NBA Daily Fantasy Picks: Optimizer & Ownership Projections for DraftKings & FanDuel

There is a mid-sized five-game NBA fantasy slate tonight. With that, NBA DFS injury news will be a big part of tonight’s process. Be sure to check the Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page to see who is in, who is out and who is starting as news breaks, and look at the NBA DFS rankings and projections for both DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

NBA Daily Fantasy Picks: Awesemo Grades | Dec. 21

*Grades are ordered DraftKings, FanDuel. Initial grade indicates a player’s strength of output, with the value grade indicating their strength as a play in relation to their salary.

SF Evan Fournier — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

The Knicks could be short-handed once again tonight. Immanuel Quickly and Miles McBride are already ruled out due to COVID. R.J. Barrett and Quentin Grimes are questionable to return from COVID, while Derrick Rose is questionable to return from an ankle injury. No matter the lineup, Evan Fournier has the opportunity to get hot against a bad Pistons team, as this matchup is the second easiest at his position. Fournier also has a tendency to break down the floodgates after he pours in a couple of long shots in a row.

SG Malik Beasley — Grades: C, C | Values: A, B

The Timberwolves are down a couple of key players in their backcourt. Anthony Edwards and Patrick Beverley are both out, which means Malik Beasley will slide into the starting lineup and play more minutes. Awesemo projects him to play well over 30 minutes once again. He is going to put up shots in bunches tonight. He has started the past two games, resulting in him averaging 15.5 shot attempts, 15 points, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals. Look for him to keep it going against Dallas tonight.

C Omer Yurtseven — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

The list of inactive players for the Heat continues to grow, with P.J. Tucker now sidelined with a knee injury. Omer Yurtseven has played at least 18 minutes in three of his past four games, and his role should only continue to grow tonight. Over these four games, Yurtseven has averaged 6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 defensive stats in 17.8 minutes. He is projected to play 24.4 minutes tonight. Awesemo’s projections list Yurtseven as the top overall value play on DraftKings tonight and the third-best value play on FanDuel.

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PG Kemba Walker — Grades: C, C | Values: B, B

The Knicks were forced to play Kemba Walker last game due to the injuries and COVID cases listed above. He responded by scoring 29 points. Facing the Pistons tonight, it would be incredibly foolish to sit him, regardless of who is active. The Knicks do not think Walker improves their team by being in the rotation, but letting him beat up on Detroit and string two solid performances together will only improve his trade value. Awesemo projects Walker to play nearly 28 minutes tonight.

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Author

Zach Brunner

Zach Brunner is the founder of FlurrySports and a featured sports betting and fantasy sports expert for numerous outlets. With an education in business, coaching and history education, he has taken a little bit from all of his experiences to give him a well-rounded, unique point of view in the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter @FantasyFlurry to keep up with other things he is doing.