This week, my DFS lineup strategy article will focus on lineup construction for a 20 entry maximum NBA contest on Draftkings. The contest I have selected will feature a 12 game NBA main Draftkings Classic slate. Once I have completed my detailed process of constructing 20 lineups, I will enter 20 lineups in a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) contest.
In my opinion, the NBA is the most volatile, from a statistical variance standpoint, relative to the other three major sports (NFL, MLB, NHL) Having stated that, I will be using the ASL optimizer to assist me in my lineup construction in an effort to better streamline my DFS process due to that increased statistical variance I just noted.
Before we discuss my DFS strategy for a multiple game NBA slate let's take a brief look at the rules for a Draftkings Classic contest.
The DFS contestant will be tasked with constructing lineups consisting of eight players from the player pool provided: 1 PG, 1 SG, 1 SF, 1 PF, 1 Center, 1 G (PG, SG), 1 F (SF, PF) and 1 Utility (PG, SG, SF, PF, C).
In salary cap contests, participants will create a lineup by selecting players listed in the Player Pool. Each player listed has an assigned salary and a valid lineup must not exceed the salary cap of $50,000.
Lineups must include players from at least two different NBA games. These are the basic rules. Additional rules for the Draftkings NBA Classic are available on the Draftkings website.
Now that we have reviewed the rules for the Draftkings NBA Classic contest, let's shift our attention to my first step in the DFS multiple lineup construction process by accessing the ASL optimizer. In the image below, you will see the main screen of the ASL optimizer.
The image above illustrates the total projected fantasy point totals for all position players that are eligible for the contest. For me, I am looking to ascertain who the highest projected fantasy point scorers are at each specific position players (PG, SG, SF, PF, C).
The image above indicates that Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Joel Embiid are the top three projected fantasy players (regardless of position) on the Draftkings slate. Of the three players just mentioned, I like Doncic and Jokic as my core options. For that reason, I want to ensure that I have appropriate exposure to both Jokic and Doncic in my 20 lineups.
How do I address ensuring that I have enough exposure to Luka and Nikola? I do so by accessing the Set Pro Options tab. The image I presented earlier illustrates that the Set Pro Options Tab is on the top left-hand side. Once I have accessed the Set Pro Options option I am presented with the following:
The illustration above notes Jokic and Doncic. The right column advises the user what the current overall projected ownership percentage is for the contest. In this instance, I wanted to ensure that I have at least 40% of Jokic and Doncic in my lineups. For this slate, I will not concern myself with my exposure to other players. I will let the ASL optimizer do the rest. *Make sure to hit save at the bottom of the Set Pro Options when finished.
Finally, now that I have entered the data, I request the ASL optimizer to provide 20 lineups. The ASL optimizer allows a user to enter a large number of lineups (up to 150) at one time with ease via a CSV. In this instance, I obtained the 20 lineups via a CSV and upload to the Draftkings site.
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Well, the results are in! How did I do? I entered 20 lineups in a large field Draftkings GPP. The image below notes that 4,756 entries were entered into this contest.
Next up, let’s take a look at my best overall lineup which finished 119th out of 4,756 entries.
We can see from the lineup illustrated above that I was right about Jokic as he compiled an impressive 79 fantasy points. Finally, let’s look at my 20 lineups in total in the next image.
For further clarity, I entered a dime contest using 20 entries at a total cost of only $2.00. The contest had a winning prize of $100. I was close in that regard. My lineup finished rather high in the field.
Although I did not win the top prize in this large field contest, I am encouraged that my process is working and my overall result was slightly cashflow positive, which keeps my bankroll ready for next week, and another opportunity to score higher.
Until next time, good luck!
