The next 72 hours of NBA action is going to be wild as more and more teams cannot improve their playoff situations. There is a chance that Stephen Curry and Draymond Green get the night off depending on how the Memphis/Sacramento game is progressing with coach Steve Kerr saying it would influence the starting lineup. Golden State holds the tiebreaker for the play-in seeding, all they have to do is match the Grizzlies’ results down the stretch. Let’s look at the eight-game daily fantasy basketball slate and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Don’t forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content, including the FREE NBA Deep Dive — the most in-depth article in the industry.
***Get a SNEAK PEEK with our free premium data, tools and content of the day, the Awesemo Premium NBA DFS Player Projections.***
NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Friday, May 14th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets at Detroit Pistons
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 54.75 | DraftKings: 56.25
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 50.4% | FanDuel 31.2% | DraftKings 33.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $53 | FanDuel $10,600 | DraftKings $11,000
Tonight, we can go right back to Nikola Jokic as he continues to make his case for MVP. Denver has the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference locked up, but there is a chance the Nuggets can pass the Clippers for the No. 3 seed, which would give them home-court advantage against everyone but Phoenix and Utah.
Michael Porter Jr. will be back after getting Thursday off while Paul Millsap and Aaron Gordon will be out tonight. The Nuggets are 8.5-point road favorites, however, as long as Jokic is starting, he will be their main source of production. Anything less than 50 fantasy points in this matchup will be a disappointment. If JaVale McGee joins Jokic in the starting lineup again, he is a fine minimum-salary NBA DFS pick. If he is coming off the bench, he may not see more than a dozen minutes even with Millsap and Gordon out.
Good Value
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Sacramento Kings
The Grizzlies have already ruled out Ja Morant, Jonas Valanciunas, Kyle Anderson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen and Sean McDermott. That means we will get heavy minutes from Tyus Jones, De’Anthony Melton, Xavier Tillman, John Konchar, Desmond Bane and Killian Tillie. Playing against a depleted Kings team that has the worst defense in the league is the recipe for fantasy goodness.
With so many discount dandies available, we actually can “overspend” on Delon Wright and Buddy Hield. Sacramento will be without De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III and Tyrese Haliburton. Richaun Holmes is questionable after suffering a knee injury last night that limited him to just 11 minutes. Chimezi Metu, Terence Davis and Maurice Harkless are also very much in play and should see around 30 minutes of action.
Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets
Tonight, the Clippers will be resting Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Patrick Beverley. Terance Mann and Amir Coffey are out with injuries, Serge Ibaka has been out for two months with a back injury, though he has been upgraded to questionable and who knows what Marcus Morris will do. Finally, Reggie Jackson is doubtful with an Achilles issue. It is going to be tricky to trust the playing time for veterans Rajon Rondo, Nicolas Batum and DeMarcus Cousins. Ivica Zubac is also a candidate for a lighter workload as he is the lone key player likely to start. That leaves Luke Kennard, Yogi Ferrell and Patrick Patterson — no thank you!
Why did I focus on the above? Well it means that the Los Angeles defense will be at half strength and that bodes well for the Rockets. Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr., Danuel House Jr., Avery Bradley and D.J. Wilson are all out. That means heavy minutes and opportunity will be available for Kelly Olynyk, K.J. Martin Jr., Jae’Sean Tate, Armoni Brooks and D.J. Augustin. Their salaries vary across the different DFS sites, but all are worthy of being in our player pool tonight.
Risky Value
Toronto Raptors at Dallas Mavericks
Last night, coach Nick Nurse kept Chris Boucher and Gary Trent Jr. on the bench even though they were active. Currently, we have no idea what is in store other than Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, O.G. Anunoby and Paul Watson all being ruled out. Jalen Harris (foot) and Yuta Watanabe (ankle) are doubtful after suffering in-game injuries. That means heavy minutes for Malachi Flynn, Stanley Johnson, Khem Birch, Freddie Gillespie and DeAndre’ Bembry … of course, even they may not be safe depending on the whims of coach Nurse. Tread lightly, as over the last month, Dallas is playing at a bottom-10 pace with a top-10 defensive efficiency rating and they are not as fantasy friendly as their reputation suggests.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Tyus Jones and De’Anthony Melton: MEM vs. SAC – $10
- Khyri Thomas: HOU vs. LAC – $10
- Jordan Pool: GSW vs. NOP – $10
Final Thoughts on the Friday, May 14th NBA DFS Slate
With only one game tipping off in the first hour, we will need to monitor news through the 8 p.m. ET games and expect the unexpected. 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.
