DraftKings & FanDuel NBA Daily Fantasy Picks Based on Awesemo Grades & Values | Friday, 1/22

For Friday night, we get back to a full slate of basketball with 11 games on the schedule, and below are some of my favorite NBA daily fantasy picks for both FanDuel and DraftKings based on Awesemo’s grades and values.

[CONOR]

[SportsbookAffiliates]

NBA Daily Fantasy Picks: Awesemo Grades | Jan. 22

Center: DeMarcus Cousins

DraftKings Grades: B, Values: A

FanDuel Grades: B, Values: A

With Christian Wood (ankle) officially out, Cousins will enter the Rockets’ starting five for the second time this season. In the first game that Wood sat (two weeks ago against the Pacers), Cousins collected 40 DraftKings points in only 23 minutes of action as the Rockets’ replacement starting center. Since signing with Houston, Cousins has been a monster on a point-per-minute basis, providing 1.4 DraftKings points per minute. Plus, in addition to Wood, John Wall (knee) will miss his fifth consecutive game.

The sample is small, but when James Harden, Wall and Wood have been off the court, Cousins has seen his usage increase 2.6% and his assist rate jump a team-high 13.3%. The Rockets desperately need his offense tonight, and Cousins couldn’t ask for a better matchup than this one with the Pistons. Up until this point of 2020-21, no defense in basketball has given up more DraftKings points per game to opposing centers. Just this past Wednesday, we saw Hawks’ center Clint Capela (below) record a mammoth double-double of 27 points and 26 rebounds against this Detroit defense (76 DraftKings points). Obviously we can’t expect this type of output from Cousins, but this is clear evidence of how poor this Pistons’ interior defense really is, and the value the veteran presents tonight is just too good to ignore. By a wide margin, Cousins is the best point-per-dollar value of this full slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel, via Awesemo’s projections.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings 83.9%, FanDuel 77.3%


Latest NBA DFS Content


Shooting Guard: Eric Gordon

DraftKings Grades: B, Values: B

FanDuel Grades: C, Values: A

Following the blockbuster deal that sent Harden to Brooklyn, Gordon has started at shooting guard for Houston and produced 29.5 DraftKings points per game. He has posted a 25.2% usage rate with Wall absent in these last two, and that number should grow even further tonight with Wood also missing from this offense. Albeit only about a game’s size worth of data, Gordon has garnered a 33.7% usage rate and contributed 1.15 DraftKings points per minute sans Wall, Harden and Wood this season.

The Pistons rank 25th in defensive efficiency, and they struggle containing long range shooters like Gordon. This season their opponents are making the seventh-most 3-pointers per game at the fourth-highest percentage in the NBA. His price on both sites has yet to adjust to Gordon’s recent workload, and he should return over 30 fantasy points against the Pistons.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings 17.9%, FanDuel 24.1%

Center: Clint Capela

DraftKings Grades: A, Values: B

FanDuel Grades: A, Values: C

Over the last week, Capela has been of the most productive players in the league. In his last three starts, he is averaging an outstanding 1.6 DraftKings points per minute with a 23.6% usage rate. In his previous five, the center was only supplying 1.1 DraftKings points per minute and handling a modest 16% usage rate. The absences of Danilo Gallinari (out, ankle) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (out, knee) have certainly been a factor, but just from an eye test, Capela has looked much healthier than he did to open the season.

Along with the impressive play of Trae Young, Capela’s improvements have helped the Hawks win two straight games. This is their first winning streak of the season, and this Atlanta coaching staff should rely on Capela again tonight when they face the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns (COVID-19) is officially out for Minnesota, and their defense is yielding the fourth-most rebounds and second- most points in the paint per game this season. This matchup sports the second highest over/under of this 11-game slate (225 points), and the recent increases in Capela’s DFS salaries and the depth of the center position should keep his ownership in check tonight.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings 6.7%, FanDuel 1.0%

Join STOKASTIC+ today!
Use accurate data and advanced tools crafted by the #1 DFS player.

Point Guard: Kyrie Irving

DraftKings Grades: A, Values: B

FanDuel Grades: A, Values: A

After seeing 50 minutes of work in Wednesday’s double overtime loss to the Cavs, Durant (Achilles) will sit out Friday’s rematch with Cleveland. This creates an ample opportunity for both Harden and Irving tonight, and the latter guard is particularly underpriced for this situation. When Durant and Caris LeVert have been off the floor this year, Irving has taken on a team-high 40.4% usage rate. Even with Harden in the lineup Wednesday, Irving started at point guard and received a larger usage rate than the former MVP.

Make no mistake; Harden is a tremendous play tonight, and rostering the two guards together is absolutely viable, but the point I’m trying to make is that Irving’s usage will be very similar, if not higher, at a much lower cost. We can safely project a usage rate north of 30% for the point guard, and in the six contests he has surpassed this level this season, Irving is scoring 51.5 DraftKings points per game. Add in the revenge factor against the Cavs and that club’s recent struggles with defending point guards (fourth-most DraftKings points per game to point guards in last five), and Irving is a terrific high spend on Friday.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings 4.4%, FanDuel 4.4%


Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

Looking for more NBA daily fantasy picks content? We have loads of NBA daily fantasy picks articles, data, DraftKings and FanDuel cheat sheets and more on the Awesemo NBA home page. Just click HERE.

Author

Stokastic +

Premium Data and Tools
PREMIUM TOOLS
Lineup Generator
Stokastic Sims MLB
PREMIUM DATA
Projections
Top Stack %s
MLB Data Central
FREE DATA
SoRare MLB Rankings
DraftKings Night Owl
FANTASY CRUNCHER (ADD-ON)
MLB Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
MLB Discord Server
PREMIUM DATA
Projections
Ownership Projections
PREMIUM TOOLS
Fantasy Cruncher (ADD-ON)
NHL Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
NHL Discord Server
PREMIUM TOOLS
Lineup Generator
Stokastic Sims PGA
PREMIUM DATA
Ownership Projections
Top Golfers Tool
PGA Tournament Models
FANTASY CRUNCHER (ADD-ON)
PGA Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
PGA Discord Server
Ownership Projections
Top Drivers Tool
NASCAR Discord Server
NASCAR Fantasy Cruncher
USFL Projections
USFL Discord Server
Ownership Projections
Top Fighters Tool
MMA Discord Server
MMA Fantasy Cruncher
NFL Betting Tools
Stokastic Discord Server
Best Ball
Best Ball Rankings
Best Ball Stat Projections
Stokastic Discord Server
Season Long Fantasy (Coming Soon)

DFS Winners from the Stokastic Community

Subscribe to the Stokastic newsletter

DFS advice, exciting promos, and the best bets straight to your inbox

Stokastic.com - Daily Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting Data, Tools, & Analytics

Please play responsibly. Only customers 21 and over are permitted to play. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.