Top leverage plays for NBA main slate on August 3rd

We’ve got five games on tap for DraftKings’ main slate in the NBA on this fine Monday, August 3rd the year 2020. We’ve got lock pushed back to 4:00 p.m. ET, so it gives us a bit of time to consume any news that comes out beforehand. When consider lineup construction for high-entry GPPs on DK, you’re going to need a few leverage plays to differentiate your lineup from the pack. Here are some spots to take advantage of for Monday.

LeBron James vs. UTA ($10,700)

So you’re probably going “There’s no way LeBron goes underowned on this slate” and you’re right. He’s going to have ownership. It’s just not going to be in the 30-40% range, it’ll fall more in the 20-25% range. Perhaps even lower. If that’s the case, given the type of ceiling LeBron has, I think he makes for an interesting tournament play. The Lakers haven’t looked good in two games in the bubble. James has underperformed based on his salary, though his usage is still very high and the minutes are obviously there. This sounds a lot like positive regression in a matchup he can exploit.

Tobias Harris ($8,600) vs. SAS

The Sixers are in a good spot against the Spurs on the second of a back-to-back. San Antonio really has no size with LaMarcus Aldridge out and hasn’t really played a team like Philly yet. I think a lot of lineups will load up on Joel Embiid, which I’m fine with. Embiid is underpriced at $10,300 in my eyes anyway. Ben Simmons ($9,100) should also get some ownership. The guy people are ignoring is Harris, who is probably a bit too expensive.

Harris scored 30 points in the Sixers’ loss to the Pacers on Saturday. His usage was 31.9%, which is pretty eye-opening. That game didn’t even go to OT, it was just a track meet. If this is the new style the Sixers are going to play, get me some Harris shares Monday.

JaKarr Sampson vs. WAS ($3,500)

So as of now, we don’t know the status of Malcolm Brogdon and Victor Oladipo for the Pacers. If both players are out for Indy, we’re going to see a lot of ownership headed that way. If that’s the case, Sampson isn’t a bad leverage play for someone who should be sub-3% owned and in a great matchup.

Sampson played almost 20:00 in the opener vs. the Sixers, which was a close game throughout. He managed 15.5 DKFP, which was good for over 5x value at min-price on that slate. He’s bumped up a bit, but would still come close to 5x at this price and that production anyway. Sampson had six rebounds against a team with Embiid, Simmons and Al Horford down low. I’d like to think Sampson can grab a few boards against the Wizards.