The NBA is BACK! And that means it’s time for some NBA DFS Picks for your fantasy basketball lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ve got you covered here at Awesemo.com. Adam ‘ShipMyMoney’ Scherer will release a daily article highlighting some of his favorite plays, free of charge. Let’s take a look at some top picks tonight, including James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
For Premium members, Eddie Fear will release his rankings every single day of the preseason, as well hosting a private YouTube video for premium members, breaking down the entire slate. Be sure to check out his content as it is very important to have the most up to the minute news possible as you finalize your lineups.
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NBA DFS Picks
James Harden/Russell Westbrook
Harden played 28 minutes in Houston’s most recent game while Westbrook played 25 minutes. It makes sense that we would see quality minutes from these two again as the Rockets try and figure out how to run their offense with two ball-dominant guards. Harden has a 35.7 percent usage percentage and 58.8 percent assist percentage in four games this preseason while Westbrook has a 32.0 percent usage percentage and 37.0 percent assist percentage in two games.
In the two games that they have both played, Harden has a 36.0 percent usage percentage and 50.0 percent assist percentage. Be sure to keep an eye out for news out of Houston regarding these two, but the Rockets have one more preseason game after this one, so my best guess is that we see at least one more game where Harden and Westbrook get significant run.
D’Angelo Russell
Russell sat out of Golden State’s last game, but he is expected back tonight. Stephen Curry will be resting for Golden State tonight, meaning the offense will run through Russell. There were four players on Golden State with a usage percentage greater than 22.0 percent last season and none of them will be playing tonight as Curry and Klay Thompson are sidelined and Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins are on different teams. Russell isn’t scared to shoot and should have no issues with trying to carry the offense tonight. Russell averaged 1.32 DraftKings points per minute with a 32.5 percent usage percentage and 44.3 percent assist percentage without either of Caris LeVert or Spencer Dinwiddie on the floor last season- which is a decent approximation of the lack of play-makers that Golden State will have around Russell tonight.
John Collins
Collins played 27 minutes in Atlanta’s most recent game and he is affordable at $5,900 on DraftKings and $7,600 on FanDuel. Collins averaged 1.19 DraftKings points per minute last season with a 23.7 percent usage percentage, 17.3 percent rebounding percentage and 10.1 percent assist percentage. He has a favorable matchup tonight against the Knicks who shouldn’t offer much resistance defensively. He’ll likely feature heavily in my NBA DFS lineups tonight.
R.J. Barrett
Barrett has played monster minutes for the Knicks this season- to the point that it makes me nervous because it makes very little sense for it to continue. That said, David Fizdale said after Barrett’s 35-minute performance against the Wizards that it is necessary for him to play huge minutes to be ready for the regular season so maybe it will continue. The Knicks are returning Dennis Smith, Jr. and Damyean Dotson to the rotation tonight so there are a couple of more available bodies that could steal minutes from Barrett. It is very important to keep an eye on news about the Knicks tonight because if Barrett continues seeing the playing time that he has so far this preseason he is a great value—especially in a pace-up spot against the Hawks.
Jaren Jackson, Jr.
Jackson disappointed in Memphis’s last game as he picked up six fouls in 19 minutes of action—a phrase that I will probably type more often than I would like this season. That said, Jackson still shouldn’t be close to minimum price given his talent level and his role on Memphis. He is only $4,300 on DraftKings and $3,500 on FanDuel and should be viewed as a great bounce-back candidate tonight. He averaged 1.07 DraftKings points per minute without Mike Conley, Marc Gasol or Jonas Valanciunas on the floor last season. Fire him up in your NBA DFS lineups tonight.