NBA DFS Process | October 28, 2026 | DraftKings & FanDuel Picks, Plays & Slate Breakdown

So you go to sports, you go to NBA and you click on the Slate Station, go all the way down and you see this new thing called a usage bumpUsage RateUsage rate estimates the percentage of a team's offensive plays a player uses while on the court, based on shot attempts, free throw attempts and turnovers. It does not measure assists or time spent holding the ball.Check who shared the floor in any usage sample. Numbers collected against reserves or with several starters missing may not describe the role you are projecting tonight.Read the full definition of Usage Rate right here. So I will be clicking buttons when you explain our new tool.

Yeah, so the new tool usage bump, essentially what it is at this point is mainly a predictive tool that's going to help us understand which injuries are the most impactful in terms of how it affects teammates from a minutes usage and fantasy scoring output standpoint. If you want to go over to the news tab real quick. This is a feed that's going to be automatically updating as news comes in throughout the day. We have it connected to an API that's up to date.

So you see two twenty four. We have I don't know who this guy is, but he's out. Doesn't really change much, but it's going to update every single piece of news that goes on throughout the day. And it'll just give you kind of a brief overview of who we expect to see the most minutes increase in those scenarios. And then if you want to go over to the what if tab, I think this is probably where people will find the most use.

I think that it makes the most sense to probably just go over to that Pacers game because it probably has the biggest injury newsInjury NewsInjury news is information about a player's health that can change whether they compete, how much they play or how effectively they perform. In DFS, it also affects opportunities for teammates and opponents.Before an uncertain player's game locks, identify an alternative you can afford at each affected position. Check whether making that change would require another player whose game starts earlier.Read the full definition of Injury News on the DraftKings MAIN slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate. But you see here, we already have Tyrus Halliburton is out. And then if you can go up top and click that Andrew Nembhard name, because he's questionable, you'll get a brief idea of which guys are going to see the biggest usage bumps.

You see Quinton Jackson, the MAIN guy that is going to see a really big projectionProjectionsDFS projections estimate a player's fantasy points for an upcoming slate using expected opportunities, performance and the contest's scoring rules. They describe an expected result, not a guaranteed score.Check the projection's update time and assumed role before using it. If news is already included, adjusting again for that same news can double-count its effect.Read the full definition of Projections and minutes usage increase. Now, this is not meant to be something that you should really be taking as true numbers. This is very predictive, as we are early on in the season. We don't have a ton of data to work with as of yet. So we're just kind of getting a brief idea of what we're expecting to change.

But this is mainly just to make sure that people are on top of news if they're using this tool. That way, you don't have to be reactive.

When we see the news, you can be proactive and just kind of be prepared for it as it comes in um and then you have lastly we have the bumps tab which will it's similar to the news tab but it's going to show you which guys see the biggest increase in um in their points about and their value you can actually take off that Pacers game we could see everybody from top to bottom just kind of giving you a even more of an overview of who is going to have the biggest uh value increase when the injury news does hit that way Yeah, really, really great job by you, by our team behind the scenes.

NBA, so many moving parts, and people get very overwhelmed on news that hits with Q tags. You can see, just going to the what if, like this little questionable tag right here, so when we go to the Pacers, you can see... Like right next to Nembhard, this little tab right here, this little orange dot, Obi Toppin, Aaron Neesmith. So it makes it very easy. And again, NBA, it's a chaotic sport for sure.

And some people, when news is out, they just wait for projections to refresh and they don't have any idea and they just blindly trust it. This bumps tab definitely shows who gets the biggest bumps. You can plan ahead. You can say, all right, I don't think Nembhard is going to play today. What does it look like if he doesn't play? Boom.

Then you could even change projections if you would like to new projections, assuming he's out and then make changes if he is in. So really, really big in the NBA street. Shout out to the team behind the scenes, a huge piece of our product over here at Chippenation. Again, always trying to get better and improve. And I think this is a big improvement over here. What's up, Courage? We appreciate you. Shout out to the man Bonitz.

Twenty five dollar single entrySingle-EntryA single-entry contest allows each user exactly one lineup. It can be a cash game or a tournament.In single-entry, one or two contrarian decisions are usually enough. Pair a strong, popular core with a lower-owned piece instead of fading everything the field likes.Read the full definition of Single-Entry takedown yesterday with the stone and hand building things you love to see. We haven't even showed off the stone, really. Everyone knows that we have the stone for all sports here. But yeah, I it's a little easier to screen share SaberSim for me and click through things and filter teams. But the stone, big piece of our product, if it loads, as you can see, everything you need.

How many minutes, fantasy points per minuteFantasy Points Per Minute (FPPM)Fantasy points per minute (FPPM) measures a player's fantasy production per minute played. Calculate it by dividing total fantasy points by total minutes over the same games, using one site's scoring system.Separate competitive rotation minutes from minutes played after a game is effectively decided. A rate built against reserves may not represent the matchup and role you expect tonight.Read the full definition of Fantasy Points Per Minute, assists per game, rebounds per game, DraftKings, and FanDuel projections, ceilingCeilingCeiling is the high end of a player's or lineup's realistic range of fantasy scores. It describes a big performance that could happen when things go well, not the expected score or an absolute maximum.Describe what must happen for each player to have a huge game. Then check whether those conditions help or hurt the other players in your lineup.Read the full definition of Ceiling projections, ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership, the spreads, the totals, all of that good stuff. So shout out to you for taking it down. One other housekeeping thing before we do go game by game, if you click on the articles section, this is something that we have been doing that we started probably about a month ago, and it is very important for – everything. I mean, it's free.

So anyone that wants to, um, to look at anything, whether it's ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership leverageLeverageLeverage is the edge you gain by rostering a play the field is underweight on, compared with how often it ends up in winning lineups. When that play outscores the popular option most lineups chose instead, you gain ground on those lineups, though the rest of your roster still decides where you finish.Look for leverage on players connected to the chalk, like the other side of a popular game or a teammate who can steal the popular player's touches.Read the full definition of Leverage at NBA, NHL, lineup building, all of that good stuff. We have a new one coming up. I'm trying to find it right here. Uh, NBA late swapLate SwapLate swap lets you change unlocked players in an entered DFS lineup after the contest starts. Both the players you remove and their replacements must remain eligible for editing under the contest's lock rules.Before the first games lock, identify affordable backup combinations for your later players. Check that each combination fits the open positions, then confirm your saved changes in every affected entry.Read the full definition of Late Swap, how to use news to your advantage. Shout out to one of our members that use late swap and, um, It was Tyler Busch, I believe it was, and he went from, I believe, nine hundred dollars or something to $2,500.

I could be mistaken real what it was, but it was a late swap. That was the key to him shipping a slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate. And we just talked about how late swap is important for NBA with injury newsInjury NewsInjury news is information about a player's health that can change whether they compete, how much they play or how effectively they perform. In DFS, it also affects opportunities for teammates and opponents.Before an uncertain player's game locks, identify an alternative you can afford at each affected position. Check whether making that change would require another player whose game starts earlier.Read the full definition of Injury News and not even just injury news. Some people don't really understand when to use it again, even if there's no injury news, whether it's yesterday like Rio and I. Having to decide, okay, we saw six people. You're able to go to our train. We saw six people at the same lineup.

Guessing where the people were going to go with that two V two based on projected score, based on ownership and just tendencies. Like I said, Rio had a huge, huge edge. His one wasn't duped. He wins. He has $100,000. Mine was duped once. If I win, I only get sixty $5,000 only. But that's a huge difference when you're talking like one or two projectionProjectionsDFS projections estimate a player's fantasy points for an upcoming slate using expected opportunities, performance and the contest's scoring rules. They describe an expected result, not a guaranteed score.Check the projection's update time and assumed role before using it. If news is already included, adjusting again for that same news can double-count its effect.Read the full definition of Projections points there. So, yeah, we have a lot of articles.

Again, shout out to the team behind the scenes, but it's not just NBA late swap. You can click on the sides, though, common questions and make it even easier there. All right. Yeah. And if you want to get over to Ship It Nation, of course, Ship It Nation dot com. See plans and pricing. You guys know the drill by now. It's cheaper as you're with us longer. Twenty percent you save per annual for the starter and the core. Ten percent.

For the ultimates, we also do have single sport options as well. Single sport, NBA, seventeen dollars a month. If you are with us for the annual, just to add SaberSim, less than a dollar a day, twenty five dollars a month only. We'd love to have you at the nation. All right, let's get on over to. Our partner optimizerOptimizerAn optimizer is software that builds DFS lineups within a site's salary cap and roster rules. It uses projected fantasy points, your settings and, in some tools, simulations to select combinations for a chosen goal.Build a small test batch first. Check which players and combinations repeat, and investigate why before increasing the lineup count or changing settings.Read the full definition of Optimizer Ed SaberSim, and we are going to go to the first game of the night at seven p.m. Eastern.

Again, all nine games lock within a one hour window today, which makes it very easy for late swapLate SwapLate swap lets you change unlocked players in an entered DFS lineup after the contest starts. Both the players you remove and their replacements must remain eligible for editing under the contest's lock rules.Before the first games lock, identify affordable backup combinations for your later players. Check that each combination fits the open positions, then confirm your saved changes in every affected entry.Read the full definition of Late Swap and just doing whatever you want to do in life. Yeah, first game of the night. We have that's not the wrong page for it. DraftKings Sportsbook, yeah, Detroit and the Charlotte Hornets, Piston seven-and-a-half-point favorites, two twelve-and-a-half total, the lowest on the slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate, very low. Injuries on the Detroit side, Isaiah Joe's out, Durant's still out, nothing new there.

On the Charlotte side, Conn Knipple's still out, Kobe White, Grant Williams, nothing crazy for the injury department. Sorting by ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership in this game, Dennis Schroeder, the only one looking to get double-digit ownership. I will say you can play Brandon Miller, not the easiest matchup by any means, but the dude absolutely is chucking right now with the injuries they have. So is that something you're interested in? Any pieces in this game? Yeah, definitely a little bit interested there.

This is a back-to-back for Detroit coming off their first loss this season. So wouldn't be surprised if we get a late injury tag on. I mean, I think Asar is probably the most likely to get downgraded if somebody were to miss. I think everybody else is pretty much good to go. But that would definitely benefit a guy like Brandon Miller. I think it will be Asar on Miller here. I mean, surprisingly, Hornets are three and one this season.

They've had pretty solid defense, really good rebounding, but it's a little bit of smoke and mirrors because their offense is not playing that well and their opponents haven't been that great. Yeah, the way to attack the Pistons is going to be with their three-point defense. They've been a pretty decent big funnel there. Rebounding also has taken a little bit of a hit, but no during the season.

Really three guys I guess four guys I'm considering just because the projectionProjectionsDFS projections estimate a player's fantasy points for an upcoming slate using expected opportunities, performance and the contest's scoring rules. They describe an expected result, not a guaranteed score.Check the projection's update time and assumed role before using it. If news is already included, adjusting again for that same news can double-count its effect.Read the full definition of Projections does look pretty good on schroeder although I'm I think I'm probably gonna end up going elsewhere with value tonight than dennis schroeder um but yeah brandon miller I think as a guy you could definitely look at single digit ownership just a massive usage role taking a ton of shots so even if the efficiency isn't there the volume could definitely get him there I think naz is in a pretty good spot here maybe is getting to the point where it's a little bit too priced up um what does he know so That feels about right, or if anything, maybe a little bit too expensive.

I'm okay getting away from Schroeder, like I said. He has a solid role, but I just don't really think that he's going to be the guy that really breaks the slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate open on a nine-gamer. And then I think Diabate is a decent pivotPivotA pivot in DFS is an alternative player or lineup combination you choose instead of another option. Tournament pivots usually seek comparable scoring upside at lower ownership, meaning fewer competing lineups use them.Before swapping, check what the replacement changes around it: your remaining salary, teammates, opposing players and available later-starting options.Read the full definition of Pivot off some of these centers in this pivot range, or if anything, just a guy that's kind of getting overlooked in general.

Just because if we look at some of the games that were close, he's playing – And I see around the industry mostly projected in like the upper twenties. So if anything, there's a pretty big difference in where he should be projected versus where he is. And like I mentioned, the Pistons not as great as a rebounding team. That's kind of where he gets his fantasy points going.

So I think that he's a decent option here tonight at five point $5,000 at low ownership. Pissing side of things, I think it's kind of just Paul Reed or bust. Cade is going to have to compete with a lot of really high upside options on the slate. The bigger the game gets, the more you add in guys like Giannis and Jokic just makes it a little bit tougher for me to see Cade being the guy that you need to spend upSpending UpSpending up means choosing a higher-priced player over a cheaper alternative, using more of your lineup's salary budget at that spot. You may also hear it called paying up.Build a version with your preferred expensive player and another without. Before choosing, check whether either version relies on a cheap player whose expected role still depends on unresolved injury news.Read the full definition of Spending Up for.

But Paul Reed. Our guy Matt Belman mentioned it on the slate plan. This is probably the last time we get him sub-$6,000, and I definitely would agree. When he's starting, he's probably a six, eight hundred, $7,000 player. So even in a tough matchup versus a really good rebounding team, I think you have to have some level of interest on a guy like Paul Reed.

But just keep an eye on the Asar news because there's a chance that he does get downgraded. That would open up some value on guys like Dennis Jenkins, to a lesser degree, Duncan Robinson and Kevin Herter. Yeah, I got nothing to add. I think this game is pretty bad. Paul Reed, though, for sure, a five percent holds true. I mean, the dude had twenty five DK points or something in the first quarter yesterday.

Someone that's been around in the if you've been playing NBA DFS for a while, point per minute monster. Anytime he said somewhat of a solid role. Yes. Someone that I've played a bunch. Next game on the slate, a very important one. Oh, I did also want to mention Luka was ruled out, and that matters for the FanDuel streets. So we do have core plays for FanDuel, cash for FanDuel as well, projections, ownership, of course.

And you can go to the What If page again and check out what that does. Everything will be updated, though, there. But that is important news on the FanDuel slate. Philadelphia Seventy Sixers and Indiana Pacers, the Sixers seven at point favorites, two thirty four and a half total in this one on the Philly side. Jabari Walker's out on the Indiana side. Yeah, you mentioned it. No Zubac, no Halliburton. Stinks for Halliburton. Going to miss a little time with the hamstring. And then Andrew Nembhardt is questionable.

We don't have to, I mean, you can talk through like what, Hey, you can go to the Slate Station and check out the bum, see what the, if a Nembhard's out does, but you can talk about it, but you don't have to guess because this game is the first one on the slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate at seven Eastern. So we will get that news, but yeah, definitely a game, especially if Nembhard does miss that you are going to be able to get some value on the pacer side.

Yeah, I think it's probably easier just to talk through as if he were to be in because I think there's probably a more likely chance that that happens. And then at that point, if he's out, you're just following projectionsProjectionsDFS projections estimate a player's fantasy points for an upcoming slate using expected opportunities, performance and the contest's scoring rules. They describe an expected result, not a guaranteed score.Check the projection's update time and assumed role before using it. If news is already included, adjusting again for that same news can double-count its effect.Read the full definition of Projections because right now we have him in. So I think it's just safer to talk through it that way. But, yeah, I'll start with the Philly side of things. Their defense has been somewhat of a surprise this year.

I didn't expect them to be this good, but Embiid looks good. LeBron James is guarding one through five, so he's just looked really, really good this year. And both teams are playing pretty fast on the year. Pacers have gone back to being a rim funnel. They're the seventh-fastest-paced team in the league. I believe the Philly is like top four or something like that, or their top six, excuse me, but they were one of the fastest teams in the preseason.

So this game definitely has a lot of appeal to me. It's just a little bit tougher for these Sixers guys. I think that they're all appropriately priced and the roles are pretty spread out from a usage standpoint. All four of their MAIN starters, not counting BJ Edgecombe, are in that twenty four to twenty eight percent usage range.

I feel like most nights you're probably getting a pretty solid score from one of these guys and this is a very very good matchup for them if I had to rank how I would uh be prioritizing these guys it's for sure and beat them maxi one and two I just think that the upside kind of is in these guys hands more so than not and being in particular I think looks really good just uh jay huff good shot blocker but not a great defender and beat has cooked him in the past looking at some of the heads head numbers he's averaging like over forty points for seventy-five and behind Jay Huff it's going to be small ball center so Embiid could really, really cook in a big way here.

I'm really liking him as a low-ish on center option tonight. I would have LeBron ahead of Jalen Brown too. Jalen Brown's just been really inefficient this year. LeBron provides stats across all three categories. I think that he's at the very least has a very solid four and then a lot of room for upside as well. Indy side of things, Nembhard becomes probably the premier valueValueValue is the fantasy production you expect from a player relative to his salary. A value play offers more production or upside than his price suggests, whether he is cheap or expensive.Identify why the salary looks wrong: workload, matchup, scoring ability or a pricing error. Then check whether that reason still holds when you submit your lineup.Read the full definition of Value play on the slate, assuming that he does play.

We've seen dating back the past couple of years just how the role increases in a big way for him when Halliburton's out. And I would expect that to continue here. Not really too worried about the matchup against Vijay Echikom. I imagine that would be the guy that's going to be guarding him. But I also think Pascal Siakam at home, You know, modest ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership and a pretty decent position looks good to me. It's going to be updated.

I don't think that what Sabre has is correct yet, obviously, because Nembhard's going to be more than one percent owned. But yeah, Siakam, I think, looks pretty good. He's started off the year really hot. And as good as the Sixers have been, not sure I fully believe that they're going to be that good of a defense. He probably will see Jalen Brown on defense here. But I just think that he's going to be asked to do a lot more ball handling than we're used to seeing.

And you've seen an uptick in rebounding with Zubac sidelined. So I think that he could be in a pretty decent spot here. Generally, the guy I'm not too excited to play. And I think the price is kind of creeping up to the point where I don't love playing him. But I think that he's definitely in play tonight. Outside of that, I mean, you could consider Jay Huff as a value play.

I know that Clint Capella was kind of a big talking point in our Discord and just overall tonight is going to be. Maybe a deciding factor. I'm not sure if he's even going to be starting. But Jay Huff is one of those guys in that $3,000 range as a center that's going to be starting. And obviously, he missed in a really bad way last time out.

Going to be going up against Embiid, who's going to be drawing a ton of fouls and a double digit free throw attempt last game. So I think that ownership is going to be really low on Huff. And we've seen him put up some big games in the past. So I'd be willing to go away from the field, assuming that the ownership is going to be low on him. As for the rest of these guys, just got to wait for the Nembhard news.

I think Quinton Jackson is a guy that we could look to play twenty seven minutes off the bench last game that Nembhard missed. Now with Halliburton, I'd probably expect that to be around the same. Halliburton is a much higher usage guy than Nembhard as well. So the role could be a little bit better for Quinton Jackson. Yeah, like Nembhard is going to be, what, thirty percent, thirty five percent, something like that. It's definitely not going to be one percent. Siakam is not going to be two percent.

He might be. I don't know. He's not going to be, I don't think, too, too high on if Nembhard misses. He definitely is going to get a big bump there, but maybe fifteen percent. I definitely am in on Siakam. I'm definitely in on Nembhard is going to be chalk. Embiid, though, is my favorite one at ownership in this. So many people want to go spend down center today or mid-tier. I don't think many are going to spend upSpending UpSpending up means choosing a higher-priced player over a cheaper alternative, using more of your lineup's salary budget at that spot. You may also hear it called paying up.Build a version with your preferred expensive player and another without. Before choosing, check whether either version relies on a cheap player whose expected role still depends on unresolved injury news.Read the full definition of Spending Up.

And yeah, Embiid, Jay Huff is not someone I'm worried about at all. And you have the numbers to back it up with their individual matchup. Maxie, man, it's a big price at $8,700. I'm fine with it, though. I think I do prefer LeBron for thirteen hundred less if having to choose there. Would you make a rule, Max, one of these Philly guys? No, I think it's just a max two overall, not really getting into the max ones of LeBron and Max or anything like that.

I think that there's plenty of nights where two guys will go off. Makes some sense. Jake, I already gave you some flowers at the beginning. You told your brewers weren't sweet, but I will say, not sure you can say told you all to start. That was a great game. There's no doubt about that. And again, I already was chirping. Pat Murphy. Very interesting pitching decisions later in that game. Oubre revenge.

I mean, especially if Nemard's out, you can definitely talk me into some Kelly Oubre. I always like playing Kelly because he can chuck, but it's not the same Kelly Oubre as... Man, Oubre was on teams where there was a lot of injuries around him that boosted his minutes throughout times of the year where he really flourished. Any Kelly Oubre interest? Yeah, I mean, based off the tool, if you took Nembhard out, he's looking like a six X value tonight. So definitely would be considering him.

If he's in. If Nembhard is out. Yeah, if Nembhard is out, for sure. If Nembhard is in, though, would you have any interest? Probably not. I think that there's some really solid shooting guard, small forward options that are going to be just projecting much better values. Yeah, I agree. Definitely a good game environment to target on the slate, though. Have to monitor. Not more news. We will get it before lockLineup LockLineup lock is the deadline after which you cannot change your selected players. Without late swap, your entire lineup locks together; with late swap, which allows edits after the contest begins, players lock at their games' listed deadlines.After saving an edit, reopen your entered lineups and confirm the change reached every intended entry. Check the site's displayed lock times and time zone instead of relying on the television schedule.Read the full definition of Lineup Lock. But yeah, just don't build your NBA teams now and go about your day, of course.

Appreciate everyone hanging out. I hope everyone's having a great day. All we ask is the like button and subscribe button. It helps us out a ton. Next game on the slates, we are talking the Cleveland Cavaliers who are ten and a half point favorites over the Washington Wizards. Two forty and a half, which I believe is second biggest tied for the second highest total. On the slate, on the Washington side, no Justin Champagny. On the Cavs side, there is no injury newsInjury NewsInjury news is information about a player's health that can change whether they compete, how much they play or how effectively they perform. In DFS, it also affects opportunities for teammates and opponents.Before an uncertain player's game locks, identify an alternative you can afford at each affected position. Check whether making that change would require another player whose game starts earlier.Read the full definition of Injury News to talk about.

Yeah, I mean, Cleveland's implied for one hundred twenty three points. The Wizards do not play any defense. Donovan Mitchell, like give me Mitchell personally over Maxie in a vacuum. That's again, $8,700 is pretty expensive, though, compared to great players. Harden, I don't know. It's really tough for me. It seems like he's taking a little more of a backseat. I prefer Mobley. I prefer Donovan Mitchell. And yeah, Peyton Watson right at $5,000, I think was a great signing.

For the Cavs, if they want to do anything in the playoffs or deep this year, Peyton Watson's going to be a big part. Wizard side's getting no love, though, and I don't mind. I never mind playing Anthony Davis, especially when you're looking at sub-five percent. Not the easiest matchup against Mobley, but, hey, when he's healthy, if he's playing thirty-four plus minutes, I have interest in A.D. I guess, is he going to play thirty-four plus minutes in a close game? Because SaberSim has him at thirty-one.

Would think so yeah I mean they're they're running up the minutes on these starters a lot uh the one thing that we do have to know is that the band so I'm not sure if he said that he will be making his debut tonight yeah he'll be on a minute's limit and I'm not sure if he's going to start we'll obviously have that news I don't think it really changes much maybe a little bit because if he comes off the bench that's probably better for ad and trey young just because he is a decently high usage guy preseason had about a twenty four percent usage rateUsage RateUsage rate estimates the percentage of a team's offensive plays a player uses while on the court, based on shot attempts, free throw attempts and turnovers. It does not measure assists or time spent holding the ball.Check who shared the floor in any usage sample. Numbers collected against reserves or with several starters missing may not describe the role you are projecting tonight.Read the full definition of Usage Rate um but he's mainly gonna be taking away minutes from guys like kesha and george and cool bali I think mainly cool bali

But these guys are all just gonna get pushed down a little bit more as you try to acclimate the number one overall pick in but yeah probably expecting low minutes for him but um yeah in a close game I mean this is the like second or third highest over under on the slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate I believe so definitely could get into it I think we're now starting to get to the point where these prices are asking for a lot more AD did have a sixty something pointer in

Game one um but we even saw on Monday night when it was a decently big slateSlate SizeSlate size is the number of games or matchups included in a DFS contest's schedule. In sports built around one event, it can instead describe the number of eligible competitors; it does not mean the number of contest entries.Before building, count the credible alternatives at each position. A slate with plenty of games can still leave you with very few appealing choices at one position.Read the full definition of Slate Size you had like five or six guys go for sixty and yannis had a great game and I don't even think that he was needed so I could see something like that happening tonight we're gonna get some really big scores across a lot of these games so I'm a little bit lower on the wizard stuff uh trey's been really consistent basically forty five DK points in every game this year double digit assist so I think he's okay like it is a really good matchup calves are pretty weak at their point of attack defense.

So I think that he's fine, but nobody's really a standout play in Washington. I think the Cleveland side is a little bit better, and it's Mobley and Mitchell for me. I agree with you. Just James Harden, really bad usage so far to start the season. Looks old. Jared Allen's not playing full minutes yet. Mitchell looks really good.

The usage versus last year so I'd like to see that come up a little bit more but not too worried about this matchup here against Keyshawn George especially Kula Bali is off the bench I think that's better for spider Mobley I don't know it's just a little bit tougher to get really high upside games from him gonna be going against AD and SAR much better front court than they've been facing the last couple years against Washington uh but I agree with you on Peyton Watson $5,000 Feels a little bit too cheap for him.

Really, really solid signing in the offseason. And then one guy on the Cavs that did make the slate plan I saw was Malik Thomas, the rookie. He was a standout in the summer and looked really good last game. I think it might be a little bit too thin to go there just because you're not getting a ton of minutes, but maybe on a smaller slate. But I definitely want to shout him out because Matt was pretty hyped on him.

Not only the Slate Station, he also doubled down, adding the comments section as well. So Matt is a Cleveland guy. He lives there. That's his team. Hey, if you want to take a shot on a zero point one percent Moody Thomas, that can be you. Yeah, I loved seeing his own. You do that. Yeah, just Donovan Mitchell. You can't always be a baby or get the ball when you want the ball. Sometimes the best play is is taking yourself when you have a mismatch.

And I loved that. To see him talk about that. Yeah, Watson, Mobley, Donovan Mitchell, I think all three are good. I'd like Anthony Davis a little more than you. You like Trey Young a little more than me, but it still feels a little difficult on the Wizards' side because, yeah, I mean, if Trey's done solid every single game, he could have five acts. He could have forty-five, and you still probably don't need it.

Same thing, AD probably needs sixty-plus in this matchup, which he has only done on night one. Let's get to the next game on the slate. Very good game when it comes to DFS. Obviously is coming with ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership, though. Miami Heat taking on the Hawks. Hawks two and a half point favorites. This was the largest total on the slate. Looking at injuries in this one, nothing to note on the Miami side. On the Atlanta side, the same can be said. Yes, just sorting by ownership.

I don't, I guess, necessarily believe this is how ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership is going to be. I think Giannis will be the highest owned player in this game. $10,200 is a joke. I think he should be at least $11,200. Yeah, he burned me night one when I was almost all in. But if you've played him every day since, you are... I guess, I mean, you're happy, you're sad, you're happy, you're sad, whatever it may be. But $10,200 is just way too cheap in a good matchup.

And what should be a competitive game where he plays upper-thirties minutes, they definitely are going to try and get out there and get their win. But, yeah, looking at plenty of other options, Bobby Portis had a solid game, not showing to have too much ownership. Wiggins is still sub-five-K. Pelley Larson, there is some value on that side if you want. Atlanta side, I mean, if CJ is thirty-five percent, like I get it, but – it's a nine game slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate.

I think I could find maybe other places to go. I'll let you talk about that though. Cause obviously on paper, he's going to grade out very well. I think not at $6,400 as the pivots would be a little interesting myself, but a game that's getting quite a bit of ownership. What do you think?

Yeah I think it's definitely right that this game is getting a lot of ownership um I think if there was a game that I came into with my lineups with like two to four players and it would be this one because I'm seeing a lot of really good matchups across the board um Miami and Atlanta both play extremely fast this season and we kind of no I don't I mean I've always hammered this home with Miami just giving up a ton of three-point volume this year Atlanta is a really good three-point offense as well um Atlanta themselves are, are allowing a lot of three pointers as well, but don't think that the, he really have the guys that can take advantage of that.

Um, the Hawks were just gave up a ton of points and a ton of big stat lines to the Rockets just last game they haven't really been giving up a ton of volume at the rim this season but when they are teams are getting to the rim they are allowing uh over seventy eight percent field goal percentage on rim attempts this year so they're just not able to stop anybody it makes sense when you got an undersized center like a congo down low and nobody really else it's like a lockdown defender at the rim So definitely brings Giannis firmly into play.

Probably my favorite stand up. I agree with you. You should be $11,200 point $2,000. I think that they're just going to have to run up the minutes a ton on these heat guys because their bench is really weak. Like, I don't even know if they can play Clay Thompson or Tim Harvey Jr. As much as they have been like. Jovich has been a guy that they don't really like anymore. Drew Smith, returning from the injury, hasn't looked as good.

So I could see their top seven guys playing a ton of minutes tonight. I wouldn't even be surprised if Clay Larson is in the starting lineup. I mean, Clay has been so bad, just not the same defender that he was. Still okay as a three-point shooter, but I just think that you get more juice with Clay Larson there. I'm not going to go to Bam, just the role is disgusting for him.

I actually think if you're looking for a pivot at a point guard, Davion Mitchell off of CJ McCollum looks pretty good. He's quietly had a really solid season this year at a double-doubleDouble-DoubleA double-double is when a basketball player records at least 10 in two of five statistical categories in one game: points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks. Points with rebounds or assists are the most common combinations.Check whether your fantasy-point projection already includes milestone bonuses before adding anything yourself. An average of 10 rebounds does not mean a player reaches 10 every game.Read the full definition of Double-Double, I believe, night one. They're going to play fast. He's going to play a ton of minutes here. They're going to need his defense. So not normally a guy that we look to for upside, but I think that he's in play tonight. I won't play any Wiggins, just think he's dust now.

I'd rather play Portis, and I'd much rather play Larson. I think that he's actually a really strong valueValueValue is the fantasy production you expect from a player relative to his salary. A value play offers more production or upside than his price suggests, whether he is cheap or expensive.Identify why the salary looks wrong: workload, matchup, scoring ability or a pricing error. Then check whether that reason still holds when you submit your lineup.Read the full definition of Value play tonight at four point $3,000.

Just think that he's a guy that they need to lean on to a lot more the role has been great offensively but thirty four and thirty six minutes at that price tag I mean it doesn't really get much better unless we get like uber a starting with uh nem hard out then I would probably prefer that but even then to be kind of close I really do like larson here from the Miami side tough for me to justify the price tag on jalen johnson I mean, the Heat defense hasn't been good this year, so maybe I'll take that back a little bit.

But just generally the way that you beat and attack the Heat is with perimeter scoring. So I do prefer the matchup for Nikhil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum a little bit more than I do Jim Johnson, Dyson Daniels. But that's not to say that I won't play any of them. I just think that, you know, with the way that my brain works, I want to attack those three-point shooters against Miami. So I would lean those two.

But definitely think Jalen and Dyson are in play here. We saw Dyson get it done against a turnover prone team like Orlando. Miami's actually been doing a good job taking care of the ball. So maybe the turnovers won't be there. But yeah, just a little bit tough for me to picture either of those guys hitting the ceiling where I can really paint a clear picture with Nikhil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum. Shout out to our man Douglas. Look at that.

Went to bed, thought he lost all of his money because of Precious. Woke up to fifteen G's from the Lakers and the Blazers showdownShowdown (Captain and MVP)Showdown is a single-game DFS format where you build a lineup under a salary cap. In Captain or MVP formats, you assign one player to a special roster slot that multiplies their fantasy points and can increase their salary.Compare complete lineups with different players in the multiplier slot. Leaving salary unused can reduce duplication, but do not sacrifice meaningful scoring potential just to make your lineup unusual.Read the full definition of Showdown. That is awesome stuff, Douglas. That is a lot of cheese. So that is very awesome. I love how at the end you said feeling grateful. Yeah, it's easy to think you're the man on a hot streak or when you win and stuff like that. But you do need a lot to go your way. Feeling grateful is always good.

So congrats to you, Douglas. Very well deserved. Any rules in this one, I guess, like CJ is getting ownership. Like, are you, I guess what max two of nod dice and CJ, I don't know how much you're really going to get it on a nine game slate anyway, but any rules on either side? That'd probably be the only one that I make on the Atlanta side.

Miami, I didn't have enough time to look through the rotation on who Larson would eat into, but I assume that it's Clay and Tim Hardaway. I don't really think that those guys are even in play tonight, so you're just X-ing them out and then playing these top five to six guys a lot. I like it. Makes some sense. Next game on the slates, we have the Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors.

Raptors, four and a half point favorites, two twenty three and a half total in this one. Paulo's out. He has been for a couple of days now. Anthony Black's questionable. So that is important. No Jalen Suggs as well, who's going to be out for a little while. Toronto side, Kawhi is also going to be out for a little while. So Anthony Black news, though. It's going to be pretty important. I don't know. I mean, I get it.

Franz is eight point $3,000, which might be a little expensive for him. Bane, I don't love seeing him at six point $8,000, but that's usually when Paul is in without him. They have to take on a big part of this offense and it only could get better. If there is no Anthony Black, with that being said, ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership would also follow a decent bit if he is ruled out. This game is the only game at seven thirty Eastern, hoping we get it before the seven p.m.

Eastern start time. We very well might. But yeah, for a pretty low total, that Anthony Black news is important on this slateSlateA slate in DFS is the set of games, races, fights or tournament rounds covered by a contest. It determines which events your player selections can come from and which performances count toward your score.Before building, open the contest details and check the included events, scoring period and lock rules. Do not assume two sites offer identical slates just because both call them the main slate.Read the full definition of Slate. Then on the Toronto side, Jacoby Walter has been solid. And obviously, yeah, they're without we said at day one, like it's hard for me to get to this Raptors team when they're healthy, but without Kawhi, it's back to this old Raptors team. So quickly Barrett, Scotty Barnes, any interest for you in any of those guys? Yeah. Black expected to play.

Did I? Yeah. Yeah. He is. He's questionable still, but it was just with a personal issue. And then they said like right afterwards that he was expected to be back for the game tonight. So. Yeah. Um, Yeah, I know. I mean, the game total is really low here. It makes sense. These teams have not been good on offense this year. Orlando's bottom six, Toronto's bottom eight.

Toronto has been the top defense in the league, and they are playing fast, so there is a little bit of chance that the game speeds up and there's more scoring, but... I don't know. This isn't like obviously the value is going to get you onto some of these guys. I'm not really too into it. You kind of made the case against Bain and I pretty much wrote up the same thing.

Like I don't like playing him at what I expect to be higher ownership than what we're seeing right now. The numbers did look pretty good last year. He was around like one point two fantasy points a minuteFantasy Points Per Minute (FPPM)Fantasy points per minute (FPPM) measures a player's fantasy production per minute played. Calculate it by dividing total fantasy points by total minutes over the same games, using one site's scoring system.Separate competitive rotation minutes from minutes played after a game is effectively decided. A rate built against reserves may not represent the matchup and role you expect tonight.Read the full definition of Fantasy Points Per Minute. So at six point eight guys playing thirty five to thirty six minutes.

Definitely a chance for him to hit the upside case but I really just think that with all the offseason talk around franz about them getting more involved as a on-ball option He'd be the guy that I look to because if we're getting sixty from somebody on this team, I'd imagine it comes from Franz here. He was one assist shy of the triple doubleTriple-Double BonusThe triple-double bonus is extra fantasy scoring for recording at least 10 in three categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks. In DraftKings NBA Classic, it adds 3 points on top of the player's statistical scoring and double-double bonus.Check how often a player reaches all three thresholds in the same game under a similar role. Separate averages for points, rebounds and assists can overstate the likelihood.Read the full definition of Triple-Double Bonus last game and had a thirty two percent usage rateUsage RateUsage rate estimates the percentage of a team's offensive plays a player uses while on the court, based on shot attempts, free throw attempts and turnovers. It does not measure assists or time spent holding the ball.Check who shared the floor in any usage sample. Numbers collected against reserves or with several starters missing may not describe the role you are projecting tonight.Read the full definition of Usage Rate without Paulo and that one. And I take away Jalen Suggs.

It's just going to be really, really sky high usage for him. So I don't know. He's going to go up against Scottie. That's the big downside. The scoring may not be there, but I just think that the role is much, much better for Franz. Even at eight point $3,000, I'd probably want to. End up at least around the field or slightly over there.

And then Bain, I'd probably say, is more like around the field to underweight, assuming that the ownership, once it gets updated, it's probably going to be a little bit higher than it's at right now. And Anthony Black, he was on a minutes limitInjury NewsInjury news is information about a player's health that can change whether they compete, how much they play or how effectively they perform. In DFS, it also affects opportunities for teammates and opponents.Before an uncertain player's game locks, identify an alternative you can afford at each affected position. Check whether making that change would require another player whose game starts earlier.Read the full definition of Injury News, but kind of wasn't. Played twenty six minutes in his first game back. So could be looking at full workload from him. He'll mix in on ball a good bit with Sugg's sideline. He's the cheapest of the three.

So I think that he's a decent valueValueValue is the fantasy production you expect from a player relative to his salary. A value play offers more production or upside than his price suggests, whether he is cheap or expensive.Identify why the salary looks wrong: workload, matchup, scoring ability or a pricing error. Then check whether that reason still holds when you submit your lineup.Read the full definition of Value play. That's about it, though. I did talk a little bit about Tristan Da Silva earlier this year, like last week, and he hit in a pretty big way. But now he's at five point $5,000 guy that's just going to be shooting the ball. Not really too much in play. Yeah, I'll give you props for sure. Opening night, you talked about Tristan Da Silva. I'm trying to see what he did.

Yeah, I mean, he had like the same amount of drafting points in the first half is almost what he ended with, it seems. But definitely did solid. Now it's hard at that price tag, though. Yeah, you mentioned your thoughts on Scottie Barnes, right? No, I didn't, but I just – I don't really think that you're sneaking him past anybody. Like, everybody's expecting a big roll from him. Obviously, he went scoreless last game.

But I was looking at some of the coach speak and then just the presser from Scottie Barnes. Like, they still want him to be aggressive around, especially attacking the paint. I think you can against Orlando with Wendell Curry Jr. Down low. Missed all of his open shots. I mean, every single one of his threes was wide open. I would expect him to...

Know regress back to the mean here and then he could put up a really big score like we've seen from him in the past good eligibility as well uh rj barrett's about to take on a larger workload as well but he's seven point $1,000 with just shooting guard eligibility not super into iq at six point $9,000 with the strength of the point guard position cheaper and and more expensive and then I do think that walter like you mentioned uh Basically, in all the preseason stuff I was listening to about the Raptors, they said there's going to be games that Kawhi misses and Walter's going to have to be the guy that steps up.

He had a really good game, seven for twelve from the field, five for eight from deep. I actually think that he's a high upside value play, not just a guy you look to for floor. He was pacing for like thirty six, thirty seven minutes in that game before the Raptors pulled the plug. He was at thirty one minutes when they when they took all the starters out. So he actually looks like a pretty high upside value play to me.

Yeah, I mean, I didn't even know he was pacing for those type of minutes. Obviously, he was efficient. Shot eight threes, though. He was pretty important in their playoff run as well. They trusted him at the end of games. So I think Jacoby Walter is definitely an elite play at four point $6,000, regardless of Nembhard.

In or out even if Quentin Jackson all those guys get ownership that would only lower Walters but yeah I think he's he's my favorite play in this game I'll say that at the price Scotty I mean if he does what he does did against the Wizards just feels like he needs the up tempo the stocks get out and run the lower total always scares me but he definitely has I mean he's not I don't even know if he's going to be seventeen percent today it could be like ten percent And he always does have that sixty point upside at $8,300.

So he has to be in the pool. I don't love him. Orlando just gave up seven steals to Dyson Daniels. So there's definitely a path for him. Yeah, there you go. Eight point $3,000 solid price. I guess like him or LeBron. LeBron's a little cheaper, but similar positions. Who would you choose? I would probably like in the large field tournamentGPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool)A GPP is a tournament whose prize pool is guaranteed to pay out in full even if the contest does not fill. Payouts are steep: a small group at the top wins most of the money.Before you enter a tournament lineup, ask how it finishes first, not just how it cashes. If you cannot name that scenario, rebuild it.Read the full definition of GPP, I would side with Scotty just because I think the high end upside is there for him.

But if you're looking for like a floorFloorIn daily fantasy sports (DFS), a player's floor is an estimate of the low end of their realistic fantasy scoring range. It describes downside, not a guaranteed minimum or their average projected score.Before trusting a floor estimate, check what could change the player's role today: a returning teammate, a minutes restriction, a lineup change or a different game script.Read the full definition of Floor play, I definitely think LeBron's is much, much better. No one's looking for a floor play on this show. Some people play cash or smaller field single entrySingle-EntryA single-entry contest allows each user exactly one lineup. It can be a cash game or a tournament.In single-entry, one or two contrarian decisions are usually enough. Pair a strong, popular core with a lower-owned piece instead of fading everything the field likes.Read the full definition of Single-Entry stuff. I mean, you're looking at one right here, but nowadays you're not even really playing for floor and cash as much. People are too good. All right, next game on the slates. Wardos. A terrible New York Knicks. Hey, they got the win. I know you are. They got the win.

Taking on the Chicago Bulls. Seven net point favorites are the Knicks. Two-thirty-two and a half total in this one. Jose Alvarado out for the Knicks. No real injury newsInjury NewsInjury news is information about a player's health that can change whether they compete, how much they play or how effectively they perform. In DFS, it also affects opportunities for teammates and opponents.Before an uncertain player's game locks, identify an alternative you can afford at each affected position. Check whether making that change would require another player whose game starts earlier.Read the full definition of Injury News. On Chicago to mention, what, Toby Iwaka is questionable. No Nicholas Claxton. Back-to-back for the Knicks, Carl Anthony Towns. Yeah, we got that game right. I mean, Azure Thompson's a stub. Brunson was limited a bit. Towns gets there greatly in the second half. These guys did play most of their starters.

Hart played twenty-seven minutes, but Brunson, OG, played over thirty-five or about thirty-five. Towns only played thirty-two, though. Seven and a half point favorites. So, I mean, if they are going to be Seven point game with five minutes left. I'm expecting the starters to play. So I guess I'm not too worried about the back to back, but it is worth noting. I mean, we talked about the Knicks yesterday in a four game slate. It's just their starters and nothing for the bench.

So it only gets tighter on a bigger slateSlate SizeSlate size is the number of games or matchups included in a DFS contest's schedule. In sports built around one event, it can instead describe the number of eligible competitors; it does not mean the number of contest entries.Before building, count the credible alternatives at each position. A slate with plenty of games can still leave you with very few appealing choices at one position.Read the full definition of Slate Size. The Bulls side, I think it's going to be tough to click these buttons most of the year. Caleb Wilson, a lot of his games once in a while, but seven point $1,000, you definitely have to get it right. What do you think? Yeah, I wish that the Knicks ran away with the game last night because they kind of let the bench unit for the Pistons back in with a couple minutes left.

I think they cut it to like thirteen or fourteen, something like that, with like four or five minutes left. So the Knicks starter stayed out there. I wish that they were able to run away with it because then we get four minutes tonight in a really good matchup. I just think that the Bulls are continue to be one of the worst defenses in the NBA. There's still a huge rim fault on giving up transition points.

I just think that the entire Knicks starting five is in a really good spot here. I do worry that the Bulls won't be able to keep it close, but the back-to-back probably helps them more so than it does hurt them. I like the matchup for Cat, though. Not worried about anybody he's matched up with on the other side.

If you looked at just like DVP numbers, then it probably would point to everybody else but Cat because the Bulls have allowed the fourth most drafting points to point guards, second most to shooting guards, small forwards, and six most to power forwards. I just think it's a little bit tougher for Brunson on this big of a slate to really hit in a big way, especially in like potentially a non-competitive game.

I think you want him more in like a really competitive game against a good team, a good playoff team. But I think that OG Hart, not as much Bridges. He just hasn't looked good. He looked better last night, but still doesn't do enough to get there. I feel like you're going to add something about Bridges there. I was just going to say better price on FanDuel. Like yesterday, the ownershipOwnershipOwnership is the percentage of lineups in a contest that include a given player. Projected ownership is an estimate made before lock; actual ownership is posted once the contest locks.Ownership isn't something to avoid; it's something to build around. The goal is understanding how the field is likely to build, then finding your edge relative to that.Read the full definition of Ownership on FanDuel was night and day different.

But like Derek White was another one yesterday. There's still some big pricing differences on both. That's all. His usage went up to sixteen percent, which was like double his first couple of games. Just like, wow. But not what you're looking for on a non-gamer. What is he on? Fando's like four point $2,000, something like that. Yeah, that's what he was yesterday. Let me see. Four four now.

OK, so shooting small forward and shooting guard eligibility still on a four game slate. A lot more appealing. Twelve games late because Fando did add the other three games. Luka's out. I still don't. I'd be hesitant, especially if he is coming with ownership. I haven't looked at updated projected ownership since Luka news. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't know. To me, this feels like a Josh Hart get-right game.

Like, you like these up-tempo games for Hart where you can get outscoring in transition, can add the rebounds and the assists and things like that. So I kind of like him at what looks to be the lowest ownership of the starting five. But, I mean, OG is going to fit a lot of builds with that power forward eligibility and a fairly cheap price tag. So I'm fine with all these guys. Don't want to go too overboard.

I think it's a max two overall and then kind of just move along. But I expect the Knicks to roll in this one. Bowles, if you're looking to anybody that's potentially going to keep the game close, it's probably Caleb Wilson and Norm Powell. I think the matchup's pretty decent for Norm Powell against a three-point funnel. Really tough spot for Caleb Wilson, I think, but he's just a stud, so he can get there in really tough matchups.

The role has been so bad for Josh Giddey. I just can't play him until he's below six Ks right now. Jordan's got me dying. Wardo, I can already see Wardo screaming at his computer, getting all angry. Nobody gives a shit about the defending champs, Wardo. It's now, and they're one and three, so they better figure it out. This is a good get-right spot for them. You wouldn't play Brunson and Towns together?

I probably wouldn't just because I think you're eating up a lot of salary from the same team and you probably get a better score from other guys at same positions, different teams. So, yeah, I probably wouldn't. I agree. All right, let's keep rolling. Next game on the slate, Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans. Four and a half point favorites are the Nugs, two forty and a half total, which is tied for the second biggest on the slate with the Wizards and the Cavs.

And then the Heat and the Hawks, two forty one and a half. So pretty much tied for the highest. Denver side, no Cam Johnson, no Spencer Jones. On the Pelican side, no Messi looking at ownership in this game. No one above ten percent. Yeah, see, this is why Giannis is just going to be so high on ten point $2,000 versus twelve K. Eighteen hundred dollars goes a long way on the slate.

And then you add in Jokic just being center, obviously, as he should be with a lot of spend down options at center. I prefer going to Embiid just because you get a big pricing difference. And yeah, you're giving up some ownership, but Jokic could have sixty eight today and still not be on the winner just because of how the slate works out. So that's the bear case for him. The bull case is he's Jokic and heck, he could have ninety two today.

And if he does that, then you need him. But competitive game, not getting much ownership either side. Do you have any interest? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, really appealing game total, close spread to really bad defenses. I mean, Denver's kind of fallen off in a big way since winning the championship a few years ago. Lost a ton of depth this year. Guys are injured like they just don't look very good. Pelicans are competitive. So this game does predict to be close. I agree with what you say about Jokic.

But I think there is a high likelihood, maybe not high likelihood, but better than his ownership is projecting right now that he is a guy that's needed tonight. He's averaging sixty eight DK points versus the Pelicans this year. Just had eighty one against him over the weekend, obviously a little bit helped out with overtime. But I mean, this Pelicans defense is so, so bad. I really do think that Jokic could put up a massive score here.

I think he's one of the top players on the board. The question is, do you start with him or Jokic? You can play both because there is plenty of... Who do you mean, him or Jokic? Sorry, Giannis. Yeah. But yeah, there's plenty of value that you can play both. I was looking at some of that before getting on here. And the lamps don't look too bad. There is a lot of really good value now, especially with the pacer stuff opening up.

But yeah, if it's not him... Let me look quick. I just want to check rough numbers. How much you're giving up from the optimalOptimal LineupAn optimal lineup is a legal roster that maximizes fantasy points under the salary cap and roster rules. After games, it uses actual scores; before games, a projected optimal uses estimated scores and any lineup restrictions you set.When reviewing an optimal, replace its most surprising scorer with a realistic pregame alternative. Check whether the remaining construction still offered a credible path to winning your contest.Read the full definition of Optimal Lineup doing so? Oh, yeah, very much in play. Like seven and a half or something like that. So definitely a route you can go. Yeah, if it's not Jokic, then it's probably pretty clearly going to be Jamal Murray. He shouldn't really have too bad of a matchup. They'll put DeJounte Murray on him.

So he just cooked that over the weekend as well. I think he's totally fine. Probably like that's probably a reason why you'd be a max one of Kat and Brunson because Jamal Murray is right there for four hundred more than Jalen Brunson. I'd much rather go with a Murray Kat pairing than I would pairing those two guys together. Outside of that, though. We'll see. I mean, they've been starting this Bryce Hopkins guy.

I don't know much about him, but it seems like this Trayvon Brazil dude is a better player and he's been closing out games in close games. So I think I'd probably look there. Power forward eligibility, four point $7,000 looks like a decent value. Pelicans are tough to get to just because the prices are right. Usage is pretty spread out. I think if you're looking to anybody, it would be Trey Murphy. The Nuggets have been really bad at defending a three-point line this year.

He kind of came back, bounced back after a few not-so-great games to start the season. I think that they're still upside for him at seven point $3,000. So I would look to him. Maybe Derek Queen as a pivotPivotA pivot in DFS is an alternative player or lineup combination you choose instead of another option. Tournament pivots usually seek comparable scoring upside at lower ownership, meaning fewer competing lineups use them.Before swapping, check what the replacement changes around it: your remaining salary, teammates, opposing players and available later-starting options.Read the full definition of Pivot off of like OG or some other guys priced in that same range because I think that they're going to want to play him more. And we've seen what the upside can look like for him if things are going right. But it can also look really bad.

So I think Jokic just absolutely cooks him and maybe he gets benched. But I'm not super excited about the Pelicans in particular, more so excited about the game environment as a whole. Makes sense. And yeah, Jake, if you don't want to play Capella at $3,100 spending upSpending UpSpending up means choosing a higher-priced player over a cheaper alternative, using more of your lineup's salary budget at that spot. You may also hear it called paying up.Build a version with your preferred expensive player and another without. Before choosing, check whether either version relies on a cheap player whose expected role still depends on unresolved injury news.Read the full definition of Spending Up at center for Jokic, obviously plenty of Jokic teams probably will have Capella as well. But Jay Huff, we mentioned is some sort of value.

But yeah, you can flip builds and go more value guards and forwards and spend up with Jokic, which is not does not sound bad. One bit. Jordan Poole and Jordan Poole of $3,500. Well, maybe he'll probably land some bills because he's so cheap. If you are playing Jokic, I think it makes sense. If you don't want to play Capella, you play Jokic. Talk about spending down at guard. That's an option. You can do it.

But it's really to jam in probably Giannis and Jokic stuff. Yeah. All right, two games left. The Houston Rockets and Jordan and Michael's Milwaukee Bucks, just as good as the Knicks. Hey, we're as good as the defending champs for now. Could end today, though. But the Bucks are decent-sized underdogs. They are looking at – where is it on – what the heck? Oh, they're eight and a half point favorites of the Rockets, two twenty six and a half total.

And that is with no singoon for the Rockets. And then on the Bucs side, there is no new injuries to talk about. I don't know if you saw. I think it was Monday, maybe whenever the Bucs were at home and the Brewers were playing. I've never seen the Pfizer form. So empty. And yeah, I'm expecting that to be the case again tonight. Tickets are probably free.

No one's going to be there because everyone's going to be across the street at American Family Field watching a game that's not even taking place, but watching it on TV. Absolutely all brewers right now in Wisconsin. No one cares about the Bucs. That being said. I mean, they're going to be bad. It's going to be tough for them all year. But Tyler Hero has a good role for seven point $2,000. Just get Kuzma out of this lineup. He is absolutely atrocious.

But yeah, it's can the Bucks fight enough, I guess, is the question to make some of these Rockets like a KD, like I'm in Thompson, like a Fred Van Vliet. Give them their full allotment of minutes to smash is the MAIN question, I think. What do you think? Yeah, I mean, there's a chance they do. I mean, they do look pretty bad, but not absolutely terrible. They're able to keep some games close.

I think they had a pretty decent game either over the weekend or a couple of days ago where they kept it pretty close. You definitely want that if you're playing any of the older guys on the Rockets like KD, Fred VanVleet. We saw KD in the game where they were kind of running away with it against Atlanta, didn't even check back into the fourth. So that would be definitely detrimental to his price tag and him paying it off at seven point $5,000.

Not necessarily a situation where you're like if KD one of Hero or Rollins or Jaime or anything like that, but you're just kind of hoping for a closer game. The value on the Houston stuff just looks really, really strong. Sorry, Houston in particular. Even if he's not starting, if that takes away some percentage points of his ownership, which I doubt it will, I'm just going to be playing a ton of him. He's looked really good to start the year. Really good positional eligibility.

I don't know what to do with the Capella stuff just because he's so, so cheap. I'd be surprised, though, if he's playing twenty minutes. I honestly think he's closer to like sixteen to eighteen on the high end. And a lot of places around the industry are projecting him forMinutes ProjectionA minutes projection estimates how much playing time a player will receive in a game. You use it to estimate opportunities for fantasy production, not as a guarantee of playing time or points.Ask what would make the player lose minutes. If your lineup only works when he gets the most optimistic playing time estimate, reconsider the pick.Read the full definition of Minutes Projection twenty. I think what does SaberSim have him at? Twenty one. Yeah, damn near twenty two. Damn near twenty two. I think that feels aggressive.

I'll probably take some and give some to Eason if I was doing minutes projections like closer to twenty nine for Eason and like eighteen for Capella. That feels a little bit closer to what I would expect tonight. But yeah, Eason hands down the best valueValueValue is the fantasy production you expect from a player relative to his salary. A value play offers more production or upside than his price suggests, whether he is cheap or expensive.Identify why the salary looks wrong: workload, matchup, scoring ability or a pricing error. Then check whether that reason still holds when you submit your lineup.Read the full definition of Value play on the slate. Him and Nembhard, I think, are one and two. But, yeah, I think you're – I'm a little bit interested – this might be getting a little bit too cute on this.

I think it was Slade with the value, but Reed Shepard at the four-point $1,000 as a pivotPivotA pivot in DFS is an alternative player or lineup combination you choose instead of another option. Tournament pivots usually seek comparable scoring upside at lower ownership, meaning fewer competing lineups use them.Before swapping, check what the replacement changes around it: your remaining salary, teammates, opposing players and available later-starting options.Read the full definition of Pivot off of Fred Van Fleet, who's looking a little chalkyChalkChalk is the most popular, highly owned play on a slate. The term comes from sports betting, where the favorite is called the chalk.Don't label chalk good or bad. Ask whether each popular play deserves its ownership, then decide which chalk you'll eat and which you'll fade.Read the full definition of Chalk, is something that is interesting to me. He's looked really good even off the bench, been producing pretty well. And, you know, this is a long season. Fred Van Fleet coming off the torn ACL, getting older. Like maybe they don't want to push his minutes up too much here against a bad Milwaukee Bucks team.

And maybe they just give it mostly to Amin and Reed Shepard. So I'd be a max two of those three. I honestly would probably be a max two of KD, Amin, Van Fleet, and Shepard. Because I do think that there's multiple ways that Reed could eat into these guys. Definitely want ample amount of exposure to all of them. But, yeah, it's kind of far and away Eason as the best play for me here.

And that's still – I'm going to have to take some more time to wrap my head around the Capella stuff because he does project really well. But it could be a – maybe not a precious situation like last night, but if he's at, like, sixteen minutes, it'd be tough for me to paint a scenario where he's the guy that you need at value, and then you're missing out on one of Jokic or Embiid in that situation.

Before you go, I don't even know if you have any interest in the Bucs stuff, but, like, how many is too many? This is the team, I mean, just sort of my ownership, it shows. But you might have some pretty solid projected teams playing... Capella for sure, Eason, Fred VanVleet, and KD. Or instead of KD, Amin Thompson. Probably not as much Thompson because it could be point guard and shooting guard eligibility he has.

But, yeah, like four of these top five guys, and mainly Atari, Eason, Capella would be like two of them that are in there. Is four just too much on the slate? Probably. I think three would probably be where I'd want to land. And, yeah, I wouldn't be – I don't know if you're even going to get a lot of these lineups, but like Tariq and Capella and Jabari are three guys that are going to be competing for the same stats and the same minutes.

I wouldn't play more than two of those guys together. I don't know if it'd be smart to say Maxwell and Capella and Tariq. I think at their price tags, they could definitely both get there if we're wrong or if I'm wrong on the minutes for Capella. But yeah, I think that three probably feels a little bit better. Makes sense. Young Gunn talking about Milwaukee doesn't have traditional centers. I think Houston goes small. Yeah, I agree with that. Yeah, I mean, Mount Turner and Kahlil Ware.

Yeah, neither of them are traditional centers. They're not going to back you down. They both want to do the same thing. They want to launch a bunch of threes and get some cheap blocks and not even have good rim protection. So I do agree with that. You don't need to go with Capella against either of these guys. Yeah, that is true, Michael. Actually, no, I think the three PM people actually had there. I think it was the game after that at home.

I could be wrong, though, but no one cares about the Bucs right now in Milwaukee. That's clear. Can you get to any Tyler Hero? That's the only guy that I really would have interest in myself. I don't think so. I think it would be Jaime, if anybody. But even then, he's still asking for a lot of his price tag. Yeah, fair enough. Go ahead. I would say the last two or three games, Hero, fifty-two and fifty, he's chucking it.

Usage is there, but the minutes do seem capped a bit, which is annoying. He's also going against Amin, who's shut him down in the past. I mean, you remember him just absolutely bullying him. I don't know if that was last year or the year before, but Amin's going to lock him down. Yeah, makes sense. There was some, I don't know if it's a conspiracy or just people making shit up, but...

Yannis did say after he signed with the heat that he or it was traded to the heat that he wanted to come back to Milwaukee he's only on a one-year deal what if he did this orchestrated this massive trade for them to have a good roster when he comes back and then just resigns next year yeah that sounds more because I feel like yannis is too good of a guy to be doing something like that is he though I mean you're partnering with with betting uh these prediction markets and things like that how many people in the world are doing that nowadays Yeah, but I mean, how much money is enough money when you're a multi-time All-Star MVP finals champ?

That's Paul Pierce. You see that? No, what are you doing? He's going broke, I guess. Oh, Paul Pierce. For some reason, I just was thinking Paul George because my mind's on this. But yeah, I did see that. Yeah, which is really, really sad. Yeah. And, I mean, broke is definitely all relative. Yeah. You're not playing Khalil Ware, are you? No, I don't think so. He's done really well, but that seems a little bit fluky.

Like, he's not going to continue to average two fantasy points per minuteFantasy Points Per Minute (FPPM)Fantasy points per minute (FPPM) measures a player's fantasy production per minute played. Calculate it by dividing total fantasy points by total minutes over the same games, using one site's scoring system.Separate competitive rotation minutes from minutes played after a game is effectively decided. A rate built against reserves may not represent the matchup and role you expect tonight.Read the full definition of Fantasy Points Per Minute. All right, last game of the night. Last game on the DraftKings slate. Three more games on FanDuel. But Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Three and a half point favorites are the Wolves, two twenty seven and a half total. No Anthony Edwards. He's going to be out for like two months or something like that, I believe. And on the Golden State side, the axles questionable.

I mean, coming off a massive game against the Nuggets, it was that doesn't. Is that a real cue tag? Like, I'm just assuming he's in. I didn't hear any news, though. Any thoughts on that? Because that that matters a decent bit.

I was looking a bit yesterday I believe or the day before and he kind of downplayed just said like he stepped on somebody's foot and it was just kind of like like a bruise type thing so he I think he's gonna be fine you know still young well young ish he's a young young guy but not a young rookie um but yeah I think that he probably plays tonight Okay, yeah.

I mean, the Warriors side, like the T-Wolves are going to be very similar to the Rockets, where they're going to get quite a bit of ownership and where mid-tier plays are going to come from. But no one's going to play the Warriors. So it seems like a very similar game to the last one. All one side's getting ownership, not the other side. I will say, Yaxl at $7,000 is...

Is something I'm interested in at five percent hoping the q tag scares people because there still is four games at seven p or eight p.m eastern that you can late swapLate SwapLate swap lets you change unlocked players in an entered DFS lineup after the contest starts. Both the players you remove and their replacements must remain eligible for editing under the contest's lock rules.Before the first games lock, identify affordable backup combinations for your later players. Check that each combination fits the open positions, then confirm your saved changes in every affected entry.Read the full definition of Late Swap to if you are wrong so I think he's a a great play yeah I mean I don't know if you wanna uh it might be too much to go back to the tool but I would be curious to see what it looks like with you know for the words with the axle out Yeah, we can do that.

While you're pulling that up, I'll just touch on the Warriors getting that big blowout win against the Nuggets. Offense has not been an issue, but they are one of the worst defenses, bottom four in defense this year, bottom three in transition points per game. So I think that this is a pretty good spot for the Wolves offensively. Wolves have just been pretty good defensively, so I think it can be tougher for the Warriors to really put up a big score.

But, yeah, we see – yeah, Guy sees a really big bump. Niang, don't play him. You love Niang. Yeah. I was thinking about it earlier today. I was watching the Rudy Gobert lowlights where he just was awful last game. And I was like, damn, as a professional athlete, who are the most unathletic guys? And Niang and Rudy Gobert were two of the ones that came to mind. Niang was, I mean, he was one of the most unathletic in college. He was able to make a work.

I liked him at Iowa State. There's a huge level difference when you go from college to the NBA. But, yeah, when you're not even excelling in the athletic category in college, I mean, hey, props to him, though. He's getting paid, doing what he loves, and still getting minutes out there. Yeah. Yeah, it doesn't mean we're playing him for DFS. Yeah, so, yeah, I mean, this is interesting. Guy would look really good.

You don't see a huge bump on, like, Draymond or Steph or anything like that, but I do think Pods would be a guy that would see a pretty big uptick. He missed the opening night game, and then...

Was pretty much back to full so like we could expect a pretty decently sized role for him uh gonna have a much better matchup than curry as well curry's gonna be guarded by jayden mcdaniel's generally stay away but I think that there's a little bit of upside for him Minnesota has been pretty bad in the pick and roll over the past two seasons gobert's playing a lot of drop coverage these days so it could be a good spot for curry to put up some points um I mean, the match was not great for Yaxel.

He's kind of a little bit more reliant on the rim scoring, but he did have a game where he made, I don't know what it was like six threes, something like that. He's not afraid to shoot it. No, definitely not. And they are like encouraging him. I mean, he's had like the best.

I feel like some of the best PR run to start the year, just with all the post-game interview stuff and, you know, not backing down to Luka, regardless if you think that he did a good or bad against them. But, yeah, six for eleven, two games to go. Only made one of the other three games. A little bit more higher varianceVarianceIn NBA DFS, repeated opportunities for points, rebounds and assists can make established roles more predictable than touchdown-dependent football roles. Scores still swing when minutes, shooting, foul trouble or blowouts depart from expectations.Track results by contest type and slate, and review opportunity separately from touchdowns or other rare scoring events. Entering the same lineup in ten contests does not give you ten independent performance samples. If you build with an optimizer, its randomness setting nudges projections up or down on each build, so your lineups spread across different players instead of repeating the same top projections.Read the full definition of Variance there, but prefer him in games that are up-tempo where he can get room scoring going.

Not thinking that this is the one, but still, I mean, the talent level is real. He is probably an $1,000-plus player at some point this year. I don't think I'm going to get so much on the Warriors side, though. I think this is kind of Minnesota or bust.

There's a little bit of holes to poke in the lamello stuff and he's been his minutes have been really really down he's obviously going to see a huge usage bumpUsage RateUsage rate estimates the percentage of a team's offensive plays a player uses while on the court, based on shot attempts, free throw attempts and turnovers. It does not measure assists or time spent holding the ball.Check who shared the floor in any usage sample. Numbers collected against reserves or with several starters missing may not describe the role you are projecting tonight.Read the full definition of Usage Rate and probably is above thirty minutes but like in some of the games he's playing twenty five regulation minutes I actually think that they this is planned to keep him pretty low they have a decent amount of depth behind him with io and terence shannon jr and bones highland all guys that can mix in on ball a little bit so I don't know.

I mean, he might be a guy that you look to fade in single entrySingle-EntryA single-entry contest allows each user exactly one lineup. It can be a cash game or a tournament.In single-entry, one or two contrarian decisions are usually enough. Pair a strong, popular core with a lower-owned piece instead of fading everything the field likes.Read the full definition of Single-Entry stuff if he's going to be really high on, which I do expect tonight. I think that it's just a much easier click to go down to IO. We've seen him have really solid role for the Wolves last year. A little bit different with LaMelo Ball on the court with him, but. Average, thirty six point four DK points for game without and in thirty three minutes per game.

I think they'll definitely not doing a lot for a lot of minutes here. And then if I starts, I should think that's sneakily good for Kamiga because I think that they might be competing for minutes if I came off of the bench. But If they're starting alongside each other, I do think that it's a sneaky good spot for Kaminga against his former team. Everybody loves the revenge narrative. The Warriors have been really, really bad in transition and don't have much size to speak of.

So it could be a decent spot for Kaminga. I saw somebody mentioned Terrence Chen Jr. Definitely in on him at a three point $7,000. I think they will lean into him a little bit more, maybe less so Bones. I kind of feel like it's a Max Bones.

One of bones I don't think that you're getting any of this combination of max one bones and lamello and then it's probably a max two of io kaminga and terrence shannon jr but I have a lot of interest in all of those guys a little bit less than jd mcdaniels and gobert gobert's really cheap but Never a fun click. Yeah, it's just been really bad for him so far. The pick and roll stuff hasn't looked great with him and Lomelo.

It'll eventually get there, but it just hasn't looked good so far. Jaden McDaniel is going to have his hands full guarding Steph, but he's definitely going to be a guy that's probably becoming the number two offensive weapon for them. He's the one that stood out to me, yeah. Wolves getting a lot of ownership, but not Jaden McDaniel. Six point one's a fair price tag. Definitely have interest there. He will be working hard on defense, but he's always working hard on defense.

That is all nine games. Talked a little bit over an hour about it. Again, shout out to the team behind the scenes working on the bump on the Slate Station. Very important. Again, if you think the axle's going to be out, let's say, even though we don't think so ourselves, Guy Santos is someone that you can just naturally raise the projectionProjectionsDFS projections estimate a player's fantasy points for an upcoming slate using expected opportunities, performance and the contest's scoring rules. They describe an expected result, not a guaranteed score.Check the projection's update time and assumed role before using it. If news is already included, adjusting again for that same news can double-count its effect.Read the full definition of Projections.

You'll get a lot more of, and that's how you can get an advantage over the field if you have ideas like that. But just to be prepared for questionable tagsInjury NewsInjury news is information about a player's health that can change whether they compete, how much they play or how effectively they perform. In DFS, it also affects opportunities for teammates and opponents.Before an uncertain player's game locks, identify an alternative you can afford at each affected position. Check whether making that change would require another player whose game starts earlier.Read the full definition of Injury News that could go either way and what it impacts before projections are updated. But, yeah, you will see projections ownership, of course, updated throughout. Slate Station, shout out to our man Matt. Core plays are on there as well.

NBA, The Stone, shout out to, I forget who won the twenty-five single entrySingle-EntryA single-entry contest allows each user exactly one lineup. It can be a cash game or a tournament.In single-entry, one or two contrarian decisions are usually enough. Pair a strong, popular core with a lower-owned piece instead of fading everything the field likes.Read the full definition of Single-Entry, said it in the beginning, but helped use The Stone to help him hand build. Slate Station, Core Reports, DraftKings FanDuel, Cash on there. Breakdowns, upper tier, mid tier, lower tier. And yeah, if you want to join us, see plans and pricing, monthly deals, starter, core hundred, ultimate. If you want the Sims playing a lot of money annual, it only gets cheaper the longer you are with us.

And we also do have single sport packages below that you can get in and add SaberSim as well. Final thoughts, Rio, before we get on out of here. Nope. I think we're good to go. Thanks everybody for tuning in. Absolutely. And you can see right here for shows coming up a minute, two minutes. I'm going to hop right on over. Me and Big Marley are going to talk some MMA. So we'd love to see you over there. Hit that like.

Hit that subscribe on the way out. That is going to do it for real. I'm Titletown. Good luck. Be safe. Peace.