NBA DFS action on Wednesday, Feb. 17, locks at 7:00 p.m. EST with a tantalizing ten-game main slate on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. SuperDraft is locking at 7:30 p.m. EST with eight featured games. Before you lock in your lineups on Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel and SuperDraft, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some daily fantasy basketball picks, including Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Jimmy Butler and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Wednesday February 17th
Yahoo Play of the Day – Jamal Murray: Denver Nuggets at Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 36.68 | DraftKings: 37.68
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 42.0% | FanDuel 20.3% | DraftKings 9.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $22 | FanDuel $6,500 | DraftKings $7,100
The Yahoo salary algorithm has really punished Jamal Murray for his inconsistent play this season. This seems particularly punitive when we look at his last three games, where he is averaging 35.3 minutes, 24.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals for nearly 1.1 Yahoo fantasy points per minute.
Washington is playing at the fastest pace in the league, with 106.2 possessions per 48 minutes. They also have the fourth-worst defensive efficiency on the year, allowing 112.1 points per 100 possessions. Tonight’s matchup is one where Murray should thrive.
Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets at Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 60.41 | DraftKings: 63.57
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 27.0% | FanDuel 40.2% | DraftKings 24.9%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $10,500 | DraftKings $11,000
We are looking at one of the highest salary tags of the day in Nikola Jokic, though with 20 teams in action, value options will be plentiful. Denver lost last night in Boston, and this will be their third game in four nights. Jokic played 38 minutes last night and 35 on Sunday in a victory against the Lakers. On the season he is averaging 35.5 minutes per game, so I am not particularly concerned by the workload. The Wizards are a bottom-five rebounding team in most metrics, and their best bet to slow down Jokic is going to be Robin Lopez, who turns 33 in just a couple weeks. Alex Len and Moritz Wagner will be minor inconveniences at best against Jokic.
Jokic is on the short list for MVP consideration with the best season of his career. Currently he is eighth in the league at 27.1 points per game, ninth with 11.3 rebounds and fifth with 8.6 assists per game, all while shooting 57.0% from the field. Additionally, he leads the league with 25 double-doubles, and his six triple-doubles are just one behind Luka Doncic.
Jimmy Butler: Miami Heat at Golden State Warriors
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 46.94 | DraftKings: 46.5
Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 12.6% | FanDuel 9.3% | DraftKings 12.7%
DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $9,400 | DraftKings $8,800
We know that Covid-19 affects people in dramatically different ways. While Jimmy Butler did miss nearly three weeks and lost a dozen pounds, he seems to be back in top form. In his last four games, he is averaging 36.3 minutes, 24.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.8 combined blocks/steals. Tonight’s matchup in Golden State against the Warriors is a favorable one for him. He has surpassed 50 fantasy points in three of his last four games, and that target is within reach once again on Wednesday.
Good Value
Jaylen Brown: Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 44.86 | DraftKings: 46.15
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 20.0% | FanDuel 22.8% | DraftKings 29.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $37 | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $7,900
Boston is on a back-to-back after dispatching the Nuggets last night. Tonight they have a favorable matchup against the Hawks. Jayson Tatum has openly discussed that he is still feeling lingering ramifications of his bout with COVID-19, and that has me leaning towards his teammate Jaylen Brown. On paper, Tatum is a slightly better play. However ,with the masses leaning that way in the early player-rostered projections, I am content to pivot to Brown in the same matchup. If Kemba Walker is out as expected on this back-to-back, Brown will be one of the main offensive facilitators for the Celtics, along with rookie Payton Pritchard, who becomes a tournament punt himself.
Denver Nuggets at Washington Wizards
We will want to pay close attention to the Denver starting lineup and injury news since this game is tipping off an hour after the main slate locks. Monte Morris was out last night with a shoulder injury, and 29-year old rookie Facundo Campazzo rolled his way to an impressive fantasy performance with a team-leading 39.5 minutes. If Morris starts, he is the player to target. If Morris sits again, then we should go right back to Campazzo in this fantasy-friendly matchup against Washington.
Michael Porter Jr. has been my risky value play in each of his last two games. While he was fine for cash games (aka head-to-heads, 50/50s, double-ups and 3-mans), I was worried about his fantasy upside. He has been mired in a horrible shooting slump, and hopefully he has reached rock bottom after going 3-for-19, including 1-for-12 from 3-point range the last two games. Those were against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum. Tonight it will be some combination of Rui Hachimura, Davis Bertans and Moritz Wagner guarding him, which should be a more feasible path to fantasy success.
Risky Value
Michael Carter-Williams: Orlando Magic at New York Knicks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 28.58 | DraftKings: 27.49
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 22.0% | FanDuel 17.0% | DraftKings 12.9%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $12 | FanDuel $4,400 | DraftKings $4,900
Rookie Cole Anthony is going to be out through the All-Star Break with a rib injury. This, along with all of the other injuries to the Magic backcourt, leaves Michael Carter-Williams as the only pure point guard. Evan Fournier has missed the last five games with a back injury, and Aaron Gordon the last seven with a sprained ankle. This all aligns to making Carter-Williams a reasonable option tonight. However, is there realistic upside in tournaments?
In his last two games, after missing 19 with his own injury, Carter-Williams has averaged 28.4 minutes, 15.0 field-goal attempts and 28.7 Yahoo fantasy points. The first game was against the fast-paced Kings, and he dropped 36.9 Yahoo fantasy points. The second game was against the more deliberate Suns, and he managed just 20.4 Yahoo fantasy points. Tonight’s matchup is against the Knicks, who play at the league’s slowest pace and are actually a solid defensive squad. While Carter-Williams is a fine punt option, just know that he has only an 11-12% probability of being in the optimal lineup.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Michael Carter-Williams: ORL vs. NYK
- JaMychal Green: DEN at WAS – $10
- Robert Williams: BOS vs. ATL – $10
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- John Wall: HOU at PHI – 1.45x multiplier
- Jimmy Butler: MIA at GSW – 1.15x multiplier
- Enes Kanter: POR at NOP – 1.40x multiplier
Final Thoughts on the Wednesday, Feb. 17 NBA DFS Slate
Tonight we have a staggered slate with games tipping off at five different times. This means news is likely to continue to trickle out well after lock, so we will want to be near our computers or mobile devices. 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.
