Yesterday’s NBA DFS core was pretty mid. Reed Sheppard was added via Discord late, and he was a hit. Ware/Gardner/Oso were just OK. None of them individually necessarily sunk you, but that trio was definitely underwhelming.
Hopefully you found a way to cash despite that. It’s onward and upward come Saturday, as we have a 5-game main slate to take advantage of at DraftKings. Let’s see which NBA DFS picks you need to build around tonight, along with some GPP plays and top studs worth targeting.
NBA DFS Core Plays for 3/7
- Daniss Jenkins
- Tyrese Maxey
- Jaylin Williams
Cade will miss tonight’s game against the Nets. Brooklyn is generally a tough defense against ball-handlers, but we’ve seen Daniss thrive in this role time and time again this season. He’s north of 1.00 DK FPPM with Cunningham off the floor and should see upwards of 30 minutes here. He’s simply too cheap.
No Embiid/PG/VJ for the Sixers, so Maxey will step into his huge usage and huge minutes yet again. Pretty good game environment here against the Hawks. Salaries have risen, but he’s a high-floor/high-ceiling play.
Hartenstein is out for OKC. J-Will should see a major uptick in minutes, even if he doesn’t start. Crushed in 32 minutes 2 games ago with iHart out. Dieng has been starting for Milwaukee, and he’s still in the $4k range on both sites. Pretty good salary-saver and he’s produced well since coming to the Bux.
Saturday’s NBA DFS GPP Picks
- Caris LeVert
- Kyle Filipowski
Jenkins will be the chalk Piston, but LeVert could easily outscore him off the bench. Can’t imagine many will be excited to play him, but he’s cheap and offers natural leverage.
The Utah-Milwaukee game looks pretty good with a high total. Most will be nervous to target the Jazz with their tanking and shitty rotations, but Filipowski still offers a ceiling if he sees around 30 minutes with Markkanen/Nurkic out.
Best NBA DFS Game Environments
- 76ers vs. Hawks (233.5 total)
- Jazz vs. Bucks (234.5 total)
- Clippers vs. Grizzlies (228.5 total)
These are the three games with the highest totals. You don’t need to necessarily stack them up, but a ton of good plays stem from these spots and stacking does look quite viable.
Definitely keep in mind the wonky way Utah sends their guys out there, as well as how limited Giannis might be. But in general, these are the best games to grab players from. That should naturally make players from other games go overlooked a bit more, which is something you can exploit in GPPs.
Top NBA DFS Studs to Pay For Saturday
- Tyrese Maxey
- SGA
- Jalen Johnson
- Kawhi Leonard
No Embiid/PG/VJ for the 76ers, so Maxey will be major chalk again even at elevated salaries. No real issue with it, as he generally offers a very high floor given the huge minutes he plays. Matchup against ATL is a pretty good one, too. Johnson has been a little slow since returning from a hip injury, but the ceiling is there, and Philly’s defense has really struggled without Embiid and Edgecombe.
OKC is a huge favorite over GSW, but SGA is very productive with monster usage with J-Dub, Caruso, and others on the bench. I like him assuming he draws less ownership than Max.
Kawhi gets tons of usage (39%) without Harden/Zu, and the Grizzlies’ defense has tanked without Edey. Plus he’s cheaper than the SGA/Maxey/JJ tier.
Playing DFS since the days of DraftStreet, Kevin knows the ins and outs of DFS, specifically for NFL and NBA. He’s also been helping people win in fantasy football leagues for 15+ years and is one of many experts featured at FantasyPros.
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