Nba rundown: Thursday 02/20
By Ethan Tabor
What to expect
We will provide a basic rundown of the slate each day rather it’s in article, podcast or video form. The rundown will include games and spreads that day with correlated matchups, We will have a write up for specific players that we see advantages or disadvantages to having in your lineup, and we will then finish the rundown by giving you the top options at each position. The goal here is to not just give the best plays to win money but to teach you how to construct winning lineups on your own to make DFS a profitable game rather than a gamble. This article will be posted each day, at least an hour and a half before lineup lock. If the days slate starts at 7pm EST then you can expect the rundown posted no later than 5:30pm. Follow us on twitter to keep updated on the inevitable injury updates and how that will effect your lineups after this article is posted. https://twitter.com/Money_LineDFS
Today’s Slate
Finally! After the all star break I’m always itching to get back into things. Lord knows I can’t go a week without gambling on sports. Today we have a 6 game slate which lands right in the sweet spot for me with DFS. Some high powered offenses facing off against some terrible defenses, or should I just say teams in general. Today I’m playing on fanduel so the article will lean on the prices over there. Let’s dive into it..
Top Plays
Joel Embiid- Joel gets a solid matchup against Brooklyn. Even with the addition of Deandre Jordan, this Nets team continues to be one of the worst in the league against scoring big men. Many things factor into my love for Embiid today. The matchup is a plus. The sixers are at home and the villain story behind their big man is still fresh. His price at $9,600 on fanduel puts him at a near lock to hit value. And Ben Simmons is considered a game time decision. When Simmons is out, Embiids usage climbs even higher than his already team leading usage rate. Regardless of the Ben Simmons news, I’m all in on Embiid in the center spot today.
De’Aaron Fox- Fox squares off against the Memphis Grizzlies tonight, who he scored 65 fantasy points against last time they played in January. I’m not big on playing people because of past performances, but there’s plenty reasons to lean on Fox tonight. I LOVE picking on the Grizzlies with scoring guards, rather it’s at the PG or SG position doesn’t matter to me. Fox is priced at $7,800 which is actually pretty fair but with that he only needs 39 fantasy points to hit his value. I don’t think 65 points is in the cards but a 40-50 point outing would blow away his value at this price and I see that as a very reasonable expectation tonight. Fire up De’Aaron Fox tonight and feel good knowing that ownership on him will be way lower than it should be. Playing Fox is a great way to differentiate on this slate already.
James Harden- Here’s the obvious play of the day. The only reason I don’t like Harden is because he’s likely to be owned by majority of the playing field. Fanduel has him priced at $11,000 meaning we need 55 points from the gun slinger today. The main reason I want a part of this, is the fact that Golden State experienced a Christmas miracle against these rockets just a few months ago. I remember, because my Christmas and pockets were tarnished by a high power team loosing to a bunch of G leaguers. The warriors continue to be one of the worst defensive teams in the league which sets up well for Harden and Westbrook. With Harden only being $400 more than the latter it’s hard to not get this man in your lineup. We all know he contains 80FP upside and I sure as hell don’t want to be part of the 30% of people that don’t play him. James Harden and the gang are seeking vengeance for an embarrassing holiday loss, so expect a blood bath in Golden State tonight.... and if we are lucky... maybe he won’t be as owned as projections are showing.
Top Plays Per Position
**keep in mind we went with what is likely a chalk James Harden and chalk Joel Embiid. You may want to play someone a little off the wall that you see upside with now to separate yourself from everyone else. Some of my plays below resemble exactly that**
PG
De’Aaron Fox
Thomas Satoransky
Russell Westbrook
Kendrick Nunn
SG
James Harden
Zach LaVine
Buddy Hield
Caris Levert
SF-(this position fucking sucks)
Danuel House
Miles Bridges
Andrew Wiggins
Taurean Prince
PF
Bam Adebayo
Al Horford
Robert Covington
Pj Washington
C
Joel Embiid
Jonas Valanciunas
Cody Zeller
