Welcome to our NBA DFS Building Blocks article! Each day, we will dissect injury news and breakdown our favorite plays at each position. We also provide Core Plays nightly for our subscribers, as well as projections and a premium discord channel. You can sign up for access to today’s Core Plays and projections by clicking HERE — and can get access to a single day pass for just $5 HERE. Now, let’s get into today’s slate…
Injury’s to Monitor
Trae Young- Questionable
Shai Gilgeous Alexander- Questionable
Steph Curry- OUT
DeAaron Fox- Questionable
Mike Conley- OUT
Devonte Graham- Questionable
Jalen Suggs- Questionable
Fred VanVleet- OUT
Gary Payton- OUT
Lonnie Walker- OUT
Josh Richardson- Questionable
Moses Moody- Questionable
Jae Crowder- Questionable
Bojan Bogdanovic- OUT
Joel Embiid- Questionable
Hassan Whiteside-Questionable
Guard
Devin Booker has been stringing together some very solid outings without CP3. He gets a fantastic matchup tonight against the constantly struggling Kings which makes for a big pace up spot gainst an awful defense. He is still underpriced at $9k (DK). FD he is $9600 but still a great play for the amount of usage and upside he possesses. Jordan Poole should slot into the starting five with Steph Curry ruled out. His price has come up a bit at $7k (DK) $7600 (FD) but there is still a ceiling to be had here. When he is playing well he puts up FP fast and the Spurs aren’t exactly great at defending socring guards. In tournaments I really like Dejounte Murray. He gets a tough matchup against the Warriors but he is going to be needed for this game to stay close. Also, Murray is coming off a bad outing which hopefully can keep his ownership low.
Bonus: Jordan Clarkson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker should see additonal run with Mike Conley out. I side with Clarkson a little more at this point as he is just a better overall player. Pay attention to Trent Forrest news, if he is ruled out then NAW becomes a cash play here.
Forward
Assuming Trent Forrest plays, he makes for an elite option. He is stone minimum price on both sites and should see plenty of playing time with the injures the Jazz have going into tonight. The matchup isn’t super ideal against the Knicks but at that price it’s really hard to hurt you here. Another guy that really peaks my interest is Wendell Carter Jr. He has been playing outstanding as of late and gets a great matchup against OKC. He has been seeing 30+ minutes in all the close games recently and can contribute in all five categories. I think Gary Trent Jr is a great GPP option tongiht with the VanVleet news already out. This guy just shoots the ball a ton and even more so when FVV is not playing. His price has come down a little due to some poor shooting lately but when his shot is falling his upside is massive.
BONUS: If Jae Crowder gets ruled out again, Torrey Craig is still pretty cheap for what he has done recently without Crowder. There is no Cam Johnson still so Phoenix is pretty limitied at the forward postion.
Center
If you can get to Nikola Jokic tonight, he makes for an elite option. Boston has been good defensively but Joker is nearly matchup proof these days. In order for this game to stay close he will need to have a big night and I don’t think Boston has the ability to stop him. Deandre Ayton gets a dream matchup against the Kings tonight who just aren’t a good rebounding team. He can also score and add stocks. We already know this guy is a rebounding machine and he is underpriced still on both sites. I like him a little more on DK as he is cheaper there and you have the ability to have two centers. In tournaments, I really like Kevon Looney. In his last five games hes averaging about 25 minutes and has been playing good basketball. There is some risk here as he can get into foul trouble early and not play a lot but hes under 5k across the board and gives you solid upside against a Spurs team that has trouble against centers.
Main Lineup Musts: Devin Booker, Trent Forrest, Nikola Jokic.
Written by Spike (Follow @MichaelWellspe1 on Twitter)
