We have a 2-game NBA DFS main slate tonight with the play-in tournament moving onto the nine and 10 seeds matching up in their respective conferences. The Chicago Bulls travel to Toronto to take on the Toronto Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans. It's win or go home in each instance and the winners move on to play the losers of the seven/eight games from Tuesday. Be sure to check out our NBA DFS projections, powered by FanJections, NBA DFS Lineup Generator, and all of the rest of our NBA DFS content and tools! Let's break down James' top plays of the day for DraftKings and FanDuel!

 

Chicago Bulls @ Toronto Raptors

O/U: 212

Spread: TOR -6

 

Injuries

Chicago Bulls Injury Report

None

Toronto Raptors Injury Report

None

Chicago Bulls NBA DFS Breakdown

This is the worst game environment in the entire play-in tournament considering how slow these two teams play. We're uncertain how the Bulls will approach their back-court. Patrick Beverley and Alex Caruso are the likely starters, but Coby White has played very well down the stretch of the year, so will he push one of them aside here? If the Bulls can’t get anything going offensively, that might be their approach. Most likely, we see Beverley and Caruso play the bulk of the minutes and White fill in the gaps. Since Patrick Beverely arrived, White is a .89 FP/min player, while Beverley is .72 and Caruso at .68.

I shouldn’t have to explain why DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are both firmly in play here. LaVine’s actually been the better fantasy producer since Beverley’s arrival at 1.1 FP/min while DeRozan’s right behind at 1.06. Patrick Williams is going to probably play 15-20 minutes, so that’s not a comfy roster.

Nikola Vucevic should play massive minutes here and he had a lot of success against the Raptors this year. DeRozan really was shut down by Toronto’s elite perimeter defenders and that led to a lot of LaVine and Vucevic against them. I’m definitely interested with a 7.4K Vooch. There’s always a chance Andre Drummond goes nuclear in 13-15 minutes, which is likely where he plays. He’s more of an MME (mass multi-entry) play, however.

Tier 1 play(s): Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Beverley

Tier 2 play(s): DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Coby White, Andre Drummond (MME)

Toronto Raptors NBA DFS Breakdown

I know this game environment stinks, but if there’s anything we know it’s that the Raptors starters are all approaching 40 minutes here. Fred VanVleet might play 45 minutes considering it’s win or go home. FVV was fifth in minutes per game this year and one of the players ahead of him was his teammate, Pascal Siakam. FVV averaged 43.2 DKP/game against the Bulls this year in three games. Gary Trent Jr. likely plays the most minutes off the bench and if he gets hot, the Raptors will keep him on the floor. It makes him an interesting GPP play that could also sink our lineups if his shot isn’t falling.

Both Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby have a case-to-be tier-one options here. Barnes figures to be more popular, but Anunoby has much better position eligibility. If there is going to be a significant rostership discrepancy, I want the lower-owned guy in tournaments, which will be Anunoby in this case.

If Gary Trent is playing big minutes, Jakob Poeltl likely isn’t as those two seem to be directly correlated because of the ability Toronto has to turn to Pascal Siakam at center in a small-ball lineup. Poeltl averaged 28 minutes against the Bulls this year, which again, makes a lot of sense when looking at the landscape of the Raptors. I mentioned earlier that Siakam played more minutes than FVV per game this year and yeah, he led the league in that category. He could very well just not come off the floor if he stays out of foul trouble. He’s my top play from this game if you can afford him. A $4,500 Chris Boucher is likely in the rotation, but with how much remains to be seen.

Tier 1 play(s): Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent (GPPs)

Tier 2 play(s): Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl


 

Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans

O/U: 227

Spread: NO -5.5
 

Injuries

Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report

Aleksej Pokusevski - OUT

New Orleans Pelicans Injury Report

Zion Williamson - OUT

Jose Alvarado - OUT

Larry Nance Jr. - QUEST

Oklahoma City Thunder NBA DFS Breakdown

One of the league’s more impressive teams from last year to this season was definitely the Oklahoma City Thunder and in large part due to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s breakout season. SGA averaged 1.3 FP/min and had a 32.88% USG. SGA absolutely owned the Pelicans this year scoring 33.5 points and 54.6 DKP/game across four meetings. He’s as good as it’s going to get on this slate. The interesting piece of the Thunder backcourt is going to be how many minutes they push Josh Giddey. You’d think the Thunder would want to play him as much as they can, but we’ve thought the Thunder would do a lot of things this year and they never did. I like Giddey as a lower-owned pivot off SGA.

On the wings we have Lu Dort starting and playing as many minutes as he can as he likely mirrors Brandon Ingram’s minutes and with every step Ingram takes, Dort’s right there to greet him. It’s possible he’s offense takes a hit because of his attention on the defensive end, but 5.4K for a guy that might approach 40 minutes is solid. Isaiah Joe is an interesting GPP option if his shot falls and if he continues to play mid-20’s minutes. Neither of those things is guaranteed.

Like most of the year, if not all of it, the Thunder front-court has been a nightmare to figure out. Jalen Williams has carved out a very significant role and might be my favorite play on the Thunder when price is factored in as well. The other Jaylin Williams is a wild card. As crazy as it sounds, his range of minute outcomes is 15 to 30, which is unlike many other players on the slate. I don’t dislike the thought of going to him in tournaments considering they’re going to need size against Jonas Valanciunas.

Tier 1 play(s): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey (GPPs)

Tier 2 play(s): Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Joe, Lu Dort
 

New Orleans Pelicans NBA DFS Breakdown

There have been few players around the NBA that have been better than Brandon Ingram down the stretch of the season. Ingram will need C.J. McCollum to be the Robin to his Batman here. CJM comes into this game having scored 23+ points and 36+ DKP in the final three contests of the year. McCollum has barely been coming off the floor recently topping 39+ minutes in three straight and 35+ in seven straight. Like the price point under 8K.

If we’re talking about players that have stepped up in a big way for the Pelicans of late it’s Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones. Murphy is more reliable offensively as he’s scored 15+ points in 11 straight and double-digits in 19 consecutive. Jones is a defensive stalwart and will guard anyone and everyone on OKC this game is coming off three straight games in which he’s had at least three blocks and steals. I mentioned Brandon Ingram at the top of the write-up, but he’s my favorite play of the slate and his projected ownership looks VERY appealing.

What happens in the front court for New Orleans is what is VERY interesting. As of right now, nobody is expected to be owned more than Larry Nance and that’s because he’s a sub-4K value. He’s multi-position eligible as well and has been playing well, but he’s questionable as the ankle has flared up. He practiced on Tuesday, but it’s worth mentioning that the ankle has really limited him since returning from the initial injury. It’s likely that these two split the 48 minutes at center and the Pelicans turn to Valanciunas for big minutes if Nance is at all limited. If Nance is in a full 24-minute split, or even plays more than Jo Val, he’s a solid value.

Tier 1 play(s): Brandon Ingram, C.J. McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Larry Nance Jr. (if there are no limitations)

Tier 2 play(s): Herbert Jones, Jonas Valanciunas

Player Pool

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Stacks

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