Playing NBA DFS the day after the trade deadline is always a bit tricky. We’ve got all of these new players on teams which means they’ve logged recent travel miles, rendering them less efficient, they’ll have to get in the groove with their new teammates, and may even play fewer minutes than usual. You can anticipate their new teammates to see a bump in usage rate but that historically that hasn’t been the most reliable bet. Instead, I’ll be playing in straight on this eight-game slate by rostering players who benefit from injuries ahead of them on the usage-rate pecking order or players who have recently come into more minutes but haven’t seen their prices increase. I’ll tell you about my four core plays before providing the rest of my cash game player pool.

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Cornerstone Plays

James Harden (PG/SG – HOU): $12,100 @ PHO
Can we all agree to just not be stupid here? Ok, sure, Harden is coming off a rough game versus the Lakers and has had a few rough outings over the past two weeks. You all realize Russell Westbrook was playing in those games, right? He is out tonight AND Harden’s price has dipped a bit just in time for a tremendous matchup against a poor defending Suns teams. Typically I’ll write quite a bit more about my #1 cornerstone play of the night, but folks, it’s simple: the Rockets are implied for 118 points by Vegas without Westbrook. That can only mean a 70+ fantasy point outing for Harden. Don’t get cute and blow this.