We have two, two game slates today with the contests at 8:00 PM considered the main. I’ll give a quick rundown of my top plays from the first slate of the day, but will give a lengthier breakdown of the main. Every total on today’s docket is north of 212.

 

New Orleans Pelicans @ MIlwaukee Bucks

Total: 222.5 - Spread: MIL -4

New Orleans

Primary Play(s): Anthony Davis - 60-plus DK points in four straight, including two games over 80. The usage, the production, everything. He’s the top DFS player for the rest of the season. Don’t let me forget to mention that attacking Bucks bigs is one of the easiest things to do in all of DFS.

Jrue Holiday - Holiday is rolling of late, scoring 49 or more DK points in three straight games. Him and Anthony Davis have been an elite one-two punch quite frankly as Holiday’s been a primary assiter to Davis’ buckets. He has notched 32 assists over his last three games. I’m willing to pay a premium in a tough matchup for Holiday.

Secondary Play(s): Nikola Mirotic: If he gets it going offensively, he can put together a big game. Only a secondary play, however, because I do not like attacking Giannis Antetokounmpo defensively. The Bucks rank first against power-forwards on the year.

 

Milwaukee

Primary Play(s): Giannis Antetokounmpo - Giannis already has a 60-point outing against New Orleans this year, no reason to think he can’t do it again in this spot. He’ll likely be guarded by NIkola Mirotic and somebody might need to call the cops during the game because Mirotic is going to get abused.

Khris Middleton - Middleton continues to be cheap and continues to be consistent. We’re just looking to amass points here and the consistent 30-plus Middleton gets us each game is exactly what we’re looking for. We’ve attacked Pelicans wings all year and we’re not gonna stop now.

Eric Bledsoe - If you can afford it, Milwaukee’s “Big 3” is very stackable on this slate. Bledsoe shouldn’t have any problem being guarded by Rajon Rondo and his career-worst 110 DRtG. He went 5-for-14 from the floor against NOLA last time these two met up and still scored 32 DK points. I’m expecting a much better shooting performance which in turn should set Bledsoe up for a big game.

Secondary Play(s): John Henson - Henson came back from a two-game absence and played 35 minutes. He should be in line for big minutes once again as he’s the Bucks best shot at simply containing Anthony Davis. He has double-double upside at his sub 5K price-tag.


 

San Antonio Spurs @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Total: 216.5 - Spread: CLE -4.5

San Antonio

Primary Play(s): LaMarcus Aldridge - Aldridge opened up the second half of the year with a bang scoring 38 actual and 50 DK points. He’s an elite play against a bad Cavs defense that ranks 27th against power-forwards on the year. He went for 49.5 DK points against Cleveland earlier this season.

Danny Green - Before he sat out last game due to an illness, Green has been putting together consistent performance after consistent performance. He’s gone for at least 21 DK points in six of his last seven games and seven of his last 10. He also flashed 37 point upside as well, so Green has a safe floor and a nice ceiling against the 25th ranked team against shooting-guards.

Secondary Play(s): Dejounte Murray - I don’t believe what Patty Mills did last game is going to be a trend, so I like Murray here. I’m still hesitant about making him a primary play because the Spurs have a three-man rotation at point-guard. That said, Murray has the safest floor and highest upside of the group.

Pau Gasol - Who knows how many minutes Gasol will play, but if he gets 30 he’s an elite play, if he doesn’t, he’s generally going to be a dud. We all know Gregg Popovich keeps his rotations close to his chest until he begins deploying them during games. Tournaments only for Gasol.

 

Cleveland

Primary Play(s): LeBron James - I actually think I prefer Anthony Davis on this small two-game slate today, but James is so safe right now. He’s scored 50-plus DK points in six straight games and has taken on a massive role as his new teammates continue to familiarize themselves with the offense. Pop always seems to have a game plan to stop LBJ, let’s see if it works today.

Larry Nance Jr. - Nance is flourishing in Cleveland in the early stages of his tenure with them. He’s coming off a 27-minute stat stuffing game in which he scored a smidge under 40 DK points. The Spurs have actually been exploitable at the center position over the last month ranking 26th. Nance outplayed Tristan Thompson 27 to 16 last game and that could become a trend going forward.

Secondary Play(s): George Hill - However much you believe in revenge narrative is how much you’ll roster Hill. He’s a decent play now that he’s seeing consistent minutes, notching 31 and 34 over his last two games respectively. Hill has solid upside at his 4.5K DraftKings price tag.

J.R. Smith - Smith had a bad game his last time out, but that shouldn’t totally deter you from rostering him in this spot. He’s gone for 21 DK points in four of his last six games and has big upside if his shot is falling.


 

Philadelphia 76ers @ Washington Wizards

Total: 212.5 - Spread: WAS -2.5

This is going to be the fourth matchup between the two teams as Philly leads the season matchup 2-1. Each game has actually had 217 points or more scored, with Philly topping 215 each game. The 76ers are playing the second game of a back-to-back and are riding a seven game winning streak.

Philadelphia

The first person we’re always going to look at on Philly is Joel Embiid. This is going to be the third time Embiid plays on a back-to-back on the year and if it ends anything like the first two, he’ll be just fine. He’s averaged 26.5 points, 13 rebounds and 2.5 assists in those aforementioned back-to-backs. Ben Simmons is another player that we should look to load up on here, especially in cash games. He’s scored 33-plus DK points in 10 straight games and is averaging 50 DK points against the Wizards this year and that’s in a three game sample size.

Dario Saric and Robert Covington are two secondary plays I’m interested in. Both have very nice price tags for their upside. Saric has been at 25-plus DK points in 10 straight games and at 6K, that gives him a solid floor for cash games. Covington is strictly for GPP’s and that shouldn’t be something you’re just figuring out. He’s sub 5K though, so why not take a shot on a two-game slate?

 

Washington

As long as John Wall remains out, we have to take a good hard look at Bradley Beal every slate and really any price point. Quite honestly, 8.6K is nothing for the upside he’s flashed us lately. He just scored 53 DK points on Friday night and dropped 63 the last game before the All-Star break. In his last meeting with Philly, he scored 48.75 DK points. He gets an uptempo matchup as Philly plays at nearly the fastest pace in the league and gets to match up against J.J. Redick who has a 111 DRtG.

I have absolutely no idea how Markieff Morris is only 5K, but we should take that and run. He’s been a model of consistency and I’m not even afraid to admit that. He’s scored 26.25 DK points or more in 10 straight games! As I mentioned above with Beal, he gets a pace up spot as well, so Morris is an elite target on this slate for all formats. I’d also consider Otto Porter in all formats even though he has much tougher draw against Robert Covington. Porter is a big beneficiary to John Wall’s absence. His usage spikes from 18.2 to 21.1-percent without Wall and has been over 33 DK points in six straight games. Porter has a safe floor and has upside due to his ability to stuff the box score.

Tomas Satoransky, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Marcin Gortat are also all in play, but as secondary options. Yes, I’m naming the entire Wizards rotation, but they’re in a good spot as they face a 76ers team on the second leg of a back-to-back and are home favorites. Satoransky’s price is a little rich for my taste, but he’s been great with the exclusion of last game. Oubre has been consistently playing into the 30’s in terms of minutes and has 30-plus point upside, making him a tournament option on this small slate. Gortat could be the sneakiest of them all as he only played 17 minutes against Philly last time around, but in the first game of the year, he went for a 16 point, 17 rebound double-double. The upside is there.

 

Houston Rockets @ Denver Nuggets

Total: 225.5 - Spread: HOU -4.5

Houston

I’m one to normally stay away from Gary Harris defense, but on a two-game slate everyone’s in play. So James Harden is someone we should definitely consider here, but isn’t someone we need to go all in on. Harden’s ability to go off for 70-plus DK points is always there, but he hasn’t been able to do that against Denver this year, averaging less than 50 points per contest. I think I actually prefer Chris Paul in this game thanks to the matchup he has against Jamal Murray. Denver ranks 22nd against the point-guard position this year and Paul already notched a 23 point, 12 assist game against them earlier in the year.

I can’t get Clint Capela right as it seems every time I’m on him, he logs 22 minutes and does absolutely nothing. That said it’s hard to ignore his 23/25 double-double the last time these two teams met. His price at 7.1K is very reasonable and I think he should be deployed in tournaments. Trevor Ariza is the only other Rockets player I’m considered and that’s simply because he’ll log big minutes and has a pretty safe floor for all formats.

 

Denver

Nikola Jokic, Nikola Jokic and some more Nikola Jokic. How many players in the NBA are playing better than the Nuggets big man right now? You can probably count them on one hand and even that might be too many. Jokic has a triple-double in three straight games and now has six on the year. He hasn’t had great showings against Houston this year but his body hasn’t literally engulfed in flames when the two teams met either. Jokic is an elite play at this point until someone proves they can stop him.

I’m also a big fan of attacking James Harden defense, so one of Gary Harris or Will Barton will likely go off in this spot, and I’m leaning Harris. Harris is cheaper, will garner less ownership because everyone loves Barton, and simply has the safer floor. The Nuggets haven’t fared well this year against Houston so nobodies numbers will be that great. I prefer Harris in cash games, and although Barton always has big upside, he draws the tougher assignment against the likes of Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker.

Jamal Murray is lightning in a bottle and due to the lack of point-guard options on the slate, could be in play here. I hate attacking Chris Paul who can be a really nasty defender at times who gets away with seemingly way more hand checks than others do due to his physical nature, but there are limited options as I mentioned above. He’s a secondary play, but is cheap and has massive upside. Use him in tournaments only. Wilson Chandler continues to be aggressive on both ends of the floor as he’s taken at least 15 shots in three of his last four games and was able to grab 16 rebounds in his last contest. He’s taking all the minutes at power-forward away from Mason Plumlee and Trey Lyles and will continue to do so as long as he continues to play the way we all knew he was capable of. Plumlee and Lyles could be worth a GPP dart to be different, especially if Chandler struggles early on in the evening.