Friday’s NBA wraps up the work week with an enticing eight-game featured slate tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups, including Damian Lillard, who is averaging a career-high 30.7 points per game.
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Friday, Feb. 3
Core Play of the Day — Damian Lillard: Portland Trail Blazers-Washington Wizards
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 52.92 | FanDuel: 49.9
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 15.9% | FanDuel: 18.3%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,600 | FanDuel: $10,200
It looks like Jusuf Nurkic will be out until next week at the earliest as he recovers from a calf injury, and Justise Winslow remains out with an ankle issue. Jerami Grant is not in the concussion protocol, but he is dealing with concussion-like symptoms, so we will need to watch for the updated injury report to understand his status.
Even if Grant plays, Damian Lillard looks like one of the best tournament options on Friday’s slate. Washington has somehow won six consecutive games, yet the sub-.500 record is more indicative of the Wizards’ talent. The defense has been much improved under second-year coach Wes Unseld Jr., but they still lack a dominant on-ball defender, and most of the success is due to an improved system rather than rim protection.
This season, Lillard gets an uptick to just over 1.4 fantasy points per minute when Nurkic is off the court. Tonight is the first game of a back-to-back set for the Trail Blazers, who will be in Chicago on Saturday. Lillard has been on a tear over his last 11 games, averaging 36.9 minutes and 21.3 field goal attempts with a 53.0% conversion rate. This has culminated in 39.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.0 combined blocks and steals during this timeframe. Anything less than 50 fantasy points from Lillard will be a disappointment, and he is the core building block of the day.
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Sacramento Kings-Indiana Pacers
This should be a fantasy-friendly matchup, and with each team likely to be without the starting point guard, fresh opportunities abound for the understudies.
De’Aaron Fox (personal) is expected to miss this game, which means Davion Mitchell is likely to move into the starting lineup. While he has been a fantasy disappointment since he is a much better defender than offensive producer, he is at the minimum salary on DraftKings. He seems like a must in cash games, but the tournament upside is limited on the full slate. He is averaging 0.67 fantasy points per minute this year, and in three prior starts, his best outing was just 21.5 fantasy points despite averaging nearly 29 minutes per game.
Domantas Sabonis is the player we will want to focus on, as he will be the focal point on offense as the main facilitator. Sabonis is averaging a personal-best 7.1 assists, and his 18.8 points and 12.3 rebounds are among the highest figures of his career. The former Gonzaga University standout currently leads the league with 39 double-doubles, and he is third with half a dozen triple-doubles.
Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and rookie Keegan Murray should all see additional offensive opportunities filling in for Fox, and Huerter is likely to pick up some secondary ball-handling duties.
Tyrese Haliburton returned last night after a 10-game absence and looked phenomenal in 35.5 minutes, with 26 points and 12 assists. Currently he is listed as doubtful, though if he starts, he is a strong option. Most likely he will be rested and T.J. McConnell will slide back into the main distributor role. While Haliburton was out, McConnell visited the 40-fantasy-point plateau five times, including two games with over 50 fantasy points.
Sacramento has been dreadful on defense this season, so Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith all warrant tournament consideration on DraftKings. The FanDuel salaries are a little tighter, but Turner, Nesmith, Nembhard and, of course, McConnell all are above-average plays.
Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick – Sports Betting Opportunities
D’Angelo Russell stands out in the sports wagering market tonight with a 5.5 total for his assist prop. This season, the eight-year veteran is averaging 6.2 assists per game and 6.7 per 36 minutes. Russell has seven or more assists in 32 of 51 (63%) of his games and six more outings with five dimes.
The NBA Bet Pro projections have Ball earmarked for 6.8 assists and 33.6 minutes of action. This wager has an expected win rate of 67%, which gives it a solid 7% expected ROI with the -122 moneyline odds on BetMGM.
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Philadelphia 76ers-San Antonio Spurs
Tonight is the first game of a three-stop travel tour for the 76ers, who play in New York on Sunday and in Boston on Wednesday. The Spurs are mailing in this season, and they are double-digit home dogs on Friday.
Joel Embiid is likely due for a rest day soon, and tonight would be the best opportunity for the team to win without him. If he is in, Embiid should be able to do just about anything he wants, but there must be the obligatory nod to a potential blowout.
James Harden (All-Star snub), Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey will be the biggest beneficiaries if Embiid has the night off. The first two are secondary tournament options on the main slate if Embiid is in and, of course, stand out on the late slate as well.
Tre Jones and Romeo Langford will be joining Devin Vassell on the sidelines tonight. We know that coach Gregg Popovich has rarely pushed his players beyond 30 minutes in games during this lost season, but pretty much every ambulatory option for San Antonio is in play on DraftKings. On FanDuel, Isiah Roby is intriguing at $3,800 with power forward eligibility, and Josh Richardson and Jakob Poeltl also are favorable from a point-per-dollar perspective.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today
Friday brings a consolidated slate, with all eight games tipping off inside of a two-hour window. Get all the latest analysis and information by tuning in to the Stokastic Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows at 5 p.m. ET on YouTube, courtesy of No House Advantage.
