Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 4/1:
Apr 8, 2021; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) directs a play against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to another year of the DFS Army NBA Full Court Press! Members had a ton of success using the Full Court Press along with various articles and tools that DFS Army provides last season, so we are glad to be back with another year of the all-inclusive article. You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article. But, you’ll mostly find me in our VIP coaching forums where I provide detailed lineup maneuvers and answer all lineup questions. With that said, let’s get it started!
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Dallas Mavericks @ Miami Heat
Vegas Total: 224.5
Vegas Spread: Mia -1.0
We’ll kick this slate off with the Mavericks, Luka Doncic was fine last time out but you’d like a little more relative to his price tag. He scored 64 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season, it’s not a matchup I love, but on a short slate, he’s going to look like an elite spend-up option. Kyrie Irving is going to battle for some of that usage in the backcourt but won’t quite get as much, hence the price differential. I wouldn’t have an issue getting to him in this one, we know he’s going to play all the minutes he can handle. Tim Hardaway Jr. has been fine, he’s a volatile option, but on a two-game slate, there will be plenty of those that are in play. The only way I would get to Christian Wood is in MME as a sprinkle play, Jason Kidd hates him and has only played 12 minutes in back-to-back games… if he randomly plays 25 minutes, you’ll need him on this slate, so just a guy to get a small amount of exposure to. Then guys like Jaden Hardy, Josh Green, and Reggie Bullock are all fine options as you round out your roster. From Miami, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry come into this one as questionable, so keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates on them as we get closer to lock. For the sake of this article, I’ll operate under the assumption that they’re both good to go, however. Jimmy Butler has had back-to-back down games but gets an elite bounce-back matchup here against a terrible Mavs defense. Bam is another guy that will be a strong option, the first line of defense is a combination of Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell. We know Tyler Herro is always a volatile play, but on a two-game slate in a great matchup is the perfect time to fire him up. Guys like Max Strus and Kevin Love need to get hot from the field to get you there but certainly have ceilings. Then Lowry is a fine-value option to round out the team.
5-star play: Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro
4-star play: Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Max Strus, Kevin Love
Deeper Value: Kyle Lowry
GPP Sleeper: Christian Wood, Jaden Hardy, Josh Green, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber
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Los Angeles Clippers @ New Orleans Pelicans
Vegas Total: 226.5
Vegas Spread: Nop -3.0
Starting with the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard sat out the second half of the game in order to play a regular workload in this game… apparently. I would expect he’s a full go and is going to look like a top spend-up option on the slate in a great matchup against the Pelicans team. Russell Westbrook came down to Earth yesterday as well after a massive game filling in for Kawhi and George against the Grizzlies in game one. He’s more of a GPP option than anything, this price tag is pretty tough to stomach. I would expect Eric Gordon to miss this game after leaving with right hip soreness yesterday. It’ll open up more minutes for guys like Norman Powell who I think looks sneaky great here in a nice matchup. Bones Hyland has at least 30 DraftKings points in four of his last five games and seeing around 22-25 minutes per game, he’s a very interesting option on a short slate. Then Ivica Zubac and Mason Plumlee will continue to share the frontcourt minutes, Zubac is the guy you want and is coming off of a nice game last night. From the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram is my preferred option between him and CJ McCollum, but both guys are nice options in a nice matchup. McCollum hasn’t been in the best form over his last couple of games while Ingram has been on a heater for a couple of weeks now. He dropped 59 DraftKings points in this spot earlier this season and has a 32.4% usage rate and 1.35 fantasy points per minute over the last four weeks. Jonas Valanciunas bounced back nicely against the Nuggets before leaving in a blowout. He’s going to look like a strong option again here with a massive ceiling. Then guys like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones make sense as filler pieces to round out your rosters. Murphy has the ability to get hot from three-point range on any given night.
5-star play: Kawhi Leonard, Brandon Ingram
4-star play: CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas, Trey Murphy, Norman Powell, Bones Hyland, Ivica Zubac
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Herb Jones, Russell Westbrook
NBA Lock of the Day: Cheat Sheats/Coaches Notes
Due to the size of the slate I’m going to keep the lock of the day behind the paywall, so come get signed up and take advantage of our Opening Day special offer which is 50% off when you use promo code OPENING DAY! Check out our VIP Cheat Sheets as we get closer to lock for staff picks on Core plays, 8x locks of the day, and tiers notes as well!
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