 4.9K(DK)/5.0K(FD):

Steady Eddie right now, with a reasonable price and a reasonable floor he is the boring guy that you throw into your cash lineup to get you your 5-6x value and save a little money for your studs. I’m avoiding Jokic tonight because of the ankle issue and paying up elsewhere.

Jamychal Green, Clippers, 3.6K(DK)/3.9K(FD):

This one could very well be fools gold but we need to find value wherever we can. Clippers were playing from behind and in an attempt to figure something out Green got in the rotation and had his best outing since the shutdown. He played 26 minutes and gave them a double-double in the process. If Doc like the end result this may have earned him a little extra time on the court which presents us with a nice value at under 4K.

Thanks for taking the time to look through my Win Daily Sports FanDuel & Draftkings Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 9.7. Looking forward to seeing some green screens this evening. Any questions about the breakdown, I will be available all day in the WinDaily Discord Chat. Don’t forget to subscribe to the WinDaily Youtube channel and follow @WinDailySports on Twitter to stay current and up to date on all of our fresh new content!

What’s happening ladies and gentlemen? We find ourselves in the process of navigating the tricky dog days of the NBA playoffs. We only have a little two-game slate and with us getting into round two that’s going to be the norm here and beyond. With slates like these I typically recommend avoiding cash contest but if you are still running cash lineups have no fear. I still have my selections for you to help you continue your winning ways. Enough talking , here are my cash game NBA Breakdown For 9.1.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.1, Guards

Gary Harris, Nuggets, 3.9K(DK)/4.5K(FD):

I normally would not be recommending a guy who has has only played one game since March but playoffs are a completely different beast and we have to look for value anywhere that it is available. Harris appears to be firmly planted in a bench role for now and I do not expect more than 25 minutes but if Gary’s shot is falling that is all he will need to get you to value. I know we are in the playoffs and every game matters but game 7’s carry a unique urgency so I expect the offensive output to be high from both teams tonight.

Jamal Murray, 9.7K(DK)/9.4K(FD):

It is always strange feeling to recommend Murray in cash and even more so at this price but he has been playing amazing ball lately. He has been playing over 40 minutes a game in his last three and has given you real life point total of 50, 42, and 50 in the last three respectively and I have no reason to doubt that this is going to continue tonight. My early lean is to rely heavily on this Denver/Utah match-up in any format due to the lack of defense (aside from one blowout game totals have been no worse than 224) and the game seven urgency that will keep the stars on the court for no less than 40 minutes on both sides.

Donovan Mitchell, Jazz, 9.7K(DK)/8.5K(FD):

You can basically take everything that I said about Murray and copy/paste for Mitchell with just a slightly lower points and minutes total. Game 7, there is no way Spida plays less than 40 minutes and there is no way he doesn’t try to carry his Jazz to the next round with a monster performance.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.1, Forwards:

Jaylen Brown, Celtics, 7.3K(DK)/6.3K(FD):

I really like his price today on FanDuel from a cash game perceptive. I doubt he is going to be going 8x on tonight but he has been very consistent in non blowout games staying around 40 minutes and taking no less than 15 shots per. I have no reason to think the Raptors get smoked like they did in game one and even though I expect a lower total from this contest, the Raptors and Celtics actually play at a higher pace than both Denver and Utah (although I don’t think that is a true statement in the playoffs).

Daniel Theis, Celtics, 5.2K(DK)/5.3K(FD):

I am hoping I don’t regret this one. Toronto strangely looks like they have no answer for Theis underneath. He scored 13 point and brought in 15 boards in 25 minutes of the game one trouncing and I think the formula will be much the same tonight. It’s pretty thin at power forward on FanDuel so if Theis gets at least 25 minutes tonight I don’t see how you can avoid him tonight.

Royce O’neil, Jazz, 4.5K(DK)/4.6K(FD):

Like I said, power forward is thin in terms of cash on FanDuel. I prefer to pay a little further down in both spots to use that savings to get both Murray and Mitchell in your lineups. Nothing sexy about this selection. What he gives you is close to 40 minutes of play and the ability to accumulate a bit of everything in the ancillary stats to help you stay above the cash line with the outside chance to give you the occasional 35-40 DK point ceiling game.

Cash Game NBA Breakdown 9.1, Centers:

Mark Gasol, Raptors, 4.1K(DK)/4.5K(FD):

I like Gasol today when it comes to freeing up little salary to let you pay up for all of those expensive studs. He didn’t see a ton of minutes in round one (low-mid 20’s) but he still has the ability to hit value in limited work and he gives you a reasonable floor of around 20 DK points which is what you need to keep from destroying your cash contests. I would not use him under any circumstances in a GPP dues to his lack of ceiling but that’s not really what we’re worried about here.

Nikola Jokic, Nuggets, 9.5K(DK)/9.8K(FD):

My other main pay up spot if you didn’t notice prior comes from the Nuggets/Jazz game. My core in 100 percent of contests tonight will have Mitchell, Murray, and Jokic and I’ll just fill in with value. His price is a little high based on his recent production but he’s going to play 40 minutes tonight and he has a legitimate chance to give you 70 plus points on DK and FD on any given night. I usually avoid bigs against Rudy Gobert but Jokic takes the bulk of his shots from outside so I’m not as concerned about his defense in this case.

I feel very confident in both Murray and Mitchell on the over today and Tatum’s rebound total feels a little low for the pace tonight. I would absolutely hammer the first two with complete confidence.

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Thanks for taking the time to look through my Win Daily Sports FanDuel & Draftkings Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 9.1. Looking forward to seeing some green screens this evening. Any questions about the breakdown, I will be available all day in the WinDaily Discord Chat. Don’t forget to subscribe to the WinDaily Youtube channel and follow @WinDailySports on Twitter to stay current and up to date on all of our fresh new content!