NBA DFS action on Wednesday, Feb. 3, locks at 7:00 p.m. EST with a robust 10-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 Jayson Tatum, Victor Oladipo, Jimmy Butler and more.
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Awesemo’s NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks
Yahoo Play of the Day – Victor Oladipo: Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 40.59 | DraftKings: 42.34
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 21.6% | FanDuel 17.3% | DraftKings 20.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $33| FanDuel $8,200 | DraftKings $7,800
Houston will be without John Wall and David Nwaba, that will put the ball in Victor Oladipo’s hands to start most offensive sets. In an interview last week, Oladipo mentioned how frustrated he was with some of his former teams for quitting on him. And look: Tonight he is going against one of those former teams. Now, as fun as that narrative is, we need to keep in mind that he played for the Thunder nearly five years ago and none of his former teammates or coaches are still with the team.
Now for the analytical perspective. Oklahoma City is playing at the fifth-fastest pace in the league with 110.8 possessions per 48 minutes, and they have the ninth-worst defensive efficiency allowing 103.2 points per 100 possessions. Using NBA WOWY we can see that since joining the Rockets, Oladipo is averaging 1.18 Yahoo points per minute over 221 minutes. In 82 minutes with Wall, that figure drops to 0.94 Yahoo points per minute. Without Wall it surges to 1.33 Yahoo points per minute. The median Awesemo projections have Oladipo playing 34 minutes and producing 40.6 Yahoo fantasy points with 10-15% attainable upside still available.
Jayson Tatum: Boston Celtics at Sacramento Kings
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 43.29 | DraftKings: 44.26
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 12.8% | FanDuel 16.0% | DraftKings 15.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $43 | FanDuel $9,500 | DraftKings $8,900
Once again we want to target players going against the Kings. This season Sacramento has the worst defensive efficiency, allowing 115.4 points per 100 possessions, and they are playing at the 12th-fastest pace with 102.4 possessions per 48 minutes. Last night the Celtics won a close game in Golden State, during which they were actually trailing with just under 7 minutes to go. Jayson Tatum played 38.4 minutes, and he has averaged 35.6 in his four games since returning from the health-and-safety protocol.
Tonight anything less than 40 fantasy points is going to be a disappointment. Kemba Walker is unlikely to play on this back-to-back, and Marcus Smart will be out for a while. That means Jaylen Brown is also very much in play, and he can be had at a slight discount to Tatum.
Jimmy Butler: Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 42.73 | DraftKings: 42.38
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 20.6% | FanDuel 11.0% | DraftKings 7.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $36 | FanDuel $8,500 | DraftKings $8,40o
In his two games since returning from the health-and-safety protocol, Jimmy Butler has played 34 and 37 minutes with twin games of 50-plus fantasy points. Tonight he has a stellar matchup with Washington, who plays at the fastest pace in the league with the second-worst defensive rating, behind only Sacramento. Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic should be available for tonight, along with Avery Bradley. The price and matchup are still both in Butler’s favor, so I have no issues making him a key target in all formats tonight.
Good Value
Hamidou Diallo: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 32.05 | DraftKings: 32.35
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 53.8% | FanDuel 52.5% | DraftKings 50.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $14| FanDuel $4,300 | DraftKings $4,500
There will be many players from both sides of this game that we can turn to. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be out tonight, which is leaving a production and minutes void that will be filled by several players. Hamidou Diallo is shaping up to be one of the most popular options tonight for this reason.
This season Diallo is averaging 1.1 fantasy points per minute, and he contributes a little bit of everything across the board. The only thing holding him back are steady minutes and field-goal attempts. In the two games he played over 24 minutes this season, he averaged 26.5 minutes, with 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals. Now, he did knock down 18 of 27 shots, which is not sustainable, but he does have a 53.8% field-goal percentage this season, and he should be flirting with 30 fantasy points.
Al Horford: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 30.98 | DraftKings: 31.85
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 33.4% | FanDuel 10.3% | DraftKings 13.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $19| FanDuel $6,500 | DraftKings $6,000
Since returning to the team after the birth of his daughter, Al Horford has had three solid outings. In these games he is averaging 26.22 minutes, with 16.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists an 3.3 combined blocks/steals. He has even dropped in 11 3-pointers in this timeframe. After getting double-digit field-goal attempts in only two of the first five games this season, Horford now has met that milestone for seven straight games. He also has one of the higher assist rates on the team and will likely help facilitate the offense from the wing or high post in the absence of Gilgeous-Alexander. This should provide a solid floor, and he does have upside potential to reach 40 fantasy points.
Risky Value
Theo Maledon: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 24.12 | DraftKings: 26.15
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 37.8% | FanDuel 27.8% | DraftKings 33.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $4,800 | DraftKings $4,300
Both Luguentz Dort and Theo Maledon are also discount dandies in play tonight; just know that there is some risk for them particularly in tournaments for Maledon. We know Dort can contribute in a variety of ways, and he plays a ton of minutes as the Thunder’s best defensive stopper — he is just inconsistent.
Maledon is 19 years old and has played in 19 NBA games. He made his debut in the French League at age 16 as one of the youngest players ever, and last year he played for Tony Parker’s team in the EuroLeague. Conventional thought would be that he may need to be the primary ball handler with both George Hill and Gilgeous-Alexander out tonight. His 18.7% assist rate is similar to Hill’s, but we can also expect Horford and Diallo to assume some of the facilitation role. Maledon is fine in cash games (head-to-heads, 50/50s, double-ups, three-mans), but a lot of leverage is available against the field by looking elsewhere for some of our lineups.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Jakob Poeltl: SAS vs. MIN – $10
- Jae’Sean Tate: HOU at OKC – $10
- Danuel House: HOU at OKC – $10
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- Victor Oladipo: HOU at OKC – 1.60x multiplier
- DeMar DeRozan: SAS vs. MIN – 1.35x multiplier
- Jaylen Brown: BOS at SAC – 1.35x multiplier
Final Thoughts on the Wednesday, Feb. 3 NBA DFS Slate
Tonight we have 20 teams in action and already know of several key players out for rest or injury. More news will be on the horizon, which will continue to fuel the shifting DFS landscape. 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 option on DraftKings or FanDuel.
