NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Expert Lineup Building Strategy

NBA DFS action on Tuesday, Jan. 19, locks at 9:00 p.m. EST with a two-game main slate. 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 Nikola Jokic, Steven Adams and more.

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NBA DFS Picks: Key Building Blocks | Jan. 19

Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

DraftKings $11,000, FanDuel $11,500, Yahoo $53
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 62.5%, FanDuel 66.1% Yahoo 72.0%

On the smaller slates or sub-slates, you have heard the mantra that raw points matter. This is very true, but it also means these players are likely to be wildly popular. Tonight we have two games tipping off at 9:00 p.m. EST, so the DFS echo chamber will have two extra hours for over-analysis and group think to set in and take hold.

Sunday against the Jazz Nikola Jokic was masterful, with 35 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and three combined blocks/steals. On the season he has topped 50 DraftKings points in 10 of 13 games. In simpler terms he is a center who is averaging a triple-double while leading the league in assists.

This is resulting with Jokic as by far the most spendy option of today’s player pool, outpacing the next option on the list by 21% on DraftKings, 34% on FanDuel and 43% on Yahoo. This decision point heavily influences the rest of our roster construction. Al Horford is out, so that leaves Darius Bazley, Mike Muscala and Isaiah Roby — who has nine career NBA games — to guard Jokic

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NBA DFS Picks: Good Value

Steven Adams: New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz

DraftKings $6,100, FanDuel $5,800, Yahoo $19
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 23.7%, FanDuel 11.8% Yahoo 24.6%

On a two-game slate, there is incredible overlap and thus really is no good value in the traditional DFS sense. So let’s look at a potential good leverage play in Steven Adams. Though this is his first season with the Pelicans, Adams is no stranger to doing battle with Rudy Gobert. In their last seven matchups, the New Zealander has topped 29+= FanDuel points in all but one outing, and in that game he had an awful shooting night, making just one of eight field goal attempts.

Though it is no predictor for tonight, it is good to see that in these games he averaged 33:08 minutes, 13.6 points, 9.9 rebounds 1.7 assists and 2.9 combined blocks/steals. Currently the Awesemo projections have Jokic with 56.8 FanDuel points and Adams with 29.5. This becomes an intriguing decision when looking at Adams, who has half the price tag of Jokic.

NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value and Strategy

Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson: Utah Jazz vs. New Orleans Pelicans

This duo depends on the health of Joe Ingles. If the Australian is playing, then this will jumble the recent Jazz rotation that we have seen during his three game absence. Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson each see a 10-12% boost in their per-minute fantasy productions when Ingles is off the court compared to when they share the court. Clarkson is also impacted, as he has been seeing 3-4 more minutes per game with Ingles on the sideline. If Ingles plays, this duo has added risk of disappointing. If he remains out, we can look to both players as good plays. Even if Ingles is limited and plays 15-20 minutes, that is enough to upset the applecart on a two-game slate.

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Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

Isaiah Roby: OKC vs. DEN – $10
JaMychal Green: DEN at OKC – $10
Mike Muscala: OKC vs. DEN – $10

SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: DEN at OKC – 1.30x multiplier
Brandon Ingram: NOP at UTA – 1.35x multiplier
Zion Williamson: NOP at UTA – 1.40x multiplier

Final Thoughts

Tonight is going to be a very different slate from what we are used to seeing. Be smart with your bankroll, and remember that if you are not a fan of small slate, you can always take tonight off and prepare for tomorrow’s 10-gamer.

Be sure to into the Awesemo NBA Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock show beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST for all of your up-to-date information and analysis.

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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].