Welcome to the Monday NBA DFS slate. The playoffs are on the horizon. We still have a month left until the postseason starts, so that gives us plenty of time to play bigger slates and contests to lock in a big win. If you’re going to play NBA DFS, you have to keep in mind lineup announcements and stay tuned for late swapping. That is going to be the easiest way to stay ahead of the field and in the money. We have a solid six-game slate tonight (eight-game slate on FanDuel), so you shouldn’t have to go too crazy when differentiating your lineups. In the end, it’s about making the right NBA DFS picks and choosing your spots, which is why I’m here. Let’s break down the top plays for this slate.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet 
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
- DraftKings: $9,500
- FanDuel: $9,500
Jayson Tatum is out; Jaylen Brown is in. At least I presume he’s starting tonight. Make sure to double-check lineups. With Tatum back in the fold, Brown’s usage rate has actually changed very little at 36%. His playing time has dropped by a single minute to 37 minutes a night, and he’s still a viable fantasy option.
Atlanta is a pace-up spot and a relatively friendly fantasy option. Especially with Derrick White and Neemias Queta questionable, there’s a chance Boston needs to lean even more on Brown as slight underdogs as they jockey for position at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. I may be overweight on Brown, but don’t be surprised by him going over 50 fantasy points today, as he did in his last game against Oklahoma City.
- DraftKings: $9,700
- FanDuel: $10,300
There are a lot of solid guards on tonight’s slate in friendly matchups, and Tyrese Maxey is one of them. There is no total higher than this game at 247 points. After missing a good chunk of time, the 76ers guard is back and off the injury report, where he projects for 40 minutes of play with his usual 30% usage rate.
That might get knocked down a bit with Joel Embiid back, but considering how many possessions the 76ers will get, I’m not too concerned. Maxey hasn’t scored fewer than 45 fantasy points in eight straight games where he played full minutes, and I don’t expect that to stop here.
- DraftKings: $11,500
- FanDuel: $12,600
Against the Chicago Bulls, there’s a chance that Victor Wembanyama plays the first half, San Antonio goes up by 40, and the Spurs big man settles for 40 fantasy points with 26 minutes played. As massive home favorites, it’s possible. There’s also a chance Wembanyama sits the whole fourth quarter after posting 70 fantasy points because of a massively efficient effort against quite possibly the most friendly fantasy option going right now.
The Bulls are in full tank mode with an injured frontcourt. The unknown Lachlan Olbrich may guard Wembanyama tonight. It’s a bit risky considering the Spurs might not keep their foot on the gas, but it’s not like he’s projecting for insane rostership. Even putting him in 15-20% of lineups might have you overweight compared to the rest of the field.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
- DraftKings: $6,500
- FanDuel: $6,900
Playing at home tonight as 18-point favorites with a 244-point total, it’s easy to expect a lot of scoring from the Spurs. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing point guards in their last 30 games than the Chicago Bulls. Since the All-Star break, the Bulls have played at the fastest pace of play in the league.
Combine that with the fact that the Spurs’ offense has been the second-best offense in the league in the same time frame while sitting at third at home, and I imagine San Antonio won’t struggle to score. The Spurs will see a lot of rostership today, but I still expect to be overweight on Spurs players.
- DraftKings: $8,700
- FanDuel: $9,100
As we’ve covered with the Philadelphia-Miami game, the total of 247 points is too enticing to pass up on the big guns. Bam Adebayo’s averages are skewed by his game against Washington, where he scored 108 fantasy points, but he’s still covered 40 fantasy points in eight of his last 11 games.
The 76ers have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers over their last 15 games. While a lot of that production was without Embiid, I still don’t exactly trust their defense here. Both squads rank in the top five in pace of play since the All-Star break. The opportunity alone is enough to get me in on Adebayo. Considering his pricing jumped up to nearly $10,000 at one point, this feels like a good opportunity to buy back in, where just a floor performance is needed.
- DraftKings: $9,100
- FanDuel: $9,300
There are a lot of high totals on today’s slate with three different games over 240 points. While I expect rostership to be condensed to those three games, rostership should still be spread out to an extent. With that said, Donovan Mitchell still sits as an excellent cash option against Utah, projecting for around 20% rostership.
That still lines Mitchell up as a decent GPP play, but I’m loving his floor more than anything else, and it’s not like you’ll get too different in the bigger slates. Utah has allowed the most fantasy points to opponents over its last seven games and the second-most across the entire season. This is an elite spot for Cleveland across the board, so if you feel James Harden instead, I support that as well.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
- DraftKings: $10,700
- FanDuel: $10,700
My general advice for GPPs tonight is to find a few players from the non-240-point total games to round out your large-field lineups. Whether it’s from Boston-Atlanta, Phoenix-Memphis or Minnesota-Dallas, I don’t imagine a ton of rostership going to any of those teams. I may be wrong, depending on how injuries shake up for Memphis, but that more so opens up value plays than top-notch options.
That’s why I’m going with Jalen Johnson, the only other spend-up option, as a great GPP play. He’s only projecting for 5% rostership. Considering he’s gone over 50 fantasy points in three straight outings, it’s not crazy to see him as an optimal play today. Boston is a tough fantasy matchup, but playing at home helps, and the Celtics aren’t playing at full health. Crazy things happen all the time, and Johnson deserves more rostership on today’s slate.
- DraftKings: $9,000
- FanDuel: $9,000
I mentioned how there are a lot of guards I like on tonight’s slate, and Devin Booker is one of them. Given the options, though, it appears Booker is falling through the cracks. While rostership can still shake up before the slate locks, I don’t really understand current projections.
Memphis is playing its B-team with all its injuries, while ranking 26th in defense since the All-Star break. Combine that with a top-seven pace of play, and you can see why I like Booker here. We’ve seen the Suns guard go over 60 fantasy points before. With Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams out, the Suns will only have to lean on Booker more as double-digit favorites.
- DraftKings: $8,600
- FanDuel: $8,200
Another player I feel is slipping through the cracks is Julius Randle. The Mavericks have become one of the friendliest fantasy opponents you can ask for, allowing the fourth-most fantasy points over their last 30 games to opposing power forwards.
Anthony Edwards is questionable, which would obviously swing things a ton if he misses, but Randle has still secured a 30% usage rate and is averaging 33 minutes per game. That projects him for around 45 fantasy points a night, which is already a solid baseline that has the potential to hit 50+ points.
NBA DFS Value Plays
- DraftKings: $4,600
- FanDuel: $5,000
With Cleveland taking on Utah tonight, you’re going to see a lot of rostership flock to the Cavaliers on this slate, especially on DraftKings. Without Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, Craig Porter Jr. and Jaylon Tyson, there’s a lot of usage and minutes that are shaken up here.
Sam Merrill will continue starting, but instead of his 26 minutes a night average, I expect it’s closer to 31+ tonight, as we’ve seen in three of his last five outings. Considering Cleveland is a 17-point favorite with a total of 242 points, there is plenty of scoring to go around that makes Merrill a valuable option as a spend-down piece to your lineups. Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Thomas Bryant also fit into this bucket as value options for Cleveland tonight.
- DraftKings: $4,600
- FanDuel: $5,100
Memphis is another team littered with injuries. Ty Jerome, Walter Clayton Jr., Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Taj Gibson, Javon Small and DeJon Jarreau are all either out or questionable tonight. Not to mention Zach Edey and Brandon Clarke. Cam Spencer, meanwhile, is off the injury report after missing the last game and should start tonight. He should play around 25 minutes, which feels like a conservative projection.
Phoenix isn’t the best fantasy matchup, but the opportunity and pricing for Spencer line him up well to result in 6X return on investment (ROI) on his salary. Some other Memphis players to consider are Gregory Jackson and any of the questionable players who end up playing like Clayton or Jarreau.
- DraftKings: $4,900
- FanDuel: $5,700
Finally, for the spend-down option at center tonight, we have Daniel Gafford. The Dallas big man is averaging over one fantasy point per minute, and should be full go tonight. DraftKings has priced him down a bit, but he has scored 30+ fantasy points in six of his last seven games.
Doing so tonight might be a bit more of a tall task against Minnesota, but we’ve seen the minutes, usage and efficiency out of Gafford in recent games. He’s a trustworthy option if you need to punt the center position.
