Daily Fantasy Basketball: DraftKings Cheat Sheet – February 25

Jimmy Butler

Daily Fantasy Basketball is in full swing, which means each day XN Sports will have a column detailing advised plays and lineups for the remainder of the NBA season. For those familiar with DraftKings, their daily fantasy basketball is formatted differently this season. There is no multi-position eligibility, which makes it a bit harder to set your lineup.

For those unfamiliar with DraftKings, you are given $50,000 in cap space to select a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center, a guard, a forward, and a utility player. There are no points deducted for missed shots, which changes the strategy from other sites. To read the full scoring, click here. Keep in mind that a double-double awards a bonus, which can be the difference between cashing in and winning nothing.

Generally, the goal for value is at five times a player’s salary, plus five points. That brings a lineup to 290 fantasy points, which will cash each day.

Give DraftKings a shot, as there will be a few freeroll opportunities each night in Daily Fantasy Basketball. Click here to play.

Tonight’s featured contest:
Details (Basketball)
-$100,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $10,000.
– $3 entry fee.
– Top 7,850 finishing positions are paid.​
– Starts tonight at 7:00 PM EST.
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 9 spots. 8 players.
– Roster Format: 1 PG, 1 SG, 1 SF, 1 PF, 1 C, 1 G, 1 F, 1 Utility.
– First time depositors at DraftKings receive a 100% bonus up to $600.

Remember, when you sign-up on DraftKings, use the promo code: XN.

Each position will have a few guys that we like for each night, ranked from top to bottom in terms of value. To find these players, tools like usage rate, defense vs. position, injuries, minutes, and more are used.

(GPP-only play) – Means that these players are risk/reward. Play them only in tournaments, not cash games.

Be sure to read the notes at the bottom of this column, as it details things you do not want to miss.

There is a lot of news that will affect lineups tonight, stay informed before tip. To stay informed, use this for up to date injury news.

Point Guard

Mo Williams, CHA $5,600

Isaiah Thomas, BOS $5,800

Tyreke Evans, NOP $8,100

Ricky Rubio, MIN $7,000

Goran Dragic, MIA $6,300

Cheap Plays:

Aaron Brooks, CHI $3,400

Norris Cole, NOP $3,500 (GPP-Only)

Isaiah Canaan, PHI $3,500 (GPP-Only)

Shooting Guard

Jimmy Butler, CHI $7,700

Avery Bradley, BOS $5,500

Eric Bledsoe, PHX $7,900

Khris Middleton, MIL $6,400

Eric Gordon, NOP $6,000

Jamal Crawford, LAC $5,800

Cheap Plays:

O.J. Mayo, MIL $4,400 (GPP-Only)

Elijah Millsap, UTA $3,800

Rasual Butler, WAS $3,300 (GPP-Only)

Will Barton, DEN $3,000 (GPP-Only)

Small Forward

Gordon Hayward, UTA $7,700

Danilo Gallinari, DEN $5,000 (GPP-Only)

Trevor Ariza, HOU $5,800

Cheap Plays:

Omri Casspi, SAC $3,700

Power Forward

Derrick Favors, UTA $7,200

Terrence Jones, HOU $5,700

Nerlens Noel, PHI $5,900

Cheap Plays:

Andrea Bargnani, NYK $3,400 (GPP-Only)

Center

DeAndre Jordan, LAC $8,800

Alex Len, PHX $4,900

Hassan Whiteside, MIA $7,800

Rudy Gobert, UTA $5,800

Nikola Pekovic, MIN $6,000

Cheap Plays:

Alexis Ajinca, NOP $4,300 (GPP-Only)

Notes (important)

James Harden has a wretched history against the Clippers, be weary of using him in cash.

Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, Wilson Chandler, Derrick Rose, Chris Bosh, and Nick Young are all out or doubtful for tonight.

– Houston/Clippers and Phoenix/Denver have the highest over/unders tonight.

– Do not forget to play the $3 contest, which can be found here.

If you have any questions or concerns leading to tip, let me know on Twitter @JoshCollacchi.

*Keep an eye on the inactives, as things in the NBA change at the last second. Good luck tonight.

author avatar
Josh Collacchi
In addition to writing here at XNSports, my fantasy content can be seen at Pro Football Focus Fantasy, eDraft, and Project Roto. Member of the FSWA and the FWAA and can be reached on Twitter @JoshCollacchi