What’s up all, Lindy here! This article series will walk you through the key parts of the main NBA DFS slate every evening. Unexpected news could always come from nowhere to rattle a slate, so don’t take this as gospel. But here are a handful of key decision points for tonight’s slate that I’ll be factoring in so you are better prepared for what’s to come and can optimize your lineups accordingly. Let’s get right into today’s NBA DFS lineup advice! Need more NBA DFS lineup advice? Check out our NBA DFS lineup generator or our industry-leading NBA DFS simulation tools.
NBA DFS Lineup Questions: Key Decisions for Today
NBA DFS Lineup Advice: What We Learned From Toronto Last Night
Due to the Pascal Siakam trade, I talked at length about the Raptors’ potential starting lineup and rotations in yesterday’s article. And wouldn’t you know it: They’re back on tonight’s main slate, and there’s going to be some pretty pronounced chalk based on what just happened.
Let’s pull up the box score from their bajillion-point win over the Heat last night courtesy of PopcornMachine.net:
Gary Trent Jr. was tabbed as the fifth starter, Scottie Barnes shifted to the 4, and a murder ensued. In the aftermath of Trent’s success (28 points, 8-for-9 from 3), we should fully expect him to start yet again tonight. So at $4,300 on DraftKings and $4,700 on FanDuel, he’ll be one of the evening’s go-to chalk pieces as a result. Do we expect him to go freakin’ 8-for-9 from deep again? No, but there’s a lot of wiggle room for an average performance at those salaries and 30 minutes of court time.
Trent is obviously there to chuck, and he’s an easy plug-and-play tonight, so let’s move to more specific observations. To assists we go: Nine for Quickley with 13 potential assists jumps out to me in just 30 minutes, which is especially impressive considering his last rotation was obsolete. He and R.J. Barrett are clearly part of this new Raptors nucleus.
But the whole reason I’m writing about this column comes down to what we’re seeing from the frontcourt minutes with Thaddeus Young and subsequently his optimal percentage in Stokastic’s Boom/Bust tool:
He had 28 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, with the obvious quick hook tendency for Jontay Porter continuing to be a thing. But due to the perceived volatility in his minutes, Young has way too low of ownership for his chances of paying off on tonight’s slate. At just $3,900 on DraftKings and $4,500 on FanDuel, he’s my favorite play on the Raptors relative to ownership as of writing this.
NBA DFS Lineup Advice: Nuke of the Night
Oh, hello Benedict Mathurin secure minutes! Nice to finally meet you!
The Arizona product has run hot and cold in his second NBA season, and subsequently so has his court time. But on the heels of his first start since Nov. 19, the departure of Bruce Brown Jr. to Toronto and Tyrese Haliburton being ruled out for tonight’s fast-paced matchup against the Kings, the time is now to jam Mathurin before he’s consistently playing minutes into the 30s for the first time all year. He’s third in scoring for the Pacers behind Haliburton and Myles Turner, and even though Buddy Hield’s back to playing a prominent part of this rotation, I expect slightly more usage for Mathurin tonight.
