NBA DFS Playbook - February 24

Morant put on a nice little show during the all-start game but it was the season he was having before that break that has him among the highest priced players on tonight's slate. This game has a 239.5 total with just a 1.5-point spread. High scoring and close is great for DFS.

If looking to pivot down from Morant I think we can take a look at Curry who is very nicely priced over on FanDuel tonight and a solid cash game option for DraftKings. Vegas is expecting a blowout here with a 10-point spread but Curry can do the dirty work in three quarters before giving way to the bench. 

Fox has been a scoring machine since returning to the lineup and seeing the Kings trade away Haliburton and Hield. The lone issue with Fox is the lack of secondary stats will occasionally lower his ceiling and that keeps him as a GPP only play for me tonight.

There are only so many people in Portland that take the shots and Simons is really taking the majority of them right now. The price is only going to go up here but with news that now Jusuf Nurkic is also out of the picture due to injury, the offense is only going to be that much more consolidated. 

His job tonight will be to chase around Ja Morant but when healthy and on the floor we are getting consistent 20+ fantasy point production from Beverley.

The Nuggets really don't have consistent secondary scoring but Morris has been a reliable option of late and at this price tag and given the matchup he is one of my favorite values on the board.

We talked extensively about Rondo on the podcast last night hand have determined we are going to take the risk and play him tonight knowing that he likely won't be in the starting lineup. In two of the last four games he played over 30 minutes and would have returned 10-11x value on the price if he was to repeat that level of production.

When Chris Paul was injured before the break it was Holiday who saw the majority of his minutes and not Elfrid Payton. With that we are going to assume Holiday is the guy. Now, Booker could very well start at point guard tonight an a returning Landry Shamet could take on the shooting guard role. We also saw Cameron Johnson start earlier this year when Devin Booker was out so there is a chance that Johnson gets the nod if Booker starts at point guard so this situation is very fluid.

Cover of the podcast and the playbook. With Chris Paul out of the lineup Booker gets a big usage bump and is going to have the offense run through him. He gets a good matchup here against the Thunder coming out of the break and as I said on the podcast, Booker is going to be $10,000 really soon so jump on his value price tag now.

Really good price over on FanDuel at under $8,000. I like him in GPPs over on DK because he can always pop off and this is certainly a favorable matchup for the Celtics who blew out the Nets a few games back. Brooklyn will be a bit more competitive tonight with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and LaMarcus Aldridge active this time around and that can only help Brown's upside.

In three games against the Grizzlies this season Russell is averaging 46.7 fantasy points. Edwards and Towns were both active for those games so this was just Russell dominating the matchup. Love the price and again, 239.5 game total and just a 1.5-point spread. 

The blowout is the concern which keeps him as a GPP only play but we saw him hit five three-pointers the other day and his minutes are on the rise. He can always get hot.

Great price for the game stack. Bane is struggling to shoot from three-point range against the T'Wolves this season but that is really the only thing holding him back from some big performances. If he finds that stroke tonight then we could see 40+ FP.

This is definitely going to be a tough spot for the Nets here with Marcus Smart and Derrick White along with Jaylen Brown defending the backcourt but Curry has been strong for the Nets following the trade and with Kyrie still sidelined I expect him to take a good amount of shots.

Barton saw limited action going into the break but I'm going to count that as a one-off given his poor performance and trust that he will go back to being the 30+ minutes a night player he had been for the Nuggets this season. Good value at this price and the matchup isn't too bad either.

Bogdan has been very strong off the bench for the Hawks of late, going for 41, 39, 31 and 38 fantasy points over the last four games. The Bulls are not a great defensive team right now and with John Collins still sidelined Atlanta needs this offensive output from Bogdanovic.

Steve Kerr said Payton is going to start tonight as the Warriors play small against the Blazers. He can give you some defensive upside and rebound while occasionally scoring a bucket. If this game gets to a blowout, there is a good chance he plays all the minutes.

Tatum is under $10,000 so we have an interest here tonight. Boston has been blowing out the Nets so Tatum hasn't had a need for a huge performance this season against them but we watched him go for 59 and 63 fantasy points in two of the last three games and that is the ceiling he has.

Edwards is averaging 26.7 points per game in three contests against the Grizzlies this season. The issue is the lack of secondary stats has kept his fantasy points per game average at just 37.8. If Edwards keeps the scoring and can find some other production we are cooking.

Not quite sure why Winslow is listed as small forward when he is the starting power forward but here we are. When Winslow was acquired by the Blazers we talked on the podcast that he can fill the Robert Covington role on this team but filling out the stat sheet and that is exactly what he has done. With Portland he is averaging 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 three-pointers per game.

Thomas has put up some big numbers in blowouts this season and is getting consistent playing time right now for the Nets. Regardless of how this game turns out I think there is opportunity here for Thomas if you want to be contrarian. 

Bad game against the Nets aside, Barnes has been very consistent of late for the Kings. Even the trade has not impacted his production and the acquisitions may even be opening up the floor for him as well with the defense having to crash down on Sabonis in the post. 

Bridges has never been my favorite player but it is hard to ignore his production over the past month and now add in the fact that Chris Paul is out of the lineup and we may see even more opportunities come his way with Devin Booker likely running the show.

John Collins is doubtful to play tonight and we know the Bulls struggle to defend the wing position. Hunter has had his ups and downs since returning to the Hawks lineup but at under $5,000 I am willing to make a run at him in game stacks.

Listen, the price is SUPER expensive but I can't just leave him out of the playbook in a matchup against the Hawks here either. There is a good chance he gives you just 5x return tonight and I think he will be rather contrarian because of the cost.

Tough matchup tonight against the Nuggets here for Sabonis but he has been very good for the Kings and you are getting him at just $9,000 on DraftKings tonight which is where I would look to him.

41 and 50 fantasy points in the last two games for Portland. Hart has scored 23, 27 and 22 actual points in the last three. He has come to Blazers and inserted as one of their go-to offensive players. The matchup tonight is tough but I don't see him coming off the floor even in a blowout.

Good for those game stacks given the 239.5 game total and 1.5-point spread. JJJ hasn't had the most success in this matchup this season but that is likely due to the fact he is averaging nearly 4.5 fouls per game. If he stays out of foul trouble the upside is there.

Taking a shot here with Johnson. He started earlier this year when Devin Booker was out of the lineup and he played 31 minutes against the Rockets in the game Paul left with injury. I like his offensive upside if his role is going to expand. Jae Crowder is also in play at a similar cost.

Should start with Collins unlikely to play. He is always a guy that can give you an offensive burst and this is a decent matchup against a Bulls team that struggles against opposing forwards.

I don't need to tell you why you should always consider Nikola Jokic so I won't.

Vucevic has dominated this matchup this season, averaging 58.4 fantasy points in two meetings. If you aren't spending all the way up for Jokic this is certainly a good spot to pivot off to even with Clint Capela playing against him.

Pure game stack play here. Again, high total and close spread. Towns has a tough matachup against Steven Adams so keep that in mind but he is at least averaging 43.7 DK points in the three meetings this season.

Should be very popular. He is averaging over 1.3 FP/Min with Paul off the floor this season. The price and the matchup is fantastic here as well. Ayton went for 42 FP against the Thunder in his lone meeting with them this season.

Playing time is over 30 minutes the other day and he is averaging 28 minutes in two games against the Bulls this season. Price is nice but we haven't gotten that big game out of him quite yet.

Really playing well going into the all-star break so while this is not going to be an easy matchup for him against the big Cleveland front court the Pistons will also really need him to be on his game or they will get dominated down low.

Punt play at center. Should start with Nurkic out of the lineup. Use at your own risk.