Monday was fun wasn’t it! Getting to watch the entire league go against each other with a lot of players blessing us with amazing performances; Reminded me of a royal rumble. It doesn’t stop there though, we have an amazing four-game slate ahead of us tonight where we’re going to see some of the NBA’s finest go up against each other. We’re going to make sure that you get the most of these games and by doing so, a little more in your pocket. 

Injury Report

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Tonight’s Games (EST)

(7:00 PM) Dallas Mavericks (-3.5) @ Washington Wizards (+3.5) Total: 209

PG: Luka Doncic v. Monte Morris

SG: Spencer Dinwiddie v. Corey Kispert

SF: Reggie Bullock v. Deni Avdija

PF: Dorian Finney-Smith v. Kyle Kuzma

C: Dwight Powell v. Kristaps Porzingis

(7:30 PM) Charlotte Hornets (+10.5) @ Miami Heat (-10.5) Total: 217

PG: Dennis Smith Jr. v. Kyle Lowry

SG: Terry Rozier v. Tyler Herro (Q)

SF: Kelly Oubre Jr. v. Jimmy Butler

PF: PJ Washington v. Caleb Martin (Q)

C: Mason Plumlee v. Bam Adebayo

(7:30 PM) Philadelphia 76ers (+1.5)  @ Atlanta Hawks (-1.5) Total: 222.5

PG: Tyrese Maxey v. Trae Young

SG: De’Anthony Melton v. Dejounte Murray

SF: Tobias Harris v. De’Andre Hunter

PF: P.J. Tucker v. John Collins

C: Joel Embiid v. Clint Capela

(8:00 PM) Portland Trail Blazers (+6.5) @ New Orleans Pelicans (-6.5) Total: 225.5

PG: Damian Lillard v. CJ McCollum

SG: Anfernee Simons v. Herb Jones

SF: Josh Hart v. Brandon Ingram

PF: Jerami Grant v. Zion Williamson

C: Jusuf Nurkic v. Jonas Valanciunas

Writers Picks: 

Dallas (-3.5)

Hornets (+10.5)

76ers (+1.5)

Pelicans (-6.5)

Tonight’s Props

Thrive Plays of the Day:

John Collins U8.5REBS+ASTS- Collins is great, just great. I feel like his name doesn’t get brought up as often as the rest of Atlanta’s roster but he is solid for everything it is worth. Now there’s a couple of reasons why I like him in this game and it has to do with his matchup and the amount of times he’s being utilized. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t the main guy getting boards for them but Atlanta is actually one of the better rebounding teams, #1 when it comes to contested rebounds, and overall consistent when it comes to crashing. Philadelphia is on the other side of the equation as they are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league so far, giving Collins a good chance to hit this line even though he’s been on the lower end of rebounds. I’m going to hope the law of averages are on our side today, as he averages this line already; It’s a great game to even everything out. 

Kristaps Porzingis U30.5PTS+REBS– Zingod! Against his former team, no Beal, kind of seems like the stars are aligning for him, but he’s going against the Mavericks and I don’t think this is the most ideal matchup for Kristaps to be a God. The Mavericks do really well against opposing centers and it has to do with their style of play on both sides of the court. They run the ball up a lot which tires out opposing big men and they also get attacked offensively by Luka and company from everywhere on the court. No Beal is the only thing that concerns me so I do think Porzingis does get close to this line, but don’t expect him to go over. 

Tyrese Maxey O24.5PTS+ASTS- It’s been nice to see what Maxey can do without Harden in the lineup. The young guard can perform against any team on any given day and I expect nothing less from him against the Hawks defense. Trae is no DPOY and will be coming off a back-to-back in a game where it looked like it took a lot out of him. Maxey can use his intangibles to his advantage against whatever Atlanta throws at him and averages alone gets the job done so as long as he keeps on trucking, this is an easy hit. 

Bam Adebayo U8.5REBS- Bam had a rough game crashing the boards against Portland but before that had a couple of games where he went for double-digits, something we don’t see often. Charlotte’s rebounding has improved as they are more aggressive when crashing, I don’t expect a lot of opportunities for Bam to get rebounds especially when a lot of their rebounding comes from the team as a whole and not just one player. I expect him to get close but no cigar, hit the under on this prop. 

DFS Pillar Plays

Damian Lillard

Position: PG

Salary: $9,700

It feels like it’s Dame time, but it’s contingent! Let’s keep it simple, the Pelicans give up way too many points to guards and Damian is good at what he does. Now here comes the fun part; Damian is prime for taking a night off especially after coming off an injury, if they do sit Lillard, get Afernee Simons into your lineup at $8,100, he’s a walking bucket and the leader of the team when Lillard is out. If Lillard is in, he’s a nice play projected to be guarded by CJ McCollum, his former teammate. I can smell a nice game from Dame, it’s been too long since we’ve seen it. If you have extra cash laying on you later in your lineups, trot Anfernee in there as well, the Pelicans can’t defend the guard position. 

Tobias Harris

Position: SF

Salary: $7,100

One thing I don’t see enough is love for J.Cole, I mean Tobias Harris. He’s quietly been on a nice roll of games with Harden out, taking a few more shots, more active in the passing game, crashing a little bit more of those boards that Philly needs. $7,100 is a great price to pay for his caliber and ability to do it all. Does it help that Atlanta lets up a lot of points to forwards, yes, so I’m betting on him. 

Jonas Valanciunas 

Position: C

Salary: $7,000

I don’t think he’s been this cheap in a long time but he’s out there playing some of the best basketball he can play. There’s a chance that Nurkic doesn’t play this game which means the matchup gets easier for guys like him. Even if Nurkic plays, I’ve seen enough from Jonas to believe in his success. $7,000 is just way too low for him to not be a pick up. A great matchup in Portland, excessive opportunity to perform, and his ability to stay consistent are all the right reasons to make sure he’s in your lineup. 

DFS Value Plays (<$5,000 Salary)

Rui Hachimura 

Position: PF

Salary: $4,100

Rui has been looking very nice while taking more shots in the offense with Beal out and I love it. I’ve been on the Rui train for such a long time and I love that he gets his opportunity and you should see him keeping up this kind of play for a while. $4,100 is a great price for his production and I expect him to keep trucking along. 

Jordan Goodwin 

Position: PG/SG

Salary: $4,700

If it ain’t broke. The Wizards are going to continue to give Jordan more than 20 minutes and that’s all he needs to exceed his value. Dallas doesn’t defend the wing as well as they should and I think Washington is going to do what they can to attack Dallas’ weakness on defense to keep up with them on offense; Jordan will get his minutes with Beal out again, don’t fix it. 

Gabe Vincent

Position: PG

Salary: $4,400

I’ve found myself watching a lot of Miami Heat basketball and I’ve gotten to see Mr. Vincent playing like the stud he is and I love it. It looks like Miami loves it, too and when he’s on fire, there’s no stopping him. The cool thing about Gabe being on fire as of late is that he usually keeps it up for a while until he slowly starts declining in production but this is not the game that it happens, I think we can see him there for a bit longer, and I’ll be along for the ride.*

*Y’all should know what’s up when you see my footnotes, I’m about to talk about some real stuff. I feel like this slate is so weird; Five of the eight teams are on back-to-backs. Portland could rest Lillard, so I mentioned to go with Anfrenee, but there’s other situations that I also like. To add to that Eubanks ($4,300) will get you your value if Nurkic is out again and Justise Winslow ($4,600) can also get more run if Jerami Grant is out again and Lillard sits.. If you’re looking for more value, try Will Barton ($4,100.) If you want to go cheaper, take a stab at Maxi Kleber (3,400.)