Monday, Feb. 7, starts off the week with a five-game NBA 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 home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings, FanDuel & Yahoo Building Blocks Today | Monday, Feb. 7
Yahoo Play of the Day — Julius Randle: New York Knicks at Utah Jazz
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 37.11 | DraftKings: 39.94
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 33.0% | FanDuel 9.7% | DraftKings 16.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $32 | FanDuel $9,500 | DraftKings $8,800
Rudy Gobert has been ruled out once again with a calf issue. Over the last six games he has missed, Utah has allowed 115.5 points per 100 possessions, which is the sixth-worst defensive efficiency in the league during this stretch. While playing games in Salt Lake City is an advantage due to the second-highest elevation of any NBA arena, nine years of having the Gobert protecting the basket also helps.
Julius Randle continues to be undervalued by the Yahoo salary algorithm. The perceived difficult matchup will keep most casual gamers away, but there will be plenty of savvy people rostering Randle tonight. He seems to have worked out of the shooting slump that plagued him for most of January, and with both Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose out, Randle sees an increase in his assist rate as well.
Kyle Kuzma: Washington Wizards vs. Miami Heat
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 31.02 | DraftKings: 32.84
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 11.6% | FanDuel 12.2% | DraftKings 18.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $32 | FanDuel $8,200 | DraftKings $7,400
Kyle Kuzma is coming off one of his worst performances of the season. The Wizards were dreadful across the board Saturday against the Suns, managing just 32 first half points. Things were so bad that coach Wes Unseld Jr. emptied the bench midway through the third quarter and none of the starters played in the final frame. Tonight they get their chance at redemption, and while Miami is a tough matchup, Kuzma will be filling part of the scoring void left by Bradley Beal (wrist), who will be missing a fourth consecutive game. When Beal is off the court, Kuzma sees a 15% increase in his per-minute fantasy production.
Excluding Saturday’s debacle, Kuzma has played in 11 games without Beal. In these appearances he is averaging 34.1 minutes and 15.5 field goal attempts. This has led to 19.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.7 combined blocks and steals for 38.1 fantasy points.
Charlotte Hornets vs. Toronto Raptors
This projects to be a competitive game, with Charlotte being a 1-point favorite. The Hornets tend to tighten up their rotation when they play in close games, which gives concentrated minutes to the starters and P.J. Washington, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cody Martin off the bench. Martin (Achilles) and James Bouknight (wrist) are doubtful, and Jalen McDaniels (ankle) is out. If Martin is out, then Ish Smith likely will be in the rotation as an offensive spark off the bench. Gordon Hayward has been miserable in two games back from a bout with COVID-19, shooting just 3-for-20 from the field. He should be good for 28 to 30 minutes and is a viable tournament option. LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges are core options tonight, with the rest of the starters fine options to sprinkle across lineups.
Fred VanVleet (38.7), Pascal Siakam (37.7) and Scottie Barnes (36.2) rank among the top four players in the league for minutes per game, with James Harden (37) rounding out the quartet. Over its last 10 games, Charlotte is playing at the fourth-fastest pace in the league and has barely average defense. Target the aforementioned trio, and work in Gary Trent Jr. and O.G. Anunoby as the other viable options in what should be a fantasy-friendly environment tonight.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors
Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Roby, Mike Muscala and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are all out tonight with various ankle injuries. Luguentz Dort missed the last game with a fractured nose and is currently questionable. Josh Giddey, Darius Bazley, Tre Mann, Mamadi Diakite, Kenrich Williams and Ty Jerome are among the best value options on the slate. Their utility varies between DFS sites based on position eligibility and salary, but each is very much in play. Golden State has one of the best defensive efficiencies in the league, even without Draymond Green, so while this is not a great matchup, the Warriors are double-digit road favorites and their understudies will get quite a bit of court time.
The NBA player props market for Klay Thompson against Oklahoma City tonight is one to exploit, as Awesemo has him projected for just over 3.8 assists. Currently his assist prop is over/under 2.5, which is intriguing since there is a 73% chance of Thompson exceeding that mark. Over his last five games Thompson has had fewer than three assists only once, and he is averaging 4.4 in this stretch. While he still seems to have a soft minutes cap of 26 to 28, he has demonstrated that he can easily record three assists in a limited amount of time.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Monday, Feb. 7 Slate
Tonight is a nicely staggered slate with all of the games 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.
