 What's going on and welcome to the FanDuel NBA DFS Q&A show. My name is Tom Vecchio. I'm here for the next 30 minutes to take your questions about tonight's NBA Slates. We have a big slate, a lot of games, a lot of teams. We also have a slate that is filled with injuries, filled with players in the leagues, health and safety protocol. So there's a lot of questions, a lot of question marks, a lot of players that we are uncertain of right now. When it comes to tonight's slate, I think we're going to be seeing a number of players and teams specifically be very popular. We're looking to Jaylen Brunson as being a popular option because Louis Dantridge is out. We should be seeing some of the heat players, Kyle Lowry be a popular option because Jimmy Butler, Bama DeBio, are both out. We're waiting on the injury news for Chris Middleton for the Milwaukee Bucks. We already know that Yanis and Tete Kumpo is ruled out. So we should be looking to Drew Holliday, Grace Nal and Pat Connaughton, Bobby Portas. Some of these players as value options or core players. Obviously Drew Holliday is not a value option. We are, I want to say, in a good spot in terms of the overall picture right now. We have a few notes that can change the roster construction, but overall it's okay unless there's some dramatic breaking news in terms of players being ruled out. I think we're going to be okay. Trey Burke is he in play? Jamar on Facebook is asking, yeah, I think he's going to be in play. We're going to be seeing a lot of those players in that salary tier be in play. If you want to go with him, that's certainly fine. At the point guard position, I'm going to say it's going to be very common to see both Drew Holliday and Kyle Lowry as kind of a core build for a lot of people. Also, shouldn't be surprised to see Omer. His last name is Yorvid Seven for the Miami Heat. Should be in line to see a good amount of minutes. The issue I have with playing him is that he blocks the center position when we want to pay up for Nikola Yokic. So as much value as we have at the center position, whether it be Yorvid Seven, whether it be going to something like Alex Lin on Sacramento, it blocks the center position. And that's the main issue I have with it, where I'm interested in paying up for Yokic as a lot of people are going to be. So I want to go to Yokic as kind of a core option on tonight's slate. He's just had such a high floor along with the high ceiling, combined with the fact that we have a great gaming environment against the Minnesota Timberwolves. And this is a pace-up spot for Denver. They are 29th in the league in offensive pace and Minnesota is sitting at fifth. So a big pace-up spot for a player that already has a high usage rate, already has a high floor and has a tremendously high ceiling. So I am going to be looking to Yokic. Do I want to take some of the value options at center? Yes, but again, prioritizing some of the bigger names at center. Sal on YouTube is asking, thinking about taking four cabs to start my lineup tonight. That's certainly a lot. Four is a lot, especially when they're going up against the Houston Rockets and the game with the 217 overrunner. I think overall it's fine. You know, generally as I've said before, I like to limit to about three players per team, depending on the slate. A little bit of blow-up potential here, not really worried about it. But I think that there are other games with higher overrunners that you can be targeting. We're looking at three games here in the mid-220s when it comes to options. So loading up on four from one team to game that has a good overrunner but not a great one is something that I generally don't do. So that is, you know, I would say go to three cabs. That's certainly fine. We're waiting on the news for Evan Mowley. Let's just give this a quick refresh to see. You know, some updated injury news. Yeah, so Mowley is still listed as questionable. Obviously the big news would also be Joel Embiid who's ruled out after a lot, their most recent game. Good to see Anthony Davis being upgraded to listed as probable. Paul George is obviously a big one for the Clippers. Chris Middleton, I think he's shying more towards not playing. That's just my guess at this point because he left early from their game against Boston with a hyperscended knee. I think that they would just be rolling Grace Allen and Pat Conson out there at the two and the three alongside Holiday. The Nasses attend to Kumball because Yannis is ruled out and then Bobby Portis at center. With Christian Wood, unlikely to play and I think he's going to be out for a few games. We could be seeing some big minutes for Alperine St. Goon for the Houston Rockets. He has powerful eligibility. So ultimately that's where I would look to roster him. I think Daniel Tice is going to get the start but we should be seeing St. Goon as that first option off the bench. So going to him as a power forward, $5,400. I think that's obviously a very reasonable salary. Looking to him there is a spot that would go from Milwaukee. Grace Allen, I think brings plenty of value at $4,000. I mean, we have four players in here that are all going to be playing. You know, these players are probably playing 30 plus minutes. St. Goon should probably be around 22, 25, whatever it might be. I mean, 7,000 per player remaining is a really, really strong amount to be working with when we have five open spots. We could find value other positions and we're working with like a really strong floor of minutes, points and players that certainly have the ability to exceed expectation because player like Holiday and Lowry are in spots to see extra usage. Saban is asking, favorite games to target. So a couple of good games I'm certainly looking to tonight. Charlotte and San Antonio spoke about this on the podcast today. I'm certainly looking at this one, Minnesota Denver. And then I think this Washington Sacramento game, you know, could be going slightly overlooked just because there's so many value options in so many other spots that these teams are pretty straightforward when it comes to their lineups that it could be just lost in the mix. So Minnesota Denver just because obviously we have a high over under 224. Denver working with some, you know, a number of backups because their rotation is a bit thinner overall. They should be getting Will Barton and Aaron Gordon back. But ultimately it's a pace-up spot, as I said, for Denver going up against Minnesota. And we have viable stars and value plays in this game. So I think that this is a spot we absolutely want to be attacking. But I have to say, I think Charlotte, San Antonio is my favorite game overall on tonight's slate. That's because we have two teams in the top seven of the league. Charlie, the second right now in offensive base and San Antonio is sitting at seventh. San Antonio, fully healthy, they're ready to go. We do see some players coming back from Charlotte. Lamella Ball, although he's cleared from the league's health and safety protocol, he will not be playing in this game. So the lineups are pretty clear. Defense on both sides is pretty questionable to begin with. And going to Rogier, going to Gordon Hayward, I think are both very strong options. Obviously, Cody Martin, a player that's still very, very affordable. And then Murray and Jacob Hurdle are both super consistent for the San Antonio Spurs, specifically for Jacob Hurdle. It's a great matchup for him. I mean, the Hornets are dead last in league for the most-fated points of life per game to opposing centers, 59.91. So looking at Jacob Hurdle, I think is a super solid option on tonight's slate, $6,800. Obviously, a player that's very, very affordable to roster. So those are certainly two of my favorite games to be targeting. Plenty of scoring should be happening in both of them, specifically Charlotte and San Antonio. Like I said, two teams in the top 10 of the league when it comes to offense base. And then Washington and Sacramento. If that game or those players are going to be going overlooked, I have interest there. I have interest in Alex Lynn. I wrote him up today on Numberfire.com as one of my favorite value plays on tonight's slate. Just seeing the minutes and more importantly, the starting lineup because Rashawn Holmes is still out with that eye injury. He's listed as doubtful. How about Cleveland and the Hawks attacking weak teams they're going against? Sure. I mean, Trey Young has been absolutely amazing, you know, especially in some of these recent games for the Hawks. Like the level of consistency he brings is like borderline unmatched for, you know, on a point per dollar basis. So absolutely going to Trey Young. I would also look to some of the value in that game. You know, I don't mind taking a few shares of TLC for the Atlanta Hawks just because he's going to be out there for a good amount of minutes. He's obviously been in the starting lineup in a number of these recent games. I think that's certainly fine. You know, I spoke about the Cavs a little bit earlier. So yeah, I'm on board the Cavs like grabbing for them. I think it's a bit much. I would certainly, I'm probably maxed out at three. That's just my personal preference of limiting teams to a number of players max per team to three. Obviously it changes depending on the value and the size of the slate. I think three is going to be the spot that I land tonight. The Cavs are looking good this year. You know, Mobley, if he doesn't start, he's listed as questionable. So if he doesn't start, there could be more value with either Kevin Love jumping in the starting lineup or yet Iosman. I think both of those are fine options. I still think Kevin loves a pretty solid option from, you know, coming off the bench from from the Cavaliers. Do you need anyone from Sac from Sacramento or Charlotte besides Alan? Who's I don't think there's anyone that's a must tonight. Like I think Gray sounds a great option. I think Kyle Lowry is a great option. I think that's Drew Holiday is a great option. I think so many of them are going to be in play. Norman Powell is also a solid option for the Portland Trailblazers. I've actually seen an increase in offensive usage and more importantly, plenty of shots with CJ McCullum out of the lineup. Like very, very clear difference from where he is right now to where he was before. Some of these games are in the low teens, barely getting to double digit point, double digit field goal attempts. Now he's in the, obviously the 20 is those the games without Damian Lillard. But if he's going to be sitting around 17 to 20 or so in most games, I'm certainly liking Norman Powell tonight against Memphis who is very, very average overall in terms of defense. They also play fast. Jaren Jackson on the other side is also a super solid option. $6,400 for for Jaren Jackson is a spot that I know will certainly be going. Yeah, Grayson Allen on nitro on twitch is saying, yeah, absolutely Grayson Allen tonight $4,000. I wrote him up today as one of my favorite overall value plays coming with a very strong projection. He's going to be out there for 30 plus minutes. They're missing a number of players from their rotation. And obviously with the tennis couple already ruled out and Chris Milton listed as questionable, the usage or the increasing usage can certainly be there for Grayson Allen. So Grayson Allen $4,000 going to Max Truss or Gabe Vincent for Miami also should be decently popular because they're, I think they're only going to have 10 players tonight. As of earlier, they won't have, they're missing a bunch. So only 10 players in their rotation for Miami. So Max Truss or Gabe Vincent, both players. I will certainly be targeting tonight. You could be looking to them. I want to say, I would say Truss is going to be in the starting. Gabe Vincent should be in the starting lineup. Certainly a player I'll be looking to slightly ahead of Max Truss just due to the hopefully more minutes overall. Kyle Larry again, very strong. Am I wrong? Hoping on PJ Tucker train pair with Yolkich. Listen, PJ Tucker had this game the other night that was, you know, very, very solid to two of these last three games, you know, 40 plus points. Again, this is a player I've spoken about before saying that I don't like love rostering PJ Tucker just because we've seen so many times, you know, him burn us in terms of production. If you've been playing NBA DFS for a few seasons. You know, maybe I have to start to change that because their rotation is just a little bit different. Well, I have some shares of PJ Tucker tonight. Yeah, I do most nights that he's expected to be popular. But I also limit it because I know that he also has a low floor at times. So going to PJ Tucker, I think is a, is a viable option because we want to lock in those minutes ultimately. That's what we're after. We're going after his minutes. You know, salary jumping up to nearly $6,000 is not something that I love, but I do understand that he will be a very strong minutes projection. And then, you know, you want to pair him off with Yolkich. I mean, getting Yolkich in your lineup at any time is never a bad decision. DJ is asking, how do you feel about Wayne Ellington, Kenridge Williams, Mati Stiball tonight in the Starring lineups? So Kenridge Williams is a player I would, that's the player I'd go to first out of that bunch if I have to choose. Wayne Ellington is fine. Mati Stiball is fine. You know, those players aren't primary shooters for their given teams. So just, we know that, you know, like Mati Stiball, you're hoping that he racks up, you know, the peripheral stats he can add in, you know, like six or eight points. He can certainly rack up some steals and blocks. Obviously, he's a very solid defender, but his ceiling can be limited at times just because we know the ball is going to be going elsewhere within the 76ers offense. So if I have to choose out of that group, like Kenridge Williams would be my number one option, probably followed by Mati Stiball then Wayne Ellington. They're all going to be in play. It just depends on how large you make your player pool, how you limit your exposure, your exposures to players, how many line-ups you're running ultimately. Like if you're running one lineup, I don't know if any of those players would make the cut for me personally. Like if you're running like literally one single lineup, I don't know if any of those players would be in play for me. I think that let's see the value like DJ Augustine, I think is a solid value option with the guard position. That's fine. Like I said, I'm big on going to Alex Lenton and I just think that the matchup against Washington is going to be so solid for Sacramento. Really, players on both sides in this game should be super viable. 226 over under, it's a two-point spread. Like that's everything we possibly want when it comes to NBA DFS. Jalen Brunson also going to be in the starting lineup, 30 plus minutes for him with Luca out. Very, very clear option. So I think that they're just stronger options around them. You know, not necessarily that those are bad options. It just, again, depends on how many lineups you're running, you know, how much exposure you're going to be having to each player. Let's see if there's any updated injury news because this is obviously always a revolving situation, none. You know, if Embiid is out, can we just be going straight back to Andre Drummond as the backup? Sure. I think that's a solid call we should be seeing for a good amount of people. It does change things overall at the center position. If you're prioritizing Drummond, if we do see Embiid ruled out and Embiid did go through a shoot around, but he is still listed as questionable. So keep that in mind. If we see Mobley ruled out for Cleveland, Mobley is also listed as questionable. I'll have even more interest in Jared Allen going up against Houston because this matchup also super favorable for anyone going up against Houston, you know, from game one of the season to right now to what we'll be seeing in March and April. It doesn't matter. We always want to be attacking Houston. So, you know, Mobley, even if it gets ruled out like I still think the Cavs will win that game, I'll just have a little bit more exposure to Jared Allen. Obviously a player that has been very, very consistent putting up double-doubles on a lot of these racing games. If that was the case, I guess I would also look to his some of his player props tonight. Like let's see what this line is at right now for Jared Allen. Let's see points, rebounds, assist Jared Allen, 32 and a half minus 106 on the over like that is that's not that bad with obviously that could potentially change if we see Mobley ruled in just look at his rebounds right now. Jared Allen is 12 and a half certainly high. He could get there. He could certainly get there with Christian Wood ruled out. That's not a bad spot. 12 and a half is certainly high though. I wish that was 10 and a half or 11 and a half, but that's a question for a different time. Graham on YouTube is asking is TLC or not your little worth a look tonight? Yeah, TLC has been in the starting lineup for Atlanta over the past few games just because they're dealing with a few injuries. The matchup against Orlando is obviously a solid one. We just have to know that these recent games are a clear snapshot of what his potential production could look like 30 plus minutes and less than 10 Fandal points is within his range of outcomes. But also 30 plus minutes and 25 or 30 Fandal points is also there. So that's a player I'd be looking to not so little. I do think is strong. Maybe it depends on the the injury news. If we get confirmation that Lillard is going to play. I mentioned this on the podcast that like there's a chance that Lillard gets ruled out. Obviously he's dealing with this core injury. He missed a few games. He came back through on the second night, but back to back like there's a chance. He could miss tonight's game. We obviously don't have that information and considering the Portland game is a West Coast game. I would look to TLC over Nassir little ahead of him just based on you know when the Atlanta game locks. So that's what it comes down to. I think that they're both fine options. Neither of them have a massive ceiling, but they're both good point per dollar plays given their salaries. Sal on YouTube is asking Deer and Fox as a pivot to Drew Holiday. Sure, you know, we look to the mid tier at specifically point guard tonight and between Drew Holiday. Kyle Lowry and Jalen Brunson all going to be popular. Right. All going to be popular. Not going to be a surprise to anyone. Right. I don't think that's a surprise or would be a surprise to anyone. So Pippets to them could be Deer and Fox. Ruzier still should be popular, but maybe Darius Garland, maybe Maxi, if we see him be ruled out like that's a great pivot away from Brunson. So yes, totally on board with going to Deer and Fox. Who's in a good match up a player that's in a game with a 226 over under with a two point spread going up against Washington's 226, 226, two points against Washington. They're not particularly strong on defense. They're, you know, middle, slightly better than league average, but Deer and Fox is going to be carrying a high usage rate, always taking plenty of field go attempts for the Sacramento Kings. That's a great pivot. Great toward and pivot get away from some of the chalk 20 plus field go attempts don't take in a good amount from downtown. He's never been a high volume three point shooter, but sure go to Deer and Fox as a pivot. Absolutely loving that call. If he's not going to be as popular and they can put up similar points. Why not take the player? That's just going to be less chalky. You think that's great. Sal is asking think Paul George will play tonight. I have no idea. I, you know, ultimately it's not like the easiest matchup in the world for him going up against Utah. He's missed a few games. I would love to know because that changes potential value where we get from the Clippers or just changes the composition of value overall. I don't think it's like a massive note on tonight's late. I think that the options around him at the forward positions or the guard position, depending on where you roster them are still solid. I think that Brandon Ingram and $8800 against Oklahoma City is always a solid option. So I'm not like my slate's not going to change too much if Paul George is being ruled out. Do I like his salary? $8900. Absolutely. If he was fully healthy and ready to go, you know, would I have more interest in him? Absolutely. He's $8900. But I don't think that this is like slate changing news because there's it's 11 game slate. Like we have plenty of other options. How do you stack Memphis, Utah and Denver tonight? Well, of those teams, I would love to get exposure to Yolkich, of course, when a player that has a high ceiling, a player that has a high floor as well in a great game environment. They're playing up in pace. Denver is 29th in the league in pace. Minnesota is what I say. They were seventh or fifth before click on it. They're fifth in the league in pace. So big pace up spot for Denver always going to Yolkich. Who else would you look to outside of that? Will Barton is listed as probable. Obviously a player that takes a good volume of shots for them. I would look to him next assuming that he is confirmed in the starting lineup. Then Monty Morse. I think both of those are solid options. Ty Jones, Desmond Bain have both been very good for Memphis, specifically Bain this year, especially when John Marant is out. But Jaren Jackson at $6400 is totally a player that I have a lot of interest in tonight. High volume shots every single night. Want to see him do a bit more when it comes to the peripheral stack category, right? Want to see him do a little bit more, you know, push towards those double doubles. He, you know, had been known to, you know, rack up on a little bit more of a consistent basis. So Jaren Jackson, I would say Bain, Jackson, Jones in that order from Memphis are the players that are targeting and then Utah tonight. We always can be going to Donovan Mitchell for that scoring upside. I obviously, you know, don't mind taking a few extra shares of a player like Bob Donovich when the majority of the shot attempts are coming from downtown really the ability to exceed value quickly. If he gets hot from downtown, it's strictly a tournament play because he kind of a low floor and isn't a high usage player within the Utah offense thoughts on Devin Vasell tonight. Devin Vasell for San Antonio should be one of the first players off the bench just because Lonnie Walker got ruled out. It I'm on board with him. I'm on board with this game overall. So it's not specifically about Devin Vasell. It's about getting players in this game with two teams in the top 10 of the league when it comes to offensive pace and a 226 overrunner. It's tied for the highest on the slate with a three point spread. So one possession game high over under two teams in the top 10 league offensive pace like that's everything we want. So whether it's the sell or whether would have been Lonnie Walker, you know, if you were to be healthy, he's obviously ruled out going to him going to Kelly Ubrey. Any of those kind of secondary players for the teams are are always an option for me. Like it's a high over under game. I'm never going to tell you not to target players from those from those types of games. Sal is saying number five projections are pretty accurate. Most nights. Yeah, like this is a system that's been worked on for years and years and years and that's constantly updated and changed and improved on all of those all those sorts of things. Sal is saying Anthony Edwards is $7,200 like yeah, Anthony Edwards is a player that's soda Anthony Edwards is a player that can have a very high ceiling. You know, will he be a bit of a priority for me tonight if we see D'Angelo Russell ruled out who's listed as questionable? Maybe I mean this game does have a strong over under. It is technically a pace down spot for Minnesota going up against Denver, but if the extra usage and extra shot attempts would be flowing to Anthony Edwards, one of the players on Minnesota if D'Angelo Russell is ruled out. I mean, he's a player that we know has a 50 60 point ceiling. It's a one possession game going up against Denver, two possession game going up against Denver, the 224 over under. Yeah, Anthony Edwards at $7,200. Savannah saying I want to try multiple double up entries tonight. Do you mean multiple lineups or putting in multiple entries with one line? Because if I like, I don't play cash games anymore, but when I did, it would just be the one cash game. I don't run out multiple cash games that are in double ups or head to heads or 50 50s whatever might have been. I just have would have the one cash game in all sports. That's how I do it. You because I don't want to be, you know, mixing that up. I would go to multiple lineups when it comes to tournaments like a three max or 20 max whatever that might be. But if it's a cash game lineup, I run or I used to run just one lineup and that would not change if I started playing cash again. It would just be the single lineup in terms of that. So tonight's late, a few player props that I took. I took the over on Deyunta Murray, his line, the over for points, rebounds and assists. I figured that line 32, 33, whatever was for Murray. Let me see. Let me check this real quick. Murray 34 and a half. I think I got it at 33 might have gotten up a little bit. So I took the over on Murray points, rebounds and assists. I took the over on Grayson Allen threes, which I believe was two and a half. Right. Grayson Allen threes for yeah, two and a half for Grayson Allen, just the extra shot volume for him given the injury situation for the box. He's already taken a good amount of threes on a nightly basis. He's hitting about two per game, but I'm hoping that obviously these games are when the box were fully healthy. But Ted Cumpo is out. Of course, Milton gets ruled out. That's, you know, an even stronger, you know, checking off the box for Grayson Allen. So he's already hitting threes at a consistent rate. Hopefully a few more shot attempts going his direction tonight will help him cash that over two and a half. Would you rather start a carousel vert or Josh Hart carousel vert? I would take him and that straight up head to head Jeff on YouTube is asking just higher usage. The match against the box. I think is good. The box are also they're the second worst team in the league or third worst team in the league. I think it's second worst. Yeah, second worst team elite for the most three point is allowed per game to their opponents. So go into carousel vert. I think there's some like sneaky scoring upside in this game. I think the what's this over under and I think this over under 216 maybe would it probably would have a little bit higher if we were seeing the box fully healthy. I think we certainly saw come down a little bit once we get some of some of this injury news. I think there's some scoring upside in this game. I think we could see a little bit of a back and forth nature between these two teams and carousel vert being a solid option for the Pacers is generally always on my radar. How should we prioritize teams playing on playing back to backs against teams on back to backs or playing on back to backs. So I don't think there's like too much of an issue just comes down to you know potential injury situations or rest. You know the example I'll use tonight again is Lillard like they played last night that game went to overtime against the Suns. The Suns 111 to 107 if I remember correctly and you know Lillard coming back from this injury. So you know there's a chance he could sit out tonight. Do we know that for a fact. No but it's reasonable to assume not only for him but for you know players across the league to sit out on a back to back. So when we're looking at teams in this situation we have to be looking at it like in two scenarios if Lillard plays what do we do and then if Lillard doesn't play who would who are we then prioritizing and that would be Norm Powell, Anthony Simons, Nasir Liddle etc etc. So that's the way I look at you know back to backs or just injury situations overall. It's the same thing like when IntentiCumpo was out the court for the Bucks we look to Chris Milton we look to Drew Holliday but with Middleton out we're looking to Drew Holliday very comfortably tonight. We're looking to Kyle Larry very comfortably tonight because Jimmy Baller and Bama DeBio are out for the heat. Chris Ups Porzingis over to assist tonight. I assume it means his line is sitting at one and a half. Porzingis let's see his recent production as of late. 325 I mean these it's obviously a very very close call. Yeah, I think that if the game stays close he should be in a spot to pick that up as long as it's not like heavily juiced. I mean let me just click on it to see what his line is at player assist for KP. Let's see. Porzingis over two and a half plus 122 I don't think that that's that's that bad. I think that's pretty solid that take the plus money. Take the plus money. I'm Porzingis. You hope the game stays super close. So he has the chance to get there. Spend up on go bear or buy low on Yaka Pertle and Alex Len. So spend up on go bear probably not the way I would go. If you're spending up at center I would ideally try to get to Yokech like that would be the ideal situation DJ on Facebook is asking like spend up at center to me that means Yokech or indeed if he does play go bear. I think is fine tonight but I would actually lean towards Yaka Pertle for the San Antonio Spurs because they're going up against the hornets who are hornets who are dead last in the league against centers and again this game one possession game 226 over under and both teams in the top 10 of the league in pace. So spending up I would actually say no go bear get up to Yokech if you can if you can't Yaka Pertle because this game environment is absolutely awesome against the Charlotte hornets. Yeah I got what you're saying Sal teams going against them. I meant yeah so if you want to if you want to go to Memphis tonight that's certainly a strong option we know that their their production you know can be high especially we get those three corners rolling against Portland a team that we know is not you know super strong on defense they haven't they're not this year they haven't been for however many seasons always getting these higher scoring games. So tonight Slate we need a few updates on the injury news front and then I think we should be good I think that this is going to be a good slate despite everything going on with all these teams missing players it should be a good high scoring slate. All right so that does it for this Q&A show I'll be back next week 4 p.m. on Wednesday taking more questions you can follow me on Twitter at DFS underscore Tom until next time good luck in your contest.