I'm going to start off this 'Need to Know' section with what I think is extremely important info to consider for tonight's slate. We are approaching the NBA playoffs, and because of the new playoff format, games are becoming especially critical for NBA teams. I think this opens up some amazing opportunities to win serious $$ both on Monkey Knife Fight (which I'll get to in a second) and in DFS. When building your DFS lineups tonight, take into account which teams (and players) desperately need to win, and which teams are playing in games that have less on the line. I'll touch on this in my writing tonight, but I'm going to be targeting a number of guys playing in games with significant playoff implications. 

Brogdon, Lamb Questionable, Sampson, Turner Out: When Brogdon sits, Levert ($9,000 DK and $8,800 FD) becomes the primary ball-handler and playmaker for IND, so I definitely would like him tonight (assuming Malcolm sits again). If Brogdon somehow plays, there won’t be too much value to be found against a slow-paced, solid defensive CLE team.

Hunter, Snell Questionable: Both of these guys aren’t really DFS relevant at the moment, so their absence wouldn’t have too much of an impact. A starting spot would be opened if Snell sits, so whoever gets that spot will perhaps get a slight value boost.

Beal Out: Beal’s out, so that means Russ ($11,000 DK and $12,400 FD) is essentially a must-play, even at his ridiculous price tag on both sites. WAS is in the playoff hunt, so Russ will have to be classic Russ tonight without Beal, which we know he’ll have no problem doing. I could see a 30-15-15 night… or something even crazier.

Ingram, Zion Out, Adams Doubtful: Without these guys in the lineup, there are a lot of shots, minutes, and usage to be had amongst the rest of the Pels roster. I really like James Johnson ($4,600 DK and $4,400 FD), who put up 17 and 8 last night and should be one of the go-to guys again, which makes it too hard to pass up on him in the mid 4k range.

Bradley, Wilson, Porter, Wall Out, Olynyk, Wood Questionable: If either Wood or Olynyk plays, I would definitely get him into your lineup, because either of them would be the main offensive threat for HOU tonight. If neither of them play, there is a lot of value to be found; my favorite would be Kenyon Martin Jr ($6,200 DK and $7,100 FD), who put up 27-2-10 last time out!

CLE not yet submitted: CLE played last night, so I could see a myriad of guys missing tonight - keep an eye out for the injury report.

5/10 CORE PLAYS

This section aims to identify players we think are especially good plays in either CASH or GPP lineups. For our full 3 player cores for both cash & GPP, Optimizers & Player Projections, start your 1 week free trial of our AC Plus membership today! 

CASH CORE: 

In CASH lineups, we’re looking for players who have a high floor (players who have a low chance at flopping). We’re also not very concerned about ownership in cash lineups. In fact, if a guy has super high ownership, it makes sense to have him in your lineup so that other users don’t gain a massive advantage over you if he plays well. Conversely, if the player plays poorly, it doesn’t hurt you too much because so many users have him in their lineups. 

Kelly Olynyk ($8,100 DK & FD) or Kenyon Martin Jr. ($6,200 & $7,100)

Knowing that Westbrook will be in everyone’s lineups makes the rest of my cash core interesting. Your other high tier selection is pivotal, and I think tonight you need to look at either Olynyk or Martin Jr. If Olynyk plays, he has simply been too good to overlook. He would be the primary offensive option for the Rockets with no Wood, Wall or Porter, and is a high floor guy in those situations. If he sits, Kenyon Martin Jr. has been fantastic lately, going for 50, 47.75, and 50 DK points in his last three games. 6.2K is too cheap a price tag for him, especially in Olynyk were to sit this one out. Keep an eye on the news here and lock one if not both of these guys into your cash lineups.

GPP CORE:

Contrary to CASH, we are looking for “diamond in the rough” plays in a GPP lineup. We want guys who have low ownership, and/or guys who have a high upside (a chance to pop off). Since you only make money if you place in the top ~20%, you need to have some guys in your lineup that return high value but that are not highly owned.

Collin Sexton ($8,300 DK & $7,500 FD)

We have Collin projected at 10% ownership right now, obviously that goes up a bit if Garland sits, but I think it ends up pretty low with most people having Westbrook in their GPP lines tonight. What really excites me about Sexton (or Garland if he plays tonight) is this matchup against IND. Sexton thrives in fast paced environments, and IND has been playing at a top 5 pace in the NBA over the past 5 games. Not only that, the Pacers have given up over 125 points in 5 of their last 7 games. Simply put, playing against the Pacers is a fantasy goldmine right now, and with Sexton locked in to play ~35 minutes in a high usage role, I think he makes for an extremely strong GPP look tonight.

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