NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Expert Lineup Building Strategy

NBA DFS action on Tuesday, Jan. 12, locks at 7:00 p.m. EST on DraftKings and Yahoo with a six-game main slate. FanDuel is going with five games at 7:30 p.m. EST. Before you lock in your NBA DFS picks and favorite lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and SuperDraft, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS picks, including Domantas Sabonis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and more.

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NBA DFS Picks: Key Building Blocks | Jan. 12

Domantas Sabonis: Indiana Pacers at Golden State Warriors

DraftKings $9,300, FanDuel $9,200, Yahoo $43
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 26.7%, FanDuel 39.4% Yahoo 29.2%

This is a back-to-back, and it is also the second game of a five-tilt West Coast road trip for the Pacers in a seven-day span. The main reason I bring this up is that Domantas Sabonis played 40 minutes last night in a close loss to the Kings. This is an eminently winnable game against the Warriors, but just know if it gets out of hand, we may see Sabonis playing 32-34 minutes. There is also a decent chance that Victor Oladipo will be held out from playing on consecutive nights, which would help shift more opportunities to Sabonis while he is on the floor.

Sabonis has really come into his own, posting career highs across the board through the first 10 games of the season. He is averaging 37.8 minutes per game with 22.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 combined blocks/steals.

If the Miami – Philadelphia game is played, we will have plenty of value options for a stars-and-scrubs build. On FanDuel we could see Trey Lyles and/or Justin Holiday remain in the starting lineup for their respective teams, which gives us the salary relief to roll with Sabonis.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs

DraftKings $8,000, FanDuel $8,500, Yahoo $32
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 18.3%, FanDuel 23.1% Yahoo24.6%

In his last three games, we have seen the fantasy goodness that can be provided by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In these outings he has led the Thunder to three consecutive victories. During this stretch he is averaging 35.7 minutes, 25.7 points, 2.3 made 3-pointers, 7.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 3.0 combined blocks/steals. According to NBA WOWY via Addmorefunds.com, Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the team with a 27.1% usage rate and is doubling his assist rate from last season. This should be no surprise with Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams no longer with the Thunder.

The Spurs will be without DeMar DeRozan tonight. San Antonio is not a defensive quagmire anymore, as they are 10th highest in the league for defensive efficiency at 109.5 points allowed per 100 possessions. They are also 13th in pace at 102.8 possessions per 48 minutes.

Latest NBA DFS Content

NBA DFS Picks: Good Value

Damyean Dotson: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Utah Jazz

DraftKings $5,000, FanDuel $5,200, Yahoo $12
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings <1.0%, FanDuel <1.0% Yahoo <1.0%

For the second game in a row, Collin Sexton (ankle) was announced as the starter only to be a late scratch. In the three games that Damyean Dotson has started in the last week, he is averaging 37.8 minutes, 14.7 points, 1.7 3-pointers made, 2.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.3 combined blocks/steals. It is hard to trust Sexton at this point. Though he is supposedly close to playing, his backers have seen the rug pulled out from under them in each of the last two games.

If Sexton is ruled out, I will happily go back to Dotson. If Sexton is listed as starting again, I will not trust that news and I will want to be poised to put Dotson in some lineups. With the price coming up, it is a little tougher to start out with Dotson, though if we lose the Miami – Philadelphia game, Dotson is interesting even as the first guard off the bench with Darius Garland still out.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat

There is a good chance this game is postponed, as the Heat are incredibly thin right now. Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Avery Bradley, Maurice Harkless, K.Z. Okpala, Gabe Vincent and even Udonis Haslem are all in the health and safety protocol. That leaves Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Andre Iguodala and rookie Precious Achiuwa as the available regulars, assuming they continue to test negative for COVID-19. I think Chris Silva is on the active roster, but it may be a challenge for the Heat to have eight active players even with call-ups. I should add Kelly Olynyk is dealing with a groin injury, but he is not in the pandemic protocol at least.

Last night the 76erswere short-handed once again, though they at least had nine active players, and there is a chance Ben Simmons could return tonight as well. Keep tabs on the status of this game, as it is precarious at best right now and may be canceled this afternoon.

NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value and Strategy

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat

Wait a minute, wasn’t this game under the Good Value section? Why yes, dear reader it was, but that does not mean the players in this game are “safe” by any stretch. Last night’s starters Mike Scott and Danny Green played a combined 50 minutes and were 1-for-16 from the field, missing all 12 from behind the arc. They tallied just 4 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block. Joel Embiid played just 23 minutes and sat out the final 20 minutes of the game. Dakota Mathias was the only starter who was on the floor in the final frame as coach Doc Rivers emptied the bench midway through the third quarter, likely with an eye on another game tonight. This is just a reminder that nothing about DFS in during a global pandemic is secure.

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Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

Justin Holiday: IND at GSW: – $11
Danny Green: PHI at ATL – $11
Precious Achiuwa/Chris Silva: MIA at PHI – $10

SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks

Keldon Johnson: SAS at OKC – 1.90x multiplier
Malcolm Brogdon: IND at GSW- 1.45x multiplier
Stephen Curry: GSW vs IND – 1.20x multiplier

Final Thoughts

There are plenty of value options tonight but the pricing does not align across every site. Be sure to understand your preferred site’s pricing and scoring systems.

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Author

Eric MacPherson

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].