Saturday, Feb. 12, brings a loaded 10-game main slate tipping off at 7 p.m. ET. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Do not forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings, FanDuel & Yahoo Fantasy Basketball Building Blocks Today | Saturday, Feb. 12
Yahoo Play of the Day — Dejounte Murray: San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 51.65 | DraftKings: 53.4
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 19.4% | FanDuel 19.6% | DraftKings 21.9%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $10,600 | DraftKings $10,400
Last night the Spurs easily dispatched the Hawks in Atlanta 136-121 after racing out to a 43-29 first quarter lead and never looking back. Dejounte Murray (32) and Keldon Johnson (33) were the only starters to see over 30 minutes. Even though this is a back-to-back and the third game in four nights, Murray should see his usual 34-36 minutes barring a lopsided affair.
This season in 933 minutes alongside Derrick White, Murray averaged 1.26 fantasy points per minute. In 750 minutes without White, that jumps to 1.59 fantasy points per minute. Now that White has been dealt to Boston, we should see Murray take things up another notch and he will be in the mix for 50 or more fantasy points most nights. On Yahoo he should have a salary in the $50-$52 range for this matchup against the Pelicans who are average at best on defense.
Jonas Valanciunas: New Orleans Pelicans vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 38.06 | DraftKings: 40.14
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 24.0% | FanDuel 28.1% | DraftKings 22.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $29 | FanDuel $6,900 | DraftKings $7,500
There are a lot of centers in action tonight with a 20 team player pool, however, Jonas Valanciunas projects as one of the better point per dollar options with a high likelihood of a 40 fantasy point performance. The trade with Portland centered around Josh Hart and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for C.J. McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. shipped out a lot of rebounds in Hart. This bodes well for Valanciunas who should return to his nightly double double ways, at least until Nance is ready to play. Brandon Ingram is also worthy of consideration in all formats and he has a particularly intriguing salary on Yahoo at $34.
Tonight the NBA player props market for Brandon Ingram against San Antonio is one to exploit, as Awesemo has him projected for just over 6.2 rebounds. Currently his rebound prop is over/under 4.5, and similar to our reasoning for Valanciunas seeing more rebounding opportunities, Ingram should as well.Â
Luka Doncic: Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Clippers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 53.13 | DraftKings: 57.6
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 11.0% | FanDuel 24.1% | DraftKings 14.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $11,400 | DraftKings $12,500
Luka Doncic is fresh off of a 51 point performance against the Clippers on Thursday. Things got started quickly as he racked up 28 points in the first quarter. In six of his last seven games, Doncic has surpassed 60 fantasy points and he has failed to reach 40 fantasy points only five times in his last 35 appearances. The Clippers play solid team defense, though without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, they do not have any key defensive stoppers which is crucial in slowing down a ball-dominant player like Doncic. We are looking at an apex salary for the fourth-year guard, but there are more than enough value options available to facilitate a lineup featuring Doncic and one other superstar option.
Washington Wizards vs. Sacramento Kings
Kristaps Porzingis (knee) has been ruled out tonight, but Washington is hopeful he will be able to take the court prior to the All-Star Break. Bradley Beal (wrist) of course is out for the remainder of the season and Daniel Gafford is in the health and safety protocol. Spencer Dinwiddie, Montrezl Harrell and Aaron Holiday were all traded at the deadline though we should see Ishmael Smith and Vernon Carey Jr. making their Wizards debut.
The main focus tonight for the wizards should be Kyle Kuzma who recorded his first career triple double on Thursday leading Washington to a 113-112 victory over Brooklyn. While we are unlikely to see double digit assists again this season, he should continue to rack up the points and rebounds going forward. Raulzinho Neto is a fine discount dandy tonight on DFS sites where he is near the minimum salary, though the addition of Smith likely will keep his minutes in the 26-28 range. Deni Avdija contributes a little bit of everything and he is interesting on Yahoo where he is at theh $10 minimum salary. Thomas Bryant could be a tournament difference maker, though he seems to have a 20-22 minute cap as he works his way back from a year long layoff due to a knee injury. If he could get to 25-26 minutes, with a little luck he could post a second straight game with low-to-mid 30s fantasy points.
Domantas Sabonis had a strong showing in his first game for Sacramento with 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Now that Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield are with the Pacers, De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes should see an uptick in their fantasy production assuming while a larger scoring role. If Chimezie Metu starts, he is in play as part of a game stack. The rest of the Kings will be marginalized with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo, Jeremy Lamb, Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Saturday, Feb. 12 Fantasy Basketball Slate
Tonight we have a condensed 10-game main slate with all of the action tipping off within a two-hour window. 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.
