NBA Fantasy Picks Today: DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Basketball Rankings

There is a difficult six-game NBA fantasy slate tonight. Finding value plays is going to be tough. With that, NBA DFS injury news will be a big part of tonight’s process. Be sure to check the Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page to see who is in, who is out and who is starting as news breaks, and look at the NBA DFS rankings and projections before making your NBA fantasy picks today for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

DraftKings & FanDuel NBA Fantasy Rankings Today

*Grades are ordered DraftKings, FanDuel. Initial grade indicates a player’s strength of output, with the value grade indicating their strength as a play in relation to their salary.

C Nikola Jokic — Grades: A, A | Values: B, A

Nikola Jokic is the best pay-up option on the slate. Jokic basically comes preloaded with the double-double bonus on DraftKings. He has had a double-double in 29 of his 33 games, which ranks second in the entire league. Jokic also ranks second in triple-doubles, with seven. Using Awesemo’s Boom/Bust tool, Jokic has the highest boom percentage on both sites tonight. As of right now the value is slim pickings, but gamers need to find a way to get exposure to Jokic tonight.

With Paul George still sidelined due to injury, the Clippers defense takes a pretty big hit. Their defensive rating drops from 104.6 to 113.3 in the 13 games that George has missed this season. They also get torched by opposing centers. The Clippers have allowed the third-most points in the paint this season with 49.5 per game. They also rank 27th in rebounding percentage, 28th in defensive rebounds allowed, and allow a league-high 12.1 offensive rebounds per game. Jokic is averaging a career-high 14.2 rebounds per game this season, which also ranks second in the league. He should dominate the paint once again.

PG Cade Cunningham — Grades: B, B | Values: C, A

The highest-owned player on FanDuel due to Awesemo’s ownership projections is Pistons guard Cade Cunningham. He is more favorably priced on FanDuel than DraftKings tonight. Cunningham is coming off of one of his best games of the season last night. He led the Pistons to a victory over the Jazz by scoring a career-high 29 points on 10-for-17 from the field and 5-for-9 from behind the arc. Cunningham also had eight assists as he finished with 50.25 DraftKings points.

The Pistons were 11-point underdogs last night and are 14-point underdogs tonight against the Bulls. Can he go back-to-back days leading the Pistons to another big upset victory? The Bulls are a middle-of-the-road defense as they rank 13th in defensive rating this season and 14th in points allowed. They do a fantastic job of limiting opposing 3-point attempts as they allow the third fewest in the league. They have great defenders, but Cunningham can use his size to his advantage.

SF Josh Hart — Grades: B, B | Values: C, C

Another mid-range value play that I like tonight is Pelicans forward Josh Hart. Certainly not a household name, but Hart can fill up the stat sheet in a variety of ways. He is a fantastic rebounding forward who actually averages more rebounds than his teammate Brandon Ingram. Hart missed last game due to a personal matter but returns in a fantastic spot against the Timberwolves. This game has the highest total on the slate at 227.5 points with the Pelicans implied for 112 points.

The Timberwolves have improved their rebounding numbers since earlier in the season, but still rank 20th in Rebounding Percentage and 22nd in rebounds allowed. Hart is going to play a lot of minutes and be active flying around the court when he is in there. He is second on the team in minutes averaging 32.8 per game. To get a better understanding of how difficult this slate is, Awesemo’s ownership projections on DraftKings have two players above 25% owned — Nikola Jokic and Josh Hart.

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C Montrezl Harrell — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

One of the better values in my opinion is Wizards center Montrezl Harrell. He will continue to come off of the bench behind Daniel Gafford, but there is no reason Harrell should be that low-priced compared to Gafford. Harrell is ahead of Gafford in both points and rebounds per game. He has not played since December 26th due to the COVID protocols, but he is available to play in this game. Awesemo projects Harrell as the best value play on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

The Wizards are 9-point home favorites over the Thunder. There is some blowout risk here as the Thunder have the fourth-worst points differential in the league. A blowout would mean more minutes for Harrell than Gafford which is what we are projecting right now. The Thunder have a difficult time against opposing centers, especially from a rebounding standpoint. They rank dead last in rebounds allowed with 48.7 per game. They also rank 25th in Rebounding Percentage as a team. Harrell has had five double-doubles off the bench this season, could he get number six in this great matchup tonight?

SG Josh Giddey — Grades: B, B | Values: B, A

Looking to the other side of this Pistons and Thunder game, Josh Giddey is popping as another really good mid-range option. Giddey comes in sixth in ownership on both sites tonight. He has been fantastic as a rookie for the Thunder. Giddey leads the Thunder in assists, rebounds, and steals while he has scored the third-most points. A lot of praise has gone to his fellow backcourt teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but Giddey has been right behind him in production.

The Wizards do a great job at preventing opposing teams to get assists. It certainly does not help the Thunder are the only team in the league who averages fewer than 100 points this season. They also shoot an abysmal 41.3% from the field and 30.8% from behind the arc. Somehow Giddey is still able to produce respectable fantasy outcomes. He also has shown triple-double upside, so the ceiling is there as well.

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