FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Thursday 1/24

OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 24: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors stands on the floor with Kevin Durant #35 during their game against the Washington Wizards at ORACLE Arena on October 24, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) FanDuel NBA /

FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Wednesday, 1/23

Welcome back to the Thursday edition of the FanDuel NBA Breakdown! I’m “Thunder Dan” and I love playing and writing about FanDuel NBA DFS.

Last night was another crazy night with cash lines of 340+ and the amazing James Harden show continuing as he scorched the Knicks for 95 FD points. The Knicks refused to play Enes Kanter and Victor Oladipo may have suffered a season-ending injury. Just another night of FanDuel NBA!

My goal when I revamped the Breakdown was to create an all-inclusive article that gives you a place to start your research for FanDuel NBA cash games and GPPs. When making my cash and GPP picks I always take into account salary, Vegas trends, ownership, and match-up and I always do my best to give you a clear rationale for why I believe each player makes a great GPP or cash target.

"The FanDuel NBA Breakdown is a first look article that is intended to be a starting point for your cash game or GPP research for FanDuel NBA DFS."

I’m trying to take a big picture look at the slate and give you a place to start your research, whether you’re a cash game player, GPP player (or maybe you play both – like me).

Tonight, we are looking at a four-game slate that really lends itself better to GPPs. You could make an argument for just picking your favorite game and stacking it up. So what I decided to do was go game-by-game instead of my usual format.

Remeber this is a first look article, so my best advice is to never settle on a lineup too early in the day and be willing to be flexible enough to incorporate the new information that becomes available throughout the day. At the same time, don’t abandon your core plays unless the slate absolutely demands it!

Let’s take a closer look at what tonight’s NBA slate has to offer!

DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 13: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers plays the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on January 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Four-Game Slate

Injury Report

OUT: Lonzo Ball, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, T.J. Warren, Robert Covington, Markieff Morris

Doubtful: None

Questionable: Damian Lillard, Jeff Teague, Tyus Jones, Nikola Mirotic, Richaun Holmes, DeAndre Ayton

Probable: Rajon Rondo

The two biggest stars (James and Davis) on this slate remain out and we also have another superstar who’s questionable in Lillard. Phoenix could be shorthanded up front again and added Warren to their list of injuries last game. For a small slate, there’s quite a few important players in street clothes tonight.

Vegas Info

No Vegas info for the Blazers-Suns yet, but even if Lillard sits we should expect the Blazers to be heavy favorites against the injury-plaqued Suns.

The Pelicans-Thunder game has the highest total at 238 but also an 11.5 point spread in favor of the Thunder.

The Warriors-Wizards game comes in with the second highest total and has a slightly closer spread with the Dubs being 9 point road favorites.

The closest spread of the night is in the Lakers-Wolves game with Minnesota being only 1.5 favorites on the road in L.A.

Daily Fantasy Basketball: OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 06: Paul George #13 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of their NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on February 6, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

FanDuel NBA Breakdown: New Orleans @ Oklahoma City

I am approaching these game breakdowns pretty simply today. How would I stack this game and why?

Stacking OKC is really easy, except it’s not. Wait, what the hell does that mean? It means you obviously want to use Russell Westbrook (12200) and Paul George (10800) but it’s just not that easy to do anymore with how expensive they’ve become. Heck, even Steven Adams (7800) and Jerami Grant (6200) are priced up beyond what I’m willing to pay for them.

It’s obviously a great pace up spot for the Thunder against the Pelicans, but the spread is 11.5, mainly due to the fact that New Orleans is without Anthony Davis, played last night, and on the road. They could also be without Nikola Mirotic, too.

Instead of using Westbrook AND PG13, I’m more likely to use one of them and then possibly look at Dennis Schroder (5700) and the emerging Terrance Ferguson (4100).

On the Pelicans side, Jahlil Okafor (5500) didn’t get his price moved at all and had second strong outing in his second start for Davis last night. He could be a trap if Steven Adams eats him for dinner, but I’m willing to roster him and chase that production at this price.

Julius Randle (8900) is the other Pelican I want. He’s still got a ton of upside on any given night as long as Davis is out of the lineup.

OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors points to the sky before their game against the Orlando Magic at ORACLE Arena on November 26, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Golden State @ Washington

If you weren’t familiar, Kevin Durant (9500) is from the Washington D.C. area. I’m not a huge narrative guy, but many believe in the “friends and family” narrative for KD tonight. I just think he’s way too cheap for this spot against the horrendous Washington defense. The only other pay up at SF today is Paul George who is a whopping 1300 more than KD. He’s my favorite play on the slate at this price.

The Warriors are going to be interesting to watch now that DeMarcus Cousins (6400) is starting at center. Cousins has played 15 and 21 minutes in his first two games and if we got word he would get cleared for 25 he’s interesting at this price. More importantly he’s absolutely killed Draymond Green‘s stats, so I’ll have to take a hard pass on him tonight. Steph Curry (9800) and Klay Thompson (7200) are always in play with their ability to shoot the basketball and Andre Iguodala (4400) is a potential value play.

Call me crazy but there’s very little that interests me on the Wizards side of this game. The one player who has a big ceiling is Bradley Beal (9900) but he’s priced at an all-time high and I’d simply rather spend that cap elsewhere and target some cheaper shooting guards. I might just stack a few Warriors here or use Steph, Klay and KD as one-offs to fill in around other game stacks.

LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 06: Dragan Bender #35 of the Phoenix Suns drives to the basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the 2018 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Suns defeated the Mavericks 92-85. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Portland @ Phoenix

As much as it’s tempting to try to cross this game off I think that would be a mistake on this slate. If Damian Lillard (9800) plays than he’s a great tournament play in this matchup and fresh off a 62-burger against OKC. If Dame sits then I immediately look to CJ McCollum (6600) and Jusuf Nurkic (9500). People might scoff at paying that much for Nurk but he’s on some kind of run right now and he could absolutely destroy the Suns inside if they end up sitting Ayton and Holmes.

The Suns are going to be without TJ Warren and then possibly Richaun Holmes and DeAndre Ayton. While the two Suns centers have been on the shelf we’ve seen the reappearance of Dragan Bender (4800) who has double-doubled in both of his spot starts. Outside of Bender, I’m really only looking at Kelly Oubre Jr. who should pick up some minutes and shots from TJ Warren while he’s out.

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 04: Rajon Rondo #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a running jumper in front of Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the Toronto Raptors during a 121-107 Raptor win at Staples Center on November 4, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Minnesota @ L.A. Lakers

This might be my favorite game stack of the night. This game projects to be close and has a few wrinkles that interest me.

First of all, Rajon Rondo (6500) is likely to return to the starting lineup after a long absence. He will have to run the point for the Lakers tonight as Lonzo and LeBron are both out. If Rondo is able to play a full game then he has triple-double upside and could absolutely smash this mid-tier price.

If Rondo does play and start, then I really like Kyle Kuzma (7100). Kuz has been having to get his own shot a lot lately and that’s not really a strength of his game. If Rondo can creat some open looks for Kuz then I think he can bounce back from his recent dude and have another big performance tonight.

For the T-Wolves it really comes down to Derrick Rose (6600) and Karl-Anthony Towns (11400). Rose has been better off the bench lately, so I’m hoping Jeff Teague (6300) is able to start tonight. KAT’s price tonight is an all-time season high but I get why FanDuel did it. He’s been crushing over the last month and happens to have owned the Lakers in previous matchups. He could certainly rival Westbrook or George for the most raw points tonight.

NBA DFS /

FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Sample Lineup and Overview

If you’re not familiar with how I wrap up the Breakdown, this is where I give you my thoughts on roster construction.

More from FanSided

I usually like punting one or two spots on FanDuel with this year’s new “drop score” rule. Playing a lineup of all 5-7k players just makes zero sense to me and you’ll find that the guys winning consistently on FanDuel are going “stars and scrubs” pretty frequently.

Today’s sample lineup is a GPP ineup. I didn’t build a full-on game stack but instead picked some of my favorite plays on a point-per-dollar basis. I definitely do recommend game stacking tonight if you’re making multiple lineups. It’s also a lot more balanced of a build than I usually use in GPPs.

Remember, the sample lineup is for illustrative purposes and is not necessarily a “plug-and-play” lineup. We all know how quickly a slate can change in NBADFS.

PG: Derrick Rose (6600)
PG: Rajon Rondo (6500)
SG: Dennis Schroder (5700)
SG: CJ McCollum (6600)
SF: Kevin Durant (9500)
SF: Kelly Oubre Jr. (6000)
PF: Dragan Bender (4800)
PF: Julius Randle (8900)
C: Jahlil Okafor (5500)

I hope you enjoyed my slate breakdown and I appreciate you taking the time to read my article. Be sure to share it with friends and fellow DFS players, leave comments or hit me with other feedback or questions on Twitter. And keep coming back to FantasyCPR for the best free content in the industry! Good luck in your contests!

Next. NBA DFS Top Plays and Fades - Thursday, January 24. dark

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FanDuel NBA Breakdown: Thursday 1/24 – KD Homecoming

By Dan Palyo | Jan 24, 2019