 What's going on and welcome to the NBA DFS Q&A. My name is Tom Vecchia. We have a 13 game NBA Slate tonight ready to break things down. Tonight's Slate, I would say the headline is that there's a ton of injuries across the board for nearly every single team with players resting. We have players out to change up rotations. It's offering plenty of value. It's offering plenty of players we want to be prioritizing on tonight's Slate. I would say the big news that we've got throughout the days, at least that Kevin Durant is out due to rest. This is putting a large priority on James Harden. We obviously have a ton of value because there's a number of teams around the league that have three, four, five players out. So let's just hop into tonight's Slate. Starting off, first question. Grimm on YouTube is asking Nick Richards or Nick Claxton. Of course, these are two backup big men that are now seeing expanded roles. For me, I'm going with Claxton. I think that the matchup is just so much easier going up against the Houston Rockets. Again, centers. 56.36 feint new points allowed per game. That's what we're seeing. We have Charlotte going up against Philadelphia. And that's obviously a tougher matchup going up against Joel and B. They are top 10 in the league for the fewest feint new points. So Claxton versus Richards. I think that's an easy one for me going towards Claxton. And this game also has just a better game environment overall. What is it? 220, yeah, 223 and a half of the three point spread compared to what is it? 214. So almost 10 point difference between these two matchups. I'm certainly starting with Claxton in that one. Grimm is asking Luke Knard, Tyler Hiroh, Dosumu or Chris Duarte tonight. If it's one of those players, I mean Dosumu is going to have a ton of minutes. I mean, he played over 40 their most recent games. So I would go with him and then Hiroh as my top two. Knar is fine. Chris Duarte is fine. But Io, Dosumu and Tyler Hiroh are my top two out of that group. I think the 40 minutes we saw, there was 41 or 42 minutes the other night. I mean, he's projected for the mid to upper 30s tonight just because the bulls 41 minutes the other night is just insane. And he's below one fan new point per minute. But just the volume of minutes that we're going to be seeing from him because the bulls lineup is just so thin right now is so valuable. So those minutes are what I'm absolutely asked for. Yeah, if I'm picking two, it would be Io, Dosumu and Tyler Hiroh. You know, Knard and Duarte, they are fine. Those are players I'd be targeting a bit more if they were injuries on their given teams. But with Hiroh in the starting lineup, you know, the scoring upside that he can bring and then the minutes for Io, those are the two players I'd be focusing in on. With Hardin, I would say being a clear priority for a lot of people on tonight's not going to be surprised if we see Hardin and Embiid kind of starting off a lot of people's lineups just because we're locking in just a consistent floor points for both of them along with plenty of upside. Now, if you want to start dropping in some value into your lineups, I'm certainly going to be in favor of Cody Martin tonight. Again, another player, very modest salary. You're going to be in there for plenty of minutes for the Charlotte Portage just because they have so many players out. You could also look to Portland. We know that Lillard is out. We know that Sieger McCollum is out. Simon's is questionable. Nasir Liddell is questionable. This should again put some of a priority on Dennis Smith. Plenty of minutes available for him. So starting off with some really, really obvious value plays and then two really top tier stars to get into your lineup. If you want to try and jam in a tense Kumpo, I think it's doable. Like I think it's doable to have two of Hardin, Curry, a tense Kumpo and Embiid. Three or three of those four players, I think I'm going to try and prioritize getting a lot in because there's just so many value options on tonight's slate that are available. Now, if you want to spend down at center, going to someone like Nick Claxton, or I should just say the big man position overall, getting someone who's $3,500, I mean, this just leaves you with so much flexibility overall. What do I think of Levert at $5,100? I think Levert is fine. This game environment was to have a 208 overrun, 208.5 overrun versus the Knicks. Not really my favorite matchup overall. We know the usage can be there for Levert. There's nothing that's jumping off the page to me about Levert tonight. I certainly do like a salary at $5,100, but we do see some decent fluctuation for him. So I would say target him more in tournaments, not really a cash game option for me because, yes, his minutes are consistent, but the general fluctuation we see in his production is a little bit too much if you were looking for him in a cash game. So certainly mix him into your player pool for GBPs. We have so much value that you can essentially do whatever you want tonight when it comes to lineup construction. So if you were really trying to jam in like some of these top stars, harden, attend to Kupo and Bede. You have three stars that have, what, like 60, 70-point potential they all do. We're looking at hopefully a 50 or so point floor for all of them. There's so much value you can go kind of wherever you want with the rest of your lineup. Now, I was big and I'm still going to be big on Precious Hachua for the Toronto Raptors. I spoke about him on the podcast, wrote him up as one of my favorite value plays on Numberfire.com, the article I do every day, three value plays. Great matchup for him going up against Oklahoma City Thunder and all of a sudden he pops up as questionable for tonight's matchup. He's listed as a power forward, or should I say power forward slash center, but he's actually the starting center for the Toronto Raptors, which are right here. And I mentioned this on the podcast that you specifically want to use him at power forward tonight with this dual position eligibility because you don't want to block yourself from rostering one of these top tier centers. And the matchup against Oklahoma City is so good for him against, they're just so bad against centers that this matchup is so good for Hachua. So I would look to Hachua hoping that he plays, hoping that he doesn't have any type of men's restriction, looking to Hachua as a power forward because I still want to be able to roster and bead or yokich, whoever might be at the center. So Hachua and probably Nick Claxton are two of my favorite value plays that I'm going to be looking to use specifically at power forward. DJ is asking, how would you rank Cody Martin from Tyrese Maxie and Malcolm Brogdon and how would you play Derek Jones in your lineup? So Maxie, he has some, what's his injury designation for tonight? Yeah, he has his illness, he plans to play. So we just want a little bit of clarity on that for him. I think the upside lies with Maxie in this matchup, but if you're looking for the value, it would be with Cody Martin. So Maxie, Martin and then Brogdon in that order. Derek Jones, I think he's a fine option overall, like not a player that I'm going out of my way to target. So I would put him last among that group, Maxie, Martin and Brogdon in that order. The value that we have, I think, will make for a lot of unique lineup constructions tonight just because there's no one obvious spot that we have to find the value or that's the only spot that we are finding value. There's so much value at big man and guard that you can decide to spend down there and then spend up elsewhere. So if you are, I'm going to say hand-building lion's night and you're entering like a three max or 20 max, whatever it might be, this allows you the maximum flexibility to try and be different from what you think or players will be popular. James Johnson with LMA resting, he's only 4,300 for the Nets. I think that this is also another good option for some value. The kind of curveball, I would say, would be if like Griffin plays, hopefully we get some clarity on that. But yeah, James Johnson seeing an expanded role as of late is always a player I'll be considering because he can kind of fill up the statute, which is good. He doesn't need to be a pure score for the Nets is something I will always be considering. I know Patty Mills didn't have a big game last night, but there's a player that I'll actually be going right back to tonight. No, just I'm going to say bad production overall. I'll just call it what it is, 33 minutes last night, 17.8 Fandu points. But with Durant at a lineup, it's actually a player I want to be going right back to tonight for that scoring upside. The Nets need a secondary score in that lineup outside of Harden and with consistent field goal attempts on a nightly basis, the production can always be there for him. And with a high volume of three-point attempts coming from Patty Mills, he could really be that secondary score along alongside Harden because Durant is out. We look to Houston, their bottom 10 of the league for the most three-pointers allowed per game to their opponents. So Patty Mills, I know he was somewhat popular last night. 49-hundred for him is always a player I'll be going to. So yes, James Johnson. DJ Singh, Jalen Brown just ruled out. Let's give this a quick refresh. We're dealing with just an insane amount of injuries on tonight's slate. So yes, questionable, questionable. Jalen Brown ruled out. Okay, that is good to know. So last night we obviously saw, I'm going to say a very exciting game between Boston and the LA Lakers. Boston on the second night of a back-to-back going up against the Clippers. Do we want to be owning Tatum tonight? Yes, the answer is always yes for Tatum. Given his floor, given his potential ceiling, minutes are locked in. It's a back-to-back, but there's no travel because they're playing the Clippers tonight. So fire up Tatum yet again. That's always good to see. For the top tier at Guard, differentiating between Hardin and Curry, I think is very, very minor. Curry, we know he's going for the three-point record. I think he needs like 15 or 16 to hit the record. But this game has a massive spread going up against the Portland Trailblazer. So there's always the potential that Curry rests at the end of the game just because he doesn't have to play. They're going to be up by so much. Like if the Warriors won this game by 20 points, I'm not going to be surprised at all. But we do know that Curry could go for 50-plus points in three-quarters, 50-plus feintal points. That would be not just 50-plus regular points in three-quarters. So the spread is a little bit concerning. If that makes Curry less popular compared to Hardin, considering we also have Luca listed as questionable, I think Curry makes an even greater tournament play because Hardin should be the chalk at that point. There's really no natural pivot away from Hardin at that spot. If you want to go to Levine at 90-100, of course, the volume of field goal attempts we see from him every single night is just absolutely fantastic considering that DeMarco Rosen is out. We should see that elevated even more. So 20-plus field goal attempts, 7, 8, 9, 10, 3-pointers from Zach Levine is absolutely awesome. Are the Bulls still underdogs on the road? They opened up as, yeah, there's three-point underdogs on the road. Obviously, just due to the injuries that they have, they also have Caruso listed as doubtful. John T. Green is out. Kobe White is out for them. Absolutely a ton of injuries for the Bulls right now. Corey, you're saying you just want to watch the guys in tight pants play? Yeah, that's great. For Upper is asking, if Presta Chua is out, would you go for Chris Boucher? It seems like they're two different players. Yeah, the Presta Chua news is, you know, that's big. Like I said, this is such a great match-up for who's ever going to be at the center, for the Raptors that, you know, I was big on a Chua when I did the podcast. I wrote them up today, as I said. If Boucher is going to be in the starting lineup, I'll have interest in him there. It's also possible that they just start Pasco Siacum at the center and, I don't know, Svee Mihailouk jumps into the starting lineup. Like that's certainly a possibility for the Raptors. This game environment overall is obviously not looking super great. If we look to Toronto, I mean, they're 12 and 12 when it comes to overs and unders. This season and Oklahoma City is, you know, 19 or excuse me, nine and 14 when it comes to overs and unders. So they're certainly an under-based team. So that's why we see the 207 over and unders. So I like this game, you know, specifically for a Chua, if he were to be playing, if Boucher is in the starting lineup, when we get that confirmed, I'll have interest in him at $4,300. But if Siacum is there, I think that's fine. I just think that the potential opportunity cost of rostering Siacum at $8,000, you know, there's just other options at the forward position around his salary that I'd rather be going. So that's what it comes down to mainly. So yes, Boucher, if he's starting, I prefer to see pressure since she was starting. Levine ceiling should be very high, correct. Yeah, Levine always has a high ceiling, kind of regardless of who's in or out of the lineup for the Chicago Bulls. We look to DeMar DeRozan this year, and he actually doesn't take a whole lot of threes. And we see Levine taking in a high volume of threes when DeRozan's in the lineup. But these games are with DeRozan, and he's already taking double-digit three-pointers. So I love his ability to fill the statute on a nightly basis. And you know, taking 18 or 19 field goal attempts, when Vucevich and DeRozan and Ball are all on the court and now removing one of them should only increase his potential field goal attempts. So I absolutely love Levine tonight. This game environment, it's a 2-12 over-under, right? 2-11 and a half for this matchup. So it's okay. The pace of this game, the Chicago's playing down in pace, they're 15th in the league, Cleveland is sitting at 26th. So it's okay overall. I think that the extra usage and the extra volume of attempts should hopefully compensate for Levine playing down in pace. So Levine, Hardin, Curry are certainly my top options at the guard position. We have plenty of value. You know, I'm a big fan of Cole Anthony tonight, 8,200, going up against the Sacramento Kings. Spoke about him. Obviously a great matchup for really anyone on Orlando, anyone on the Kings, just because both teams are so weak defensively. I know Cole Anthony had this horrible game, most recently against the Golden State Warriors, but they got kind of blown out in that game. You know, seven Fandal points in 27 minutes, shooting three of 11 from the field is absolutely terrible. Like no one's obviously questioning that, but when he's taking, or he has a normal game and you know, it's not a massive blowout. You know, he's taking high teens, low 20s when it comes to field of attempts. He's taking a lot of three-pointers and he does a ton when it comes to the peripheral stack category, which is good to see for a young guard. So when he has this type of ceiling due to his shot volume and his high floor because of the involvement in the peripheral stack categories, I really like him Cole Anthony in what's just a factually awesome matchup against the Sacramento Kings. Like we're not worried about the Kings defense at all. We're not worried about the magic of their defense. And with the 222.5 over under, this is absolutely one of the games that I'm going to be targeting. I also like the Utah, Minnesota game for plenty of scoring. Both teams are in the top half of the league when it comes to the most three-pointers made per game. So we should be seeing plenty of back and forward scoring. Hopefully Minnesota should be able to keep that close. Is Alec Berks worth a look tonight with the starting lineup along with DeAndre Bembrie? So Berks has been the starting lineup, as you said, for a few games now for the Knicks, removing Kemba Walker from their rotation. I think Berks is always going to be in play with a shot volume with his overall involvement in the offense. We look to the Knicks specifically, obviously it's a small sample size. If we just adjust for this Kemba off the court for the Knicks overall Berks. I mean, 0.93 feigned to points per minute. Usage rate will obviously increase if we adjust for the specific players that are available. But sure, Alec Berks is always in play. Bembrie for the Nets, he probably should see, you know, I'm going to say a little bit of elevated usage. It's a player that we do see have a low floor at times. If he can get the three-point shot going and enough when it comes to rebounding, that's where he'll have the most value. I will say I'm not like going out of my way to like have a bunch of shares of Bembrie. If he happens to make it into a few, just due to the optimizer having some exposure to Bembrie, I'll be fine with it, but I'm not like going out of my way to get Bembrie. Like at that, where's Bembrie here? At 4500 at the shooting guard, like I'd rather just go to 5000 for Cody Martin, for Charlotte, who's going to be in line for significantly more minutes, should have greater involvement in the offense. I'd rather go to 5500 for Dennis Smith at the guard position, just greater involvement in the offense for Portland. How many minutes does Davis get with Barnes coming back? Will Barnes be on a mince restriction? I assume you mean Scotty Barnes, or do you mean Harrison Barnes? If I could get some clarity on that would be great. In the meantime, DJ is asking, or Eric Gordon. So Eric Gordon is kind of the same situation, a player that I've never like thrilled to roster because I don't know if it's just how many times over the past, however many seasons that Eric Gordon has just been a dud in some of these lineups that I've had, going back for however many years when Hardin was on the Rockets. Again, he's fine. I think this game environment is the reason that you'd be targeting him. You know, 224.5 over under close spread is good to see, but like I'm not, again, not going out of my way to roster a player like Eric Gordon or Bambry or Tony Snell or whoever it might be in this mid-tier, that's not a priority shooter on a team. So again, if I have a few shares of him, that's fine. If I have an overwhelming amount of shares of him, I will certainly scale that back. You like Hernan Gomez and Rocco as sleepers? Absolutely. I think Rocco makes a good sleeper and potentially like a nice little pivot away from what could be some Portland shock, like this is a player that is putting up nearly 30 fandal points on two real points. And sometimes players like that are really great because they don't need to have the ball in their hands like scoring in order to reach value. Them just being involved in a strong game environment can allow them to reach and exceed fancy value. So if everyone's going to be looking to, you know, Simons if he plays or Dennis Smith or Powell or Nasir Little if he plays or even Nurkic, if those are going to be the chalky options from Portland, Rocco could be that pivot. And the same thing for Hernan Gomez, I think that is fine. Probably Harrison, especially with Terrace Davis. So if you're asking about Davis with Barnes, I assume you mean Harrison Barnes. Terrace Davis, I think is a fine option. Harrison Barnes, I think is also a fine option. Again, this game environment overall, like I said, we want to be targeting Orlando. When have we not targeted Orlando or Sacramento this season? Right? Just some of the weakest defensive teams we could possibly find. Some of the weakest defensive teams we could possibly find specifically at the center and forward positions. So that's where I'd be going. Like I said, I like Cole Anthony. I'd certainly be going to him. I mentioned Chamezima too. I think I mentioned him on the podcast. Also as a very viable option for Sacramento tonight. If Simons is active, do I prefer him over Dennis Smith Jr. I do. Assuming that he's active, assuming he has no mince restriction, assuming that he's in the starting lineup. Yes, I prefer Simons over Dennis Smith Jr. So the injuries on tonight, again, are the main point with 13 games, 26 teams in action, no updates on that, which is good to see. Ross has been a good bag tonight, or is that reaching too much? So Ross is obviously coming off or always comes off the bench for the magic. And this is a player that I don't mind taking a few shares, a few extra shares potentially in GVPs, just because if he gets the scoring going, he's super hot, right? And that's when he reaches and exceeds value. Like the peripheral production from Ross is rather modest overall. And him playing 23 minutes and posting less than 10 feint to points is certainly a possibility. Like that's within his range of outcomes because if he is cold from the field, like shooting two of 11, you know, I hate to cherry pick one game, but it shows it perfectly. Like two of 11 from the field and three rebounds of one assist, like he doesn't reach value in 23 minutes. But when he gets hot and is shooting six of 12 from the field and still does that essentially the same production when it comes to the peripheral stack categories, he's then exceeding value. And the match against Sacramento, again, is phenomenal. So Ross is kind of a player over the past few years. I've always been willing to go back to a little bit more because if the shots are going to be there for him, he shouldn't be popular as a player coming off the bench. Those three pointers start going for him. He reaches value pretty quickly. You like Wendell Carter tonight? Absolutely. Fire him up. I'm all over the magic. I'm all over Sacramento. Like this is a game. Like if you told me either team won this game, what, like 125 to 120? I mean, I'd be surprised. I wouldn't be surprised in either direction. I mean, maybe that's maybe 120. It's like a little bit excessive, but like 115 to like 112 or 110. Like I think either team could win this game. Josh Hart or Desmond Bain. And are you starting Isaiah Stewart tonight? So between Hart and Bain, I'll choose Bain. He's been absolutely awesome this season, specifically since we've seen John Morant out. Great production from him most nights. Okay, we'll take this 19 point game against Oklahoma City because that was a massive blowout. He obviously didn't have to play a ton or do a whole lot. So I'll take that with a grain of salt. But the production from Desmond Bain is absolutely fantastic. Love him really since Morant has been out, always been a solid option. Am I starting Isaiah Stewart tonight? I don't think Stewart is a player that I'm prioritizing really at all. I don't think, I mean, again, this is a player and just again, the opportunity cost at power forward at 5,300. I would rather drop all the way down and take Nick Claxton at the minimum salary at 3,500 or a Chua if he starts, it'd be great to get some clarity on that. That's ultimately where I'd be going at the power forward position, maybe Chuma Okiki at 4,200. So Stewart, again, is fine. You can even look to James Johnson, potentially a little bit cheaper than him than Isaiah Stewart. So Stewart doesn't really move the needle for me tonight. That's really what it comes down to. I'd rather just take Nick Claxton at $3,500, take more savings. A player that's in a better game environment overall and Claxton has a great match against Houston. I mean, sixth worst in the league against Center. So I'd rather go there. That's what it comes down to. Not like I'm going out of my way to avoid Isaiah Stewart tonight. I just think that there's better options at that salary range. How many players in a lineup from one team, Portland Nets or any other team? That's a good question. I don't think it's specifically for this slate. I think that's a good, like, larger question. Generally, I limit it to three. That's just a personal preference. I know some players, some people will go up to four players from one team, but I generally max out at three. That's just a personal thing. Again, given the slate, I may change it. Given the specific value options on a slate, if there was something super unique about one slate, I will go to four. And also the size of the slate, it differs, but three is generally my limit on a given night. So three from the Nets would be Claxton Hardin and Patty Mills. That would be certainly a very realistic combination. Some options from Charlotte. Some options from Chicago. Like, those are teams I'll have heavy exposure to. So my answer is three, sometimes four. Tonight, it's probably going to be three. Andrew is asking with a pace-up spot, how does Covington rate out against Golden State? So it's more about this game staying close, and ultimately, like I've said, for Covington, it's a player that doesn't need to do, he doesn't need to be taking a whole lot of points in order to reach value. So if this game stays closer, we'll see him get to an exceed value. So I like Covington. Whoever brought that up before, I think it's a good point. As a bit of an under-the-radar play, Covington pivoting away from some of the Portland shock, but still getting exposure to a game that has a very, or can have a very high over under. If it stays close, we see this hit the over and obviously Portland cover. That means they're keeping it close, or we like to think that they can keep it close with no Lillard and no McCullum. So Covington, I think, is a good option in the mid-tier at the forward position. He's certainly not my favorite. I'd rather ultimately just take value at power forward, spend up at center, spend up at guard. No, of course, I'm going to be willing to spend up for attend to Kumpo at the forward position. Like I said, getting three of Harden, Curry, attend to Kumpo and Embiid. Getting three of those four players in one lineup, I think is very realistic tonight. Like dropping these three stars, go full stars in scrubs, you go to Brooklyn, you take Nick Claxton, right? You just take as much value as you possibly can. We go to Charlotte. You can certainly take some Coding Martin, and then you got to find a few more value options whoever might be. And then we're going to be in a good spot for players that have a super high ceiling and then also players that have a high floor due to their mitts. If you want to do sumu at 4800, like 5100 for three players is pretty solid. So this is a, I want to say a very standard lineup build that I expect to see. Again, swapping out maybe Curry for attend to Kumpo, whoever it might be. Definitely three of these stars, I think is going to be a very realistic lineup roster combination tonight. Do you like New Orleans Noel over Christian Wood and Dwayne Deadman tonight? Well, Christian Wood, I think is, you know, we're asking a little bit of a different question just due to, you know, the salaries on these players. It's not like we're working in the same salaries here where New Orleans Noel at 4600 is one type of player and we're expecting like one type of outcome for him. But when Christian Woods 8200, I mean, if all things were equal, I would choose Christian Wood. Now, if we're talking, you know, accounting for their salaries, I think I would still choose Christian Wood because, you know, finding value at center, I'd rather go to Chamezima 2. I'd rather go to Nick Clash, if he does have center eligibility. So that's kind of a tough question to answer when the salaries are so different. Like this is a $4000 salary difference. Dwayne Deadman, I think is also a viable option at center. Again, not necessarily the same price, you know, salary tier. So when we're talking about a player over $8000 and two that are below $6000, one of which is below $5000. I have a core of Anthony, Fox, Carter and Embiid. I want to throw Wagner in there any thoughts, I think. I think that's a super strong core. We know what we should be getting from all of those players. Obviously, Embiid you're hoping for like that 60-65 point game. I assume you mean Franz Wagner from the Orlando Magic. I think that's a great core. I think you should, you know, potentially look to fit in Nick Claxton in there. You'll find whether other values open up throughout the day if injuries change, but I see nothing wrong with that core at all. Chance's little place tonight for Portland where he sits one more. I have no, I have no insight on injuries. I get the injuries the same time you guys do. If he plays, I'll have some exposure to him. If he doesn't, like I don't think it's a massive, like it massively impacts the slate at all. Do both Barnes and Harkness need to be ruled out in order for Terrace Davis to play? Davis has been in or do you mean like play or do you mean like be a great fantasy option because Terrace Davis is out here like playing a good amount of minutes, even in some of the games that we do see both of them playing. I think he obviously has is more of a priority when those players are out. Again, I don't think there's a player that like changes the slate dramatically when it comes to the Sacramento injury situation. I'll have much more interest in Davis, but with this game starting at 10, like you have to have your plan in place if you don't have that information like ahead of time, right? Like, so you got to be able to pivot. Any strategy on picking value players from the bench at Buddy Heald? Well, Heald is always a great option because he comes off the bench for Sacramento and just takes like a million threes every single game, granting him immense upside. So when we're seeing like mostly, most games with five plus three pointers, I absolutely love him. When you're looking for value on the bench, each one players that have high minutes, projections and take shots. Like that's my ideal combination because they'll be out there and they have a high ceiling and a chance to exceed value because they are involved in the offense. They are somewhat of a primary score when they come off the bench. So that's what I generally look towards. All right. So that does it for today's Q&A. I'll be back next week at 4pm on the Fingal YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter pages, taking your questions about that night's NBA slate. You can follow me on Twitter at DFS underscore Tom. Until next time, good luck in your contests.