A key to picking the right player is finding players who have favorable matchups. Matchups are generally considered good or bad based on three components: the strength of the defense they are facing, particularly at the position in question (DvP), the expected number of points to be scored in the game (implied team total), and the expected closeness of the game (spread), as games that are no longer competitive will rarely have fantasy relevant players on the floor.

DvP, or defense versus position, shows the opposing team's rank against the position of the player in question. If Chris Paul is going up against the Lakers, and the Lakers rank 30th in PG DvP, that is an extremely favorable matchup.

Spread is the rank for the expected margin of victory or loss for each team, according to Vegas. The higher the rank, the closer the game is projected to be. For daily fantasy, spreads closer to 0 are best because it means a closer game, a lower chance of a blowout (which can mean teams resting players), and a higher chance of overtime.

Total is the rank for the expected points scored for each player's individual team, based on the spread and over/under for that game. The higher the rank, the higher scoring we expect the game to be.

Composite combines all three of these elements into one matchup rating. The higher the composite, the better the matchup.