NBA DFS action on Friday, Feb. 5, locks at 7:00 p.m. EST with a nice nine-game main slate. 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 Jimmy Butler, Hamidou Diallo, Domantas Sabonis and more.
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Awesemo’s NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks
Yahoo Play of the Day – Jimmy Butler: Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 40.89 | DraftKings: 40.39
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 7.8% | FanDuel 14.5% | DraftKings 7.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $39 | FanDuel $8,500 | DraftKings $8,300
Targeting players against Washington is usually a savvy move. On the season they are playing at the fastest pace in the league with 106.3 possessions per 48 minutes. Additionally they have the second-worst defensive efficiency, allowing 113.9 points per 100 possessions. Now that they have most of their players back from the health and safety protocol, they have enough offensive firepower to keep opposing teams on their toes.
We saw this same matchup on Wednesday when the Wizards snuck out a 103-100 victory in Miami. That 100 was the fewest points they had allowed all season. In the six preceding games, they ceded 132, 146, 116, 124, 107 and 121 points. Clearly Wednesday was the outlier. In his three games since returning from the health-and-safety protocol, Jimmy Butler has played 37.1, 37.2 and 33.6 minutes. In this trio of tilts he has topped 45 Yahoo fantasy points in each, and that is a reasonable expectation for tonight as well.
Domantas Sabonis: Indiana Pacers vs. New Orleans Pelicans
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 45.38 | DraftKings: 47.64
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 17.2% | FanDuel 33.5% | DraftKings 19.9%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $42 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $8,600
It has now been a dozen games since Victor Oladipo last saw the court for the Pacers. In this time Domantas Sabonis has been stellar, averaging 35.3 minutes, 21.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.2 combined blocks/steals per game. New Orleans has seen a decline in their defensive efficiency over the last 10 games. In this timeframe they are allowing an absurd 116.8 points per 100 possessions, and they have allowed at least 118 points seven times. Sabonis is coming at a 12-15% discount from his median projected fantasy production, depending on your site of choice. He makes an excellent NBA DFS pick building block in all formats tonight.
Nikola Vucevic: Orlando Magic vs. Chicago Bulls
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.25 | DraftKings: 50.06
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 30.8% | FanDuel 32.3% | DraftKings 31.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $41 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $8,500
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. Orlando is getting desperate to find a backup point guard, and they just jettisoned Jordan Bone for Frank Mason III. Over the last month, 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.
Over their last 10 games, Chicago is playing at the seventh-fastest pace in the league while allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions. Vucevic is averaging 22.5 points per game, and his 11.2 rebounds rank seventh. Additionally, he has 15 double-doubles in 21 games, which helps provide a safe floor for our NBA DFS picks.
Good Value
Hamidou Diallo: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 39.91 | DraftKings: 40.39
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 69.4% | FanDuel 65.1% | DraftKings 60.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $18 | FanDuel $5,000 | DraftKings $5,200
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort will be sidelined tonight with their respective knee injuries. This should secure minutes in the mid-30s for Hamidou Diallo, barring any unforeseen foul trouble. On the season, Diallo is averaging a robust 1.10 fantasy points per minute. Wednesday was just the second time this season he has played more than 25 minutes. The Thunder are going to be the talk of the DFS industry today, but this is an amazing matchup for the short-handed squad. Al Horford, Darius Bazley and Theo Maledon are all very much in play.
Miles Bridges: Charlotte Hornets vs. Utah Jazz
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 25.89 | DraftKings: 26
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 10.6% | FanDuel 6.5% | DraftKings 1.5%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $15 | FanDuel $4,800 | DraftKings $5,400
This is an interesting leverage play, as I think Miles Bridges has an excellent opportunity in front of him tonight. The matchup with the Jazz is not an easy one, but Bridges should be drawing another start with P.J. Washington (ankle) sidelined Friday. On the season he is averaging a solid 0.85 Yahoo fantasy points per minute. While there are better options on DraftKings, the salary on Yahoo is enticing, and on FanDuel he fills one of the pesky small forward positions. I prefer him to either of the Oklahoma City options in Kenrich Williams and Justin Jackson, who are drawing a lot of attention.
Risky Value
Justin Jackson: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 26.08 | DraftKings: 27.11
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 26.8% | FanDuel 28.4% | DraftKings 49.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $ $3,500 | DraftKings $ $3,200
This is an interesting situation we are being presented with tonight. Clearly anyone taking the court for the Thunder is going to be in play against a woeful Timberwolves squad. However, it would seem that Jackson may be collecting too much popularity. This is particularly true on DraftKings, where the Awesemo rostered projections have Jackson on nearly half of all lineups.
For his career Jackson is averaging 0.62 Yahoo fantasy points per minute. In 10 games with Oklahoma City across 133 minutes, he is averaging 0.75 fantasy points per minute. On Wednesday he played 30 minutes but had just 12.0 fantasy points. This year he had a spot start in late December where he played 29 minutes but tallied only 11 fantasy points. That is the downside risk with the well-traveled Jackson.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- T.J. McConnell: IND vs. NOP – $11
- Terrence Ross: ORL vs. CHI – $14
- Kenrich Williams: OKC vs. MIN – $10
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- Hamidou Diallo: OKC vs. MIN – 1.85x multiplier
- Al Horford: OKC vs. MIN – 1.65x multiplier
- Darius Bazley: OKC vs. MIN – 1.75x multiplier
Final Thoughts on the Friday, Feb. 5 NBA DFS Slate
Tonight there are 18 teams in action, and that should provide plenty of moving parts with regards to news. Stay on top of things and have a plan in place to react appropriately. 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.
