NBA DFS First Look & Optimal Lineup Picks Today

The Slate Starter is a daily first look at the day’s NBA slate to get your daily fantasy basketball lineup-building process started before lock tonight. Each day we will go through some of the best NBA DFS picks, top stacks and optimal lineup construction for DraftKings and FanDuel. Be sure to check Awesemo’s NBA Starting Lineups page, as it will be updated throughout the day as the NBA injury reports are released and breaking news surfaces. Let’s dive into some players who stand out as key options on Thursday’s two-game NBA slate.

Want to see how your lineup stacked up against yesterday’s winning NBA DFS lineups for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo fantasy basketball? Check out Awesemo’s Optimal Lineup Review, which uses Fantasy Cruncher Rewind to analyze the winning plays from the night before.

Be sure to check out the Eric Lindquist and Rayen Patnaik every morning with the NBA Slate Starter Podcast, where they give you the best first-look NBA DFS analysis and daily fantasy advice to start your process.

DraftKings & FanDuel NBA DFS Lineup Advice Today

Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers

Thursday’s slate features just two games, but it is not lacking for star power. Nikola Jokic, James Harden, and Steph Curry are all available at the top of the pricing spectrum, but Embiid stands out as my preferred option. He’s slightly cheaper than Jokic at $10,800 across the industry, and that’s a price tag that he can obliterate. He’s only been priced below $11,000 on 22 previous occurrences this season, with the most recent coming on January 23. In his last three games below $11k, he’s scored 65.5, 67.75, and 77.0 DraftKings points.

Embiid also has a slightly easier matchup vs. the Nets. They’ve struggled on the defensive end recently, ranking just 26th in defensive efficiency over their past 10 games. The 76ers’ implied team total of 113.5 is also the top mark on the slate. Expect Embiid to check in near the top of our NBA Projections.

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Bruce Brown, SG/SF, Brooklyn Nets

Brown owns one of the most significant pricing differentials on Thursday’s slate. He’s priced at $6,900 on FanDuel, but he’s just $5,100 on DraftKings. That’s something we can take advantage of.

Brown’s recent play is more indicative of his FanDuel salary than his DraftKings one. He’s scored at least 35.5 DraftKings points in three straight games, and he’s managed to return value in 10 of his past 11 outings. His playing time has hovered around 30 minutes per game over that stretch, and he’s increased his production to 1.01 DraftKings points per minute over the past month.

With that in mind, Brown stands out as an excellent source of savings on Thursday. His elevated salary makes him less appealing on FanDuel, but he should also check in with significantly lower ownership. If his ownership projection is too low, he’ll stand out as an interesting leverage option in the Boom/Bust Probability tool.

Moses Moody, SG/SF, Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are one of the strongest teams to target on Thursday. They’re currently playing without a few key role players, including Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Gary Payton II, and Otto Porter. That opens up some additional minutes for the rest of the roster.

Moody has started the past two games for the Warriors, even though Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins were all available in their last outing. He played nearly 30 minutes in that contest, and while he posted a minimal 10.5% usage rate, he still finished with 26.5 DraftKings points. Moody has averaged 0.80 DraftKings points per minute over the past month, so he should continue to produce with increased playing time.

Moody could also be worth some consideration in the player prop market. Make sure to take advantage of the Awesemo Player Prop tool, which highlights the most exploitable prop bets each day.

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