Daily Fantasy Basketball: DraftKings Cheat Sheet – March 17

Blake Griffin

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:
-$80,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $5,000
– Only $3 to enter (FREE with first deposit)
– Top 6,155 finishing positions are paid.​
– Starts tonight at 7:30 PM EST
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 8 players
– Roster Format: 1 PG, 1 SG, 1 SF, 1 PF, 1 C, 1 G, 1 F, 1 Utility

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

Elfrid Payton, ORL $6,200

Alexey Shved, NYK $6,200

Chris Paul, LAC $9,700 (GPP-Only)

Tony Parker, SAS $6,600 (GPP-Only)

Cheap Plays:

Beno Udrih, MEM $3,800

Shooting Guard

James Harden, HOU $10,800

Victor Oladipo, ORL $7,700

Khris Middleton, MIL $6,800

Danny Green, SAS $5,600 (GPP-Only)

Cheap Plays:

Marco Belinelli, SAS $3,200

Small Forward

Tobias Harris, ORL $6,900

Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL $6,900 (GPP-Only)

Trevor Ariza, HOU $5,800

Cheap Plays:

Tony Allen, MEM $4,200

Power Forward

Anthony Davis, NOP $11,400 (GPP-Only)

Terrence Jones, HOU $7,000

Donatas Motiejunas, HOU $5,200

Blake Griffin, LAC $9,000 (GPP-Only)

Zach Randolph, MEM $7,200 (GPP-Only)

Cheap Plays:

Boris Diaw, SAS $3,500 (GPP-Only)

Anthony Tolliver, DET $3,100

Center

Nikola Vucevic, ORL $8,300

Andre Drummond, DET $7,500

Marc Gasol, MEM $7,400 (GPP-Only)

Cheap Plays:

Tiago Splitter, SAS $3,600

Kosta Koufos, MEM $3,100 (GPP-Only)

Notes

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

– Be sure to keep up with inactives here.

– Players resting tonight: Greg Monroe

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