Thursday, Feb. 3, brings the weekend one step closer with a six-game NBA 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 home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings, FanDuel & Yahoo Building Blocks Today | Thursday, Feb. 3
Yahoo Play of the Day — Russell Westbrook: Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 42.15 | DraftKings: 45.48
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 40.6% | FanDuel 32.3% | DraftKings 19.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $8,500 | DraftKings $9,600
Last night the Lakers scratched out a win against the Trail Blazers, and tonight they are at home but designated as the visiting team since it will be the Clippers season ticketholders filling the stands. While LeBron James (knee) is a game-time decision, he is expected to miss his fifth consecutive game. Russell Westbrook has somewhat worked out of his slump from the field, and in his last seven outings he has averaged 34.3 minutes and 15.9 field goal attempts with a 50.5% success rate.
This stretch has helped elevate his season-long field goal percentage to 44.2%, which is actually a tick above his career average of 43.8%. In this stretch he has averaged 20.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.1 combined blocks and steals for 40 Yahoo points. This has worked out to 1.16 fantasy points per minute, which is a solid return for his $35 salary tonight. Back-to-back games are always terrifying when Anthony Davis is involved, and while there will probably be at least one injury scare or trip to the locker room, Davis has racked up 57 or more fantasy points in two of his last three games, making him an intriguing option with or without Westbrook.
Chris Paul: Phoenix Suns at Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 43.68 | DraftKings: 44.76
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 31% | FanDuel 12.9% | DraftKings 16.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $10,000 | DraftKings $9,700
Cameron Payne has missed five games, and he is expected to miss five more with a wrist injury. Landry Shamet (ankle) is likely out for the next two weeks, which dramatically thins out the Phoenix backcourt. The injury to Payne in particular has led to an increase in minutes for Chris Paul, who has averaged 38.6 per game in his absence. In this stretch Paul has been sublime, with four games of with at least 50 fantasy points — a hurdle he has cleared in six of his last seven games. He tops the assist leaderboard, and he has led the Suns to the best record in the Western Conference; they are currently on an 11-game winning streak.
The NBA player props market for Clint Capela tonight is one to exploit against the Suns. In the Awesemo projections he is currently projecting for 1.2 assists, and his rebound prop is over/under 1.5. Capela has recorded one or no assists in six of his last nine games. He also has played over 24 minutes twice in this stretch, as he has been losing time to Onyeka Okongwu. This may be a bet worth making, with an expected win rate of 65% on OddsShopper.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat
This game has been moved up to a 7 p.m. ET tipoff due to inclement weather heading towards San Antonio that will likely impact driving conditions later tonight. That is a bonus since each team has a couple of game-time decisions and that information will now be out before lock.
Miami is not an easy matchup, but Dejounte Murray has really stepped up over the last 11 games, filling the stat sheet and posting just over a 30% usage rate. In this timeframe he has averaged 34.9 minutes and 19.4 field goal attempts at a 48.4% success rate. This has resulted in a near triple-double with 23.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 10 assists and two combined blocks and steals. He is a game-time decision tonight with a sore wrist but is expected to play. Jakob Poeltl and Jock Landale are both in the concussion protocol, which makes Drew Eubanks the punt du jour across the DFS sites tonight. If Doug McDermott (ankle) is out, then there should be a trickledown effect that boosts Derrick White, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson.
Jimmy Butler (toe) and P.J. Tucker (ankle) are expected to play, though they are listed as game-time decisions. Caleb Martin (Achilles) and Omer Yurtseven (COVID-19) are out, though there is a strong possibility that Kyle Lowry (personal) will play for the first time in three weeks. It remains to be seen how much he plays after missing nine games, but Gabe Vincent, Max Struss and Duncan Robinson will feel the pinch of minutes the most. Bam Adebayo and Butler are core plays tonight, with Tyler Herro and Lowry potential tournament options.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Thursday, Feb. 3 Slate
Tonight should be a fun one with four games tipping off in the first 30 minutes and then a 2 1/2-hour break until a pair of West Coast late-night hammers. 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.
