NBA DFS action on Saturday, Feb. 6, locks at 7:00 p.m. EST with a nifty nine-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Yahoo and SuperDraft are going with an eight-game main slate tipping off at 8:00 p.m. Before you lock in your 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 daily fantasy basketball picks, including James Harden, Nikola Vucevic, Luka Doncic and more.
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Awesemo’s NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks
Yahoo Play of the Day – James Harden: Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 52.62 | DraftKings: 54.64
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 16.1% | FanDuel 16.1% | DraftKings 10.9%
- FS Salary: Yahoo $49 | FanDuel $10,800 | DraftKings $10,700
This is an easy recommendation and we should expect the popularity of James Harden to continue surging throughout the day. Kyrie Irving (finger) is not playing on the back-to-back. Last night the NBA had a major debacle with their health and safety protocol. First Kevin Durant was pulled from the starting lineup after lock but before tipoff due to contact tracing with someone who produced an inconclusive test. Then Durant was allowed to play off the bench only to be pulled from the game once more in the second half. Currently he is not with the team as they head to Philadelphia, but this seems to be a somewhat fluid situation. Additionally adding to the madness is that Durant has already had Covid-19 himself.
Regardless of Durant’s status, any time one of Brooklyn’s new Big Three is out, the other two become desirable targets. Using NBA WOWY we can see that since Harden joined the Nets he is averaging 1.3 Yahoo fantasy points per minute. Without Irving or Durant on the court he sees about a 10% boost in his fantasy production to 1.43 Yahoo fantasy points per minute.
Over the ten games he has played with Brooklyn he has three triple-doubles. Keep in mind there was one overtime game and a double-overtime game in this stretch. That should not make his stat line any less impressive. In a Nets uniform he is averaging 40.3 minutes with 23.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 1.7 combined steals/blocks. Giddyup!
Nikola Vucevic: Orlando Magic vs. Chicago Bulls
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 49.95 | DraftKings: 51.81
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 21.3% | FanDuel 21.3% | DraftKings 33.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $41 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $8,900
Similar to the recommendation yesterday, we can lean on that analysis since these teams are squaring off again. The rotation is getting thin for the Magic with Aaron Gordon now joining Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Michael Carter-Williams and Al-Farouq Aminu on the injured list. Nikola Vucevic is averaging 1.3 Yahoo fantasy points when Gordon is on or off the court. However, it is key to note that both his assist and rebound rates increase by nearly 10%, and he has more field goal opportunities. Last night it was Vucevic and Evan Fournier doing most of the heavy lifting and it makes sense to project that as the likely outcome again.
Over their last 10 games, Chicago is playing at the sixth-fastest pace in the league while allowing 110.5 points per 100 possessions. Vucevic is averaging 22.5 points per game, and his 11.2 rebounds rank seventh. Additionally, he has 16 double-doubles in 22 games, which helps provide a safe floor for our NBA DFS picks. The Masses are going to be all over this play, so having a couple of entries without Vooch does make a lot of sense in tournaments. Yahoo is eschewing the one 7 o’clock game and going for a main slate lock at 8:00 p.m. ET. This means Vucevic is not in the player pool. However, if Joel Embiid (knee) plays he is a fine option against Brooklyn. Also this is a back-to-back for Cleveland who may opt to rest Andre Drummond. If that transpires, by all means target Jarrett Allen.
Luka Doncic: Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 56.97 | DraftKings: 60.65
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 40.5% | FanDuel 40.5% | DraftKings 18.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $10,700 | DraftKings $11,100
Golden State blew the doors off of the Mavericks in Dallas on Thursday night. It was such a lop-sided affair that coach Rick Carlisle emptied the bench with just under six minutes to go in the final frame. Despite DFS gamers being disappointed, not much has changed in Luka Doncic’s stat line since last season. The fantasy production is nearly identical. His rebounds are down by 0.6 per game, but the assists are up by the same amount. He is shooting a little bit worse from downtown, but a little better at the charity stripe and his overall field goal rate is down by less than half a percent. I am willing to roll with Doncic in this cherry matchup and with all the available value we can have three superstars on our rosters. If you need a little wiggle room, look to Stephen Curry for the discount on the other side of the court.
Good Value
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
There are a lot of moving parts here with the Thunder. Theo Maledon was a late scratch yesterday due to health and safety protocols. There is a slight chance that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and/or Luguentz Dort return from their respective knee injuries, but this article was written prior to the afternoon NBA injury report. Finally, this is a back-to-back and we have yet to see Al Horford play on consecutive days. To be fair he was away from the team for the birth of his fourth child during these last two scenarios, so he really only missed the one at the end of December. It is looking likely we will see another eight-man rotation for the Thunder tonight. If that is the case, then everyone is in play again. The sites have adjusted the salaries to varying degrees, but not enough if this is another short-handed rotation.
DeMarcus Cousins: Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 41.36 | DraftKings: 42.63
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 31.1% | FanDuel 31.1% | DraftKings 45.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $16 | FanDuel $5,900 | DraftKings $6,300
Christian Wood (ankle) is week-to-week. In the four games that DeMarcus Cousins has started when Wood has been out he has been outstanding. In these games he is averaging just under 30 minutes. We are seeing him continue to improve as he regains his conditioning. Though “vintage” Boogie is now gone outside of occasional glimpses, the current version is just fine at his salary levels for tonight.
Over his four starts he has tallied 15.3 points, 14.3 rebounds, 3.8 assits with 3.5 combined blocks/steals. Heck, he is even knocking down 2.5 three-pointers in these appearances. Even after all of his many injuries, he can still control the paint. San Antonio is not going to have an answer for him down low on defense.
Risky Value
Chris Boucher: Toronto Raptors at Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 27.2 | DraftKings: 25.76
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 6.9% | FanDuel 6.9% | DraftKings 5.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $19 | FanDuel $4700 | DraftKings $4400
Last night in Brooklyn, Chris Boucher was excellent off the bench. In 27 minutes he had 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. However, it is important to note that he only overlapped with DeAndre Jordan for a couple of minutes. The rest of the time Brooklyn was using a combination of Durant and Jeff Green as a small-ball five. Tonight is a very different scenario as Clint Capela will be manning the pivot for 32-34 minutes tonight and he is a far more formidable impediment to Boucher’s success than last night’s opponent.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Isaiah Roby/Kenrich Williams/Mike Muscala: OKC vs. MIN – $10
- Patrick Williams: CHI at ORL – $10
- Jeff Green: BKN at PHI – $12
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- James Harden: BKN at PHI – 1.20x multiplier
- Hamidou Diallo: OKC vs. MIN – 1.75x multiplier
- Al Horford: OKC vs. MIN – 1.65x multiplier
Final Thoughts on the Saturday, Feb. 6 NBA DFS Slate
Tonight there are 18 teams in action, with half on the second leg of a back-to-back. This means more news is going to roll out heading up to lock. 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.
