Thursday, Jan. 9 has a tricky four-game main slate for all the big daily fantasy sites. Before you lock in your NBA DFS lineups and NBA DFS picks on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and FantasyDraft, make sure to check out check out Awesemo’s NBA DFS rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS Picks, including Andre Drummond, Russell Westbrook and more.
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Don’t forget to check out the NBA Strategy Show featuring Josh Engleman and Adam Scherer as they break down the NBA DFS slate and give out their thoughts on injury news and other NBA DFS analysis.
Also, be sure to read Chris Spags’ Switch and Hedge for more NBA DFS picks and analysis.
NBA DFS Picks: Prime Time Players
Andre Drummond: Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
DraftKings $10,200, FanDuel $10,900, Yahoo $47 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 25.8%, FanDuel 34.2% Yahoo Fantasy 52.2%
In the last six games that both Andre Drummond and Tristan Thompson have squared off, Drummond has some eye-popping figures. Built on an average of 36.3 minutes per game, Drummond has tallied 21.2 points, 17.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 4.0 combined blocks/steals for 57 fantasy points per game. This is a reprisal of Tuesday’s matchup only this time, the game is in Detroit.
On our four-game slate, the value plays are proving to be a little bit elusive but something will likely appear at some point. In the meantime, we will be looking at our roster centerpieces.
Russell Westbrook: Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder
DraftKings $8,400, FanDuel $8,700, Yahoo $45 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 23.5%, FanDuel 22.6% Yahoo Fantasy 4.4%
This matchup of course will be making the rounds of the DFS Echo Chamber as Russell Westbrook is making his first appearance in Oklahoma City as a member of the Rockets. These two teams faced off in Houston during the first week of the season. Westbrook had the night off on Wednesday with him not likely to play back-to-back games during the regular season. Unless we hear otherwise, we should assume that all of the usual Houston minutes will be divvied up per recent trends.
Tonight will be a three-in-four situation for the Thunder but with Chris Paul seeing his former squad, and of course his teammates facing Westbrook, should have this as a spirited affair.
NBA DFS Picks: Good Value
Josh Richardson: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
DraftKings $5,600, FanDuel $5,900, Yahoo $19 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 38.9%, FanDuel 26.2% Yahoo Fantasy 43.4%
Joel Embiid will be out for this matchup recovering from a grotesquely dislocated finger on Monday against Oklahoma City. That of course leaves 16.3 field goal attempts, a dozen rebounds and two dozen points to be filled by the remaining 76ers. First up on our four-game slate will be Josh Richardson who can be a solid contributor across the box score and coming in at a reasonable price point. While I do not expect his minutes to change much, he should have more usage opportunities.
Tobias Harris comes in next for me as I prefer his current form to former Celtic Al Horford. If this were a different opponent, I would probably have Ben Simmons second on this list but we know that he has had his struggles against Boston over the last two-plus seasons. Simmons’ current price point has him firmly in play on FanDuel and then as a secondary spend option on DraftKings, FantasyDraft and Yahoo.
NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value
Kyle O’Quinn: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
DraftKings $4,900, FanDuel $4,100, Yahoo $10 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 5.0%, FanDuel 5.0% Yahoo Fantasy 5.0%
Until we know the starting lineup, it is hard to know what to do with Kyle O’Quinn. DraftKings has him appropriately priced as a starter. However, Yahoo and FanDuel have him at a discount if that ends up being the choice by coach Brett Brown. The last time Joel Embiid was out, O’Quinn started and put up 27 fantasy points in 25 minutes in Indiana. The game before that without Embiid, O’Quinn came off the bench, playing just under five minutes with a grand total of three fantasy points.
Keep in mind that Matisse Thybulle should be returning tonight and that there are plenty of other options available with Mike Scott, James Ennis, Furkan Kormaz and Trey Burke. They all are getting regular minutes over O’Quinn, who has been a DNP-Coaches Decision in seven of the last 10 games. O’Quinn also played fewer than three combined minutes outside of the aforementioned game against the Pacers.
FantasyCruncher Tip of the Day
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Today’s highlighted feature is the ability to limit players with multi-position eligibility to just one position. This is accomplished by using the drop-down in the “Position” column that appears for any player that is eligible at more than one position.
Final Thoughts
With just four games on the docket tonight, leveraging popularity is going to be very important as we try to identify that ever elusive edge that can help lead us to victory.
Be sure to tune into the Deeper Dive/Live Before Lock two hour block on YouTube, Twitch and Periscope beginning at 5 p.m. EST for all of the up-to-date information.
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any NBA DFS questions about DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo or FantasyDraft.
Good Luck NBA DFS Gamers! ~ EMac
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