Thursday, Jan. 23 brings a quick three-game main slate for all the big daily fantasy sites. Before you lock in your NBA DFS lineups and NBA DFS picks on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and FantasyDraft, make sure to check out check out Awesemo’s NBA DFS rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS Picks, including Kevin Love, Hassan Whiteside and more.
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Don’t forget to check out the NBA Strategy Show featuring Josh Engleman and Adam “ShipMyMoney” Scherer as they break down the NBA DFS slate and give out their thoughts on injury news and other NBA DFS analysis.
Also, be sure to read Chris Spags’ Switch and Hedge for more NBA DFS picks and analysis.
NBA DFS Picks: Prime Time Players
Hassan Whiteside: Portland Trailblazers vs. Dallas Mavericks
DraftKings $8,800, FanDuel $9,600, Yahoo $42 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 37.6%, FanDuel 53.8% Yahoo Fantasy 50.9%
We are going to have dueling prime time recommendations today, leading off first with DraftKings/FantasyDraft and Hassan Whiteside. Assuming we have confirmation full health, he is a double-double waiting to happen. In 41 games this season, Whiteside has 31 double-doubles which is strong for the 1.5 fantasy point bonus on those sites.
Dwight Powell is out with a ruptured Achilles tendon so that leaves Maxi Kleber and Boban Marjanović manning the middle for Dallas. Neither of these players is equipped to deal with Whiteside who should be a phenomenal option as long as he stays out of foul trouble.
Kevin Love: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards
DraftKings $8,100, FanDuel $7,000, Yahoo $31 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 33.5%, FanDuel 39.3% Yahoo Fantasy 68.4%
On FanDuel, Yahoo and SuperDraft (1.4 multiplier), Kevin Love is a better point per dollar option ahead of Hassan Whiteside. Cleveland plays on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, so we should see 32-34 minutes in an excellent matchup. Washington is in the bottom third of the league from a defensive efficiency standpoint over their last 10 games. They are top 10 in pace in the same time frame as well as a bottom-five team in rebounding efficiency.
Over his last seven games, Love is averaging 1.06 FanDuel/Yahoo points per minute which makes him a solid building block in all formats on those sites
NBA DFS Picks: Good Value
Darius Garland: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards
DraftKings $5,500, FanDuel $4,700, Yahoo $14 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 28.1%, FanDuel 26.3% Yahoo Fantasy 71.2%
Darius Garland is coming in at an uninspiring 0.75 points per minute. The minutes however have been in the mid-30s so he is squarely in play as a value option on all sites. We know that the Wizards prefer to play fast and eschew defense, so that lines up nicely for the rookie from Vanderbilt.
If C.J. McCollum is out with his ankle injury tonight, then Anfernee Simons is once again in play. We should also see recent acquisition Trevor Ariza in play and the 16-year veteran knows how to assimilate to new teammates as this will be his ninth different franchise (and he had two different stints with the Wizards and Rockets).
Yahoo Fantasy Discount Dandies
Anfernee Simons vs. POR – $10
Cedi Osman vs. WAS – $10
Isaiah Thomas at CLE – $10
If you haven’t signed up for Yahoo Fantasy DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit and you will be eligible for $30 of free play, which Yahoo will match through the first $30 of your deposit (this bonus will be received in Yahoo Sports Rewards Points, aka YSRP, which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately).
NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value
Boban Marjanović: Dallas Mavericks at Portland Trailblazers
DraftKings $3,900, FanDuel $5,000, Yahoo $11 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings <5.0%, FanDuel <5.0% Yahoo Fantasy <5.0%
For as much fun as the DFS community has with Boban Marjanović he is a wildly variant and generally a poor roster choice. Marjanović is 31 years old and he has been in the league for five seasons, playing 208 games for five different teams.
This year, Marjanović has played in 21 games averaging 10.7 minutes per game and 13.5 fantasy points per outing at 0.8 fantasy points per minute. If we look at just the games where he played more than 10 minutes, he is averaging 15.6 minutes, 21.6 fantasy points and 1.4 fantasy points per minute.
Last season with the 76ers and the Clippers, Marjanović saw action in 56 games averaging 1.3 fantasy points per minute. In his 36 games with at least 10 minutes, he averaged a similar 1.35 fantasy points per minute.
Now for the risk. We could see minutes ranging between zero and 25 tonight, so it all comes down to your personal tolerance as well as where the field ends up positioning itself. If he starts, then we know Marjanović is not getting a zero.
As the last teaser, in his last 47 games with at least 10 minutes, Marjanović has topped 30 fantasy points seven times.
NBA DFS Picks: SuperDraft
Darius Garland: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards – 1.7x multiplier
Kevin Love: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards – 1.4x multiplier
Jarrett Allen: Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 1.6x multiplier
Our standout SuperDraft recommendations for today are teammates that we have already covered above. Jarrett Allen is interesting since the Nets may be without both DeAndre Jordan who is questionable with a dislocated finger and Nicholas Claxton is doubtful with a shoulder injury. That could position Allen for 30-ish minutes as long as he stays out of foul trouble against JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard.
If you haven’t signed up for SuperDraft DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit of at least $100 and you will be eligible for $20 of free play. That will be provided in SuperDraft Cash which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately.
Final Thoughts
There are only half a dozen teams in action, but we have no shortage of decision points tonight.
Be sure to tune in to the Deeper Dive/Live Before Lock shows on YouTube, Twitch and Periscope beginning at 5 p.m. EST tonight for all of the up-to-date information.
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any NBA DFS questions about DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo or FantasyDraft.
Good Luck NBA DFS Gamers! ~ EMac
If you haven’t signed up for SuperDraft DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit of at least $100 and you will be eligible for $20 of free play. It will be provided in SuperDraft Cash which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately.
