NBA

The national media led by Bill is constantly pushing Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum down our throats because they are American when I truly don’t care that the nba is now dominated by Europeans. Is this like a pride on country? Because it’s not like America comes in second place in the Olympics. It’s 2024 I would think it doesn’t matter what country you are from it’s are you entertaining to watch and make a great example of the NBA.

I’m a huge fan of NBA on TNT, but I’ve always wondering what’s up with Shaq? He can be pretty rude and argumentative for no reason. On tonight’s episode he kept interrupting and talking over Candace Parker and about 5 minutes ago Adam Lefkoe was talking and Shaq wouldn’t stop until Adam said “excuse me.”

I get the impression that he has to prove himself or something. It’s weird when you consider his basketball and off-the-court accolades.

yea i did not stack the lakers game so did not cash tonight. Hope you all had a great night. tomorrows slate is wild, get ready for a lot of craziness. i will do my best as always to make updates as fast as i can. Going to be absolutely hectic.

If discord is something you are interested in, Will have a link below where i have in-depth content going over each slate, player pools for cash/gpps. cores and much more.

Edit: SGA out - love giddey, love jalen, cason very solid, dort very solid to at low ownership. chet doesn't change much. not sure i mess with joe but hes viable in large field

Edit: harris out - fultz starting - fultz stands out as one of the better values on the slate as it stands. i also like cole anthony. isaac solid. no other changes

Edit: not sure kuminga being out really moves the needs for me on anything. will wait for a lineup

Edit: harris woops

Edit: Ayton/thybulle OUT - love scoot today, Banton very strong to, Camara and kris murray very solid values. jabari is in play. Reath very good but a hack meister

Edit: warriors update, TJD starting. good play

Edit: AD is OUT - hayes is a good value, dlo looks great, lebron looks great, rui and reaves very good, prince playable

It’s like the entire league just sits & waits for us/Giannis to fuck up

• 1- Alex Sarr (PF/C)- Detroit Pistons

• 2- Rob Dillingham (PG/SG)- Washington Wizards

• 3- Zaccharie Risacher (SF)- San Antonio Spurs

• 4- Ron Holland (SF/PF)- Charlotte Hornets

• 5- Reed Sheppard (PG/SG)- Portland Trail Blazers

• 6- Stephon Castle (PG/SG)- Toronto Raptors

• 7- Donovan Clingan (C)- Memphis Grizzlies

• 8- Nikola Topic (PG)- Houston Rockets via Brooklyn Nets

• 9- Matas Buzelis (SF)- Utah Jazz

• 10- Cody Williams (SF)- Atlanta Hawks

• 11- Jared McCain (PG)- Chicago Bulls

• 12- Terrence Shannon Jr (SG)- OKC Thunder via Houston Rockets

• 13- Kyle Filipowski (C)- Portland Trail Blazers via Golden State Warriors

• 14- Isaiah Collier (PG)- New Orleans Pelicans via Los Angeles Lakers

• 15- Dalton Knecht (SG/SF)- Philadelphia 76ers

• 16- Devin Carter (PG/SG)- Miami Heat

• 17- Kel'el Ware (C)- Toronto Raptors via Indiana Pacers

• 18- Tristan Da Silva (SF/PF)- Phoenix Suns

• 19- Ja'Kobe Walter (SG)- Orlando Magic

• 20- Tyler Smith (SF/PF)- New York Knicks via Dallas Mavericks

• 21- Yves Missi (C)- Atlanta Hawks via Sacramento Kings

• 22- Kevin McCullar (SG)- New York Knicks

• 23- Johnny Furphy (SG)- Cleveland Cavaliers

• 24- Ulrich Chomche (PF/C)- Washington Wizards via Los Angeles Chargers

• 25- Jaylon Tyson (SF)- New Orleans Pelicans

• 26- Tidjane Salaun (SF/PF)- Milwaukee Bucks

• 27- Kyshawn George (SG)- Minnesota Timberwolves

• 28- Bobi Klintman (SF/PF)- Utah Jazz via OKC Thunder

• 29- Tyler Kolek (PG)- Denver Nuggets

• 30- Zach Edey (C)- Boston Celtics

Comes out this September.

The Celtics have by far the best regular season record this year, and barring a catastrophe, will have home advantage through the playoffs, even in the Finals, if they make it that far.

But the knock against them is that they've never won anything - which is an oxymoron, coz every winner has to win for the first time, sometime. And pedigree counts for a lot, especially individual accomplishment, as basketball is far more influenced by one (or two) great players than almost any other team sport.

It is interesting to me that in the last 34 years, only one team has won the NBA championship without having any of these on their regular starting five: a current year or previous regular season league MVP, AND/OR an ex-Finals MVP.

• 2023: Jokic

• 2022: Curry

• 2021: Giannis

• 2020: Lebron

• 2019: Kawhi (2014 Finals MVP)

• 2018: Curry, Durant

• 2017: Curry, Durant

• 2016: LeBron

• 2015: Curry (league MVP that year)

• 2014: Duncan, Parker

• 2013: LeBron

• 2012: LeBron

• 2011: Nowitzki

• 2010: Kobe

• 2009: Kobe

• 2008: Garnett

• 2007: Duncan

• 2006: Shaq

• 2005: Duncan

• 2004: NONE

• 2003: Robinson, Duncan

• 2002: Shaq

• 2001: Shaq

• 2000: Shaq (league MVP that year)

• 1999: Robinson

• 1998: MJ

• 1997: MJ

• 1996: MJ

• 1995: Olajuwon

• 1994: Olajuwon (league MVP that year, eventually Finals MVP and DPOY, only man to do all 3 in the same year)

• 1993: MJ

• 1992: MJ

• 1991: MJ

• 1990: Dumars

1989 was also a non-MVP team (same as 2004, the Pistons, and the last time that happened before that was 1979).

Pedigree matters.

I think he would say Anthony Edwards

But I think this just goes to show how great he is. Very few players are as consistent and efficient as Shai is, so when he doesn’t hit 30 points in a game, NBA fans are quick to call him out for whatever reason.

Mind you there are only 3 other players in the league that average 30+ PPG, with the closest guy being at 27.6 PPG.

Let’s not forget this guy also leads the NBA in steals per game and is above average to great in almost every single defensive category with good efficiency.

Last night could have been awesome. I fell for the Patty Mills trap and he got THREE. Normally I wouldn't take the bait, but it was a 4 game slate and he seemed like a fine punt.

I ended up breaking even, but if he and Dinwiddie/Jaquez were just a LITTLE better collectively, I could have had a takedown. Overall, my top plays smashed, so if you rolled with me you should have had a shot at cashing.

Let me know if you did well. Otherwise, it's on to the next one. I'll be breaking down tonight's 10-game NBA DFS slate, but be sure to get a deeper look on my show (@TheDFSBuild) on YouTube (link in reddit profile).

Top NBA DFS Environments for 3/27

• Nets vs. Wizards

• Blazers vs. Hawks

• Pacers vs. Bulls

• Rockets vs. Thunder

These feel like the most stackable games, and really just a lot of the best spots for grabbing high-usage bodies and solid values. Any game featuring the Wiz is in play, and despite a thick spread and weirdly low total, the Blazers/Hawks game is pretty appealing.

The game of the night could be Indy vs. Chicago, in theory. It's got the highest total and a tight spread. We should have interest in the Bulls for sure, and Indy options also look pretty good.

Houston vs. OKC doesn't stand out on it's own, but the game total is interesting. I really wish the Spurs/Jazz game was on the main slate, but waddya gonna do?

Like usual, I am not going out of my way to stack games, but these are the 4 games that stand out the most right off the bat.

Best NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday

• PG: Dejounte Murray ($9.8k)

• SG: Dalano Banton ($6k)

• SF: Anthony Edwards ($9.7k)

• PF: DeMar DeRozan ($8.4k)

• C: Nicolas Claxton ($6.4k)

SGA and Jalen Brunson are great leverage plays or pivots tonight, as Dejounte could be chalky, and he's also questionable with a back issue. If he plays, he is a smash play against Portland. If he's out, I'd turn to Brunson or SGA and then also prioritize Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Gary Trent Jr. has a terrific role and is also in play, but I prefer Banton. Portland is down bad with injuries and he crushed with 56 fantasy points in 39 minutes last time out. He's in a great pace-up spot with the Hawks, too. Best part? He's currently not carrying ownership.

ANT is very appealing for a few reasons. First, he has the best projection of any SFs tonight. He's also facing Detroit, who rank dead last against SFs on the year. He's also Q, so people could be scared he may not play. He's always Q, though, so I am not very concerned. On top of all that, this slate lacks a lot of legit studs we feel obligated to pay for. If his ownership stays low, he may be the elite guy (outside of Dejounte) that I end up building around.

DiVincenzo and Josh Hart also look awesome if you want to just build around Dejounte and pay down at SF tonight.

Chicago looks good across the board tonight, but DeMar is probably the guy I'd target due to his position and projection. He's also en fuego these days, topping 44+ fantasy points in 3 of his last 4. Indy is a dream spot (26th vs Fs) and he's dropped 45 fantasy points per game across three meetings with them.

Anthony Davis is the best raw points play at center. However, he's on the second leg of a b2b, he's expensive, his game environment kind of stinks, and LeBron returns tonight. For those reasons, I will be under-weight and looking for a different center play.

Insert Clax, who has a top 10 projection among centers and honestly feels slighted here in a dream spot with Washington (26th vs. C). He's just too cheap for the floor/ceiling he offers.

Wednesday's Top NBA DFS Values

• PG: Miles McBride ($5.6k)

• SG: Javon Freeman-Liberty ($4.1k)

• SF: Kris Murray/Tourmani Camara ($4.3k/$4.5k)

• PF: Jonathan Isaac ($4k)

• C: Trendon Watford ($3.2k)

There are no clear viable punts at PG as I write this. McBride is getting 40+ minutes every night these days, and he's still too cheap. He's very close to a core play for me at this price unless something major changes.

Freeman-Liberty panned out last time, so if he starts again at this price, I am game to risk it again. He is not safe at all, but if he can get 25-30 minutes at this salary, I'll take my chances.

I love Portland tonight, so cheap dudes like Murray and Camara look awesome. Are they super reliable or elite talents? Nope! But they are in an up tempo matchup with Atlanta, they are really cheap, and they're locked into 30+ minutes. Once again, I am willing to embrace the risk here.

Given the other value (namely Portland) I don't know how necessary Isaac is, but if he can do what he did last game (40+ fantasy points) then we should keep him in our player pool. You can expect about 20 minutes from him, and he's cheap. He's just not a guy with a super reliable baseline.

Watford could be viable tonight, just because Brooklyn is down some bodies and Cam Thomas is questionable. He is drawing ownership, however, so I plan on being really under-weight. He's clearly very cheap and had a role last game (26 fantasy points in 21 minutes), though, so he's worth a look.

My Strategy for Wednesday

Brow and SGA are the top two studs on this slate, but they feel unnecessary if Dejounte is in. Murray has been ablaze and he's got a monstrous role in a smash spot. He's cheaper than these guys and projects just as well.

If Murray is out, ownership should flock to those guys. Totally fine to roll with that, but I'd probably just pivot to a similarly priced Edwards and then go get Boggy.

Beyond that, I really like McBride and the Blazers guys as a "value core" to build with. Things will probably change on a 10-gamer, but that's my strategy to start the day.

Keep an eye out for my video later (@TheDFSBuild) for further analysis. Good luck!