Welcome to a happy Friday edition of my DraftKings NBA DFS Tournament Core article. This article is designed to give you my core of players that I will build my tournament rosters around tonight.
It is a tropical -2 degrees Fahrenheit here in the frozen Wisconsin tundra. Just how we like it here in the FlurrySports world! I think the only thing that gets to us Wisconsinites when it gets this cold is that we cannot use the snowbank as an extra beer refrigerator. Let’s get into some hot targets tonight that I will be building my DraftKings NBA GPP rosters around.
DraftKings NBA DFS Core Plays | Feb. 12
Russell Westbrook (PG – $9,000)
No Bradley Beal for the Washington Wizards tonight, and this means we get every opportunity to see vintage Russ. This guy can fill up the stat sheet and he is severely underpriced, with Beal missing tonight’s game with the Knicks. To make matters even more enticing, the Knicks are -2.5 point favorites. For you stat junkies out there, Russell Westbrook has an eye-popping 39.7% usage rate and 1.59 fantasy points per minute with Beal off the court. Lock and load Russ tonight with his high floor and massive upside for the price tag.
Hamidou Diallo (SG/SF – $7,000)
Keeping with the theme of attacking injuries, the Thunder will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for tonight’s track meet with the Denver Nuggets. This is a great pace spot for Hamidou Diallo in which he has played 38+ minutes in back-to-back games. With the Oklahoma Thunder players who are out tonight off the court, Diallo owns a 24.9% usage rate and is putting up 38.95 DK points/36 minutes. I feel confident in his NBA DFS upside as the offense should funnel through the University of Kentucky product tonight.
Payton Pritchard (PG – $3800)
Payton Pritchard should be the first body off the bench tonight (if he doesn’t start). He should have an implied floor of 20 minutes and is averaging 0.88 fantasy points per minute with Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart off the court. He’ll likely get some time on the court without Jaylen Brown as well so in that span he’s seen his FPPM rise to 0.97 FPPM. This is definitely a risky play but this kid can snipe from beyond the arc. He’s just what we want in our lineups to help offset some of the chalkier plays in Westbrook and Diallo.
Isaiah Stewart (C – $3100)
The Pistons will be without the likes of Blake Griffin, Mason Plumlee, Jalil Okafor, Killian Hayes, Sekou Doumbouya and Frank Jackson tonight. Last night in Plumlee’s absence, Stewart played over 31 minutes and put up 33.25 DraftKings points for 10.7x value. This is an easy lock and load play at near minimum price. I also wouldn’t blame you for pairing him with Shaddiq Bey, who should step in and play at least 25 minutes with Griffin likely resting. He’s another solid value on a slate where we will likely need it to cram in some studs from the eleven game fiesta.
If you use this core of players, it will give you an average of $6,775 per player for your remaining roster spots. It should give you enough wiggle room to go in almost any direction in the mid-tier.
If you have not followed me on twitter yet, please do so. My handle is @NickSteigDFS. As a disclaimer, FlurrySports nor myself are responsible for these player recommendations failing. It is merely meant to give you a starting point and show you what my lineups will be based from. As you know, news can hit hard in the NBA so please feel free to blow up my twitter inbox with questions. Stay warm and may the DFS Gods rule in your favor!
