Wednesday, Feb. 2, keeps the NBA week rolling with a nifty nine-game main slate. 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 home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings, FanDuel & Yahoo Building Blocks Today | Wednesday, Feb. 2
Yahoo Play of the Day — Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 57.95 | DraftKings: 61.79
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 2% | FanDuel 11.4% | DraftKings 3.5%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $57 | FanDuel $11,300 | DraftKings $12,500
The bad news is that last night Nikola Jokic only played 30 minutes as the Nuggets were soundly routed by the Timberwolves 130-115. The good news is also that Jokic only played 30 minutes last night. Coach Mike Malone did not use any starters in the fourth quarter, which started off as a 22-point deficit for Denver. That means everyone should be relatively fresh for tonight. The great news is that, despite playing less than 31 minutes for the third straight game, Jokic has logged at least 50 Yahoo points in each of those outings.
Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert Hassan Whiteside, Joe Ingles and Danuel House are all out for Utah. Reserves Jordan Clarkson (knee) and Trent Forrest (ankle) are questionable. The Jazz are allowing 118.3 points per 100 possessions in their last four games without Gobert and Mitchell, which is nearly 9 points worse than their full-season defensive efficiency. Utah simply does not have anyone capable of slowing down Jokic, who in turn is going to have to approach yet another triple-double if he hopes to carry his team to a road victory tonight.
Update: Jokic was on the afternoon injury report with a sore toe. He played through it last night, but it is worth noting. There are three games tipping off at 10 p.m. ET or later, so as long as two roster spots are used on players from these time slots, a pivot off of Jokic will not result in unused salary cap.
Indiana Pacers vs. Orlando Magic
Tonight the Pacers are very shorthanded, with Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon and Goga Bitadze already ruled out. Oshae Brissett (ankle) is questionable after missing the last game. That means Caris LeVert and the understudies are in for a major workload against a marginal Orlando defense that has been languishing in the bottom third of the league all season. In addition to LeVert, Isaiah Jackson, Torrey Craig and Chris Duarte are the most intriguing fantasy options.
The Magic are playing their third game in four nights, having lost on Tuesday in Chicago. They are off until Saturday, and all of the starters have been playing 30 or more minutes, with the exception of Mo Bamba. Wendell Carter Jr. is an interesting option on sites where he has power forward eligibility, while Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony are in the mix for main-slate tournaments. Bamba would be a fine selection, but there are a lot of centers that have better point-per-dollar projections than he does on all of the DFS sites.
The NBA player props market for Bamba tonight is one to exploit against the Pacers. In the Awesemo projections he is currently projecting for 8.3, and his rebound prop is over/under 7.5. In 10 of his last 13 games this season Bamba has recorded at eight rebounds. This may be a bet worth making, with an expected win rate of 67% on OddsShopper.
Brooklyn Nets at Sacramento Kings
This is a back-to-back for the Nets, who lost last night 121-111 in Phoenix for their fifth consecutive loss. James Harden and Kyrie Irving each played 37 minutes last night, and this is the third game of a five-stop road trip that continues in Utah on Friday and then culminates Denver on Sunday. Brooklyn needs to start banking some wins, and they have a golden opportunity tonight as 4.5-point road favorites in Sacramento. LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant are out, which will open up frontcourt minutes for Nicolas Claxton. Over their last seven games the Kings are allowing a league-worst 122.8 points per 100 possessions. In addition to the previously mentioned Nets on the late-slate games, Patty Mills and Kessler Edwards can be core plays, and James Johnson is a tournament lottery ticket for differentiation.
If De’Aaron Fox misses a fifth straight game with his ankle issue, Tyrese Haliburton is an excellent option in all formats on all slates. Marvin Bagley is going to miss a second game with his own ankle injury, which clears the way for Richaun Holmes to see 30 to 32 minutes as he regains his conditioning, and Chimezie Metu should see 23 to 25 minutes in the rotation, making him a fine late-slate lineup filler. Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield are always in play, as they have upside if their shots are falling and there should be plenty available tonight.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Wednesday, Feb. 2 Slate
Tonight there are games tipping off at six different start times, which should create a steady flow of post-lock news. 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.
