Friday, Feb. 11, has a sharp seven-game main slate tipping off at 7 p.m. ET. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Do not forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings, FanDuel & Yahoo Fantasy Basketball Building Blocks Today | Friday, Feb. 11
Yahoo Play of the Day — LaMelo Ball: Charlotte Hornets at Detroit Pistons
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 45.14 | DraftKings: 46.92
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 35.6% | FanDuel 45.2% | DraftKings 31.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $38 | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $9,000
Tonight LaMelo Ball is going to be a popular option, but joining the masses on Yahoo with this selection is a savvy play. Charlotte is on a six-game losing streak, though at least it looks like Ball is showing signs of exiting his shooting slump. Gordon Hayward (ankle) is out indefinitely, while Cody Martin (Achilles) and Jalen McDaniels (ankle) are both out tonight and may miss the next game as well.
James Bouknight (wrist) should be available, though recently acquired Montrezl Harrell’s status is up in the air, as the trade with Washington involving Ish Smith and Vernon Carey still needs everyone to clear physicals and receive final league approval. None of this will have an adverse impact for Ball, who is one of the best point-per-dollar option on Yahoo.
Joel Embiid: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 58.62 | DraftKings: 60.06
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 21.2% | FanDuel 29.0% | DraftKings 17.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $53 | FanDuel $11,000 | DraftKings $11,900
Tonight there will be plenty of value options, so gamers can look at a couple of luxury players in the superstar range. James Harden will not be playing tonight, so Joel Embiid will once again have his familiar role of dominating the offensive usage as well as the opposing frontcourt. Derrick Favors, Aleksej Pokusevski and Darius Bazley simply do not have a chance of doing more than annoying Embiid with their defense. It would not be a surprise for Philadelphia to have a “statement” game now that the Ben Simmons saga is over, similar to what Luka Doncic (51 points), Kyrie Irving (31 points) and countless others throughout the years have done.
Dejounte Murray: San Antonio Spurs at Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 49.85 | DraftKings: 51.22
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 18.8% | FanDuel 18.1% | DraftKings 19.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $10600 | DraftKings $10300
Derrick White is now in Boston, while Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford came back from the Celtics as part of the deal. Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks were moved to Toronto in a three-team deal with Goran Dragic, Juancho Hernangomez and Tomas Satoransky moving from Toronto and New Orleans to San Antonio.
The main constant is Dejounte Murray, who should continue to build on his breakout season with White out of the picture. Regardless of how many of the new players are able to suit up tonight, Murray should continue to play heavy minutes, be the first and second offensive options and pull down the most rebounds of any guard in the league.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers
This game has some unknowns, as each team was active in the trade market and the newly acquired players take the court in different uniforms for the first time tonight. The Cleveland frontcourt remains intact, with Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love and Evan Mobley all looking like solid options against a subpar Pacers squad. Darius Garland (back) was solid in his return on Wednesday after missing 10 days with a back issue, though he has been ruled out for tonight’s action. Most intriguing will be Caris LeVert debuting for the Cavaliers against the team that just dealt him. There is no animosity on LeVert’s part, but there is the double bonus of his first start and his first game against his prior team on the same night. Rajon Rondo, Brandon Goodwin, Cedi Osman and Dean Wade are all but irrelevant now that Cleveland has a full rotation.
Malcolm Brogdon (Achilles) has been out for 11 games and even more astounding is that he has played only twice since Christmas. Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield will be seeing their first action since arriving in Indiana as part of the Domantas Sabonis deal. When Brogdon eventually returns this will be a crowded backcourt, with Keifer Sykes and Terry Taylor likely the odd men out and Lance Stephenson and Duane Washington Jr. sliding further down the rotation. There are plenty of frontcourt minutes, which makes Goga Bitadze a viable tournament option, even on a slate filled with solid centers.
Tonight the NBA player props market for Bitadze against Cleveland is one to exploit, as Awesemo has him projected for just over 7.7 rebounds. Currently his rebound prop is over/under 6.5, and while on the surface this seems close, leaning towards the over would be a savvy strategy. Foul trouble is a risk, and it is not an easy matchup against the Cleveland frontcourt, but Bitadze he had eight or more rebounds in three of the last four games where he played at least 25 minutes.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Friday, Feb. 11 Fantasy Basketball Slate
Tonight is a tight slate with five of the seven games tipping off within the first 30 minutes. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
