Saturday, Jan. 11 has a solid six-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 Zach LaVine, Jaxson Hayes, and more.
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Don’t forget to watch the NBA Strategy Show featuring Adam “ShipMyMoney” Scherer and Dave “Loughy” Loughran as they break down the NBA DFS slate and give out their thoughts on injury news and other NBA DFS analysis.
NBA DFS Picks: Prime Time Players
Zach LaVine: Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons
DraftKings $8,300, FanDuel $8,600, Yahoo $34 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 14.5%, FanDuel 16.6% Yahoo Fantasy 24.2%
Today is going to be interesting and our “best” play may have yet to show themselves. If we look at Andre Drummond or Nikola Jokic, then we are using a center slot that could also go to Jaxson Hayes. Tobias Harris is nice, but if Al Horford and/or Ben Simmons are asserting themselves in the absence of Joel Embiid then Harris could be the odd man out.
If Anthony Davis (back) is out, then LeBron James (illness) becomes phenomenal after his first 35 point and 15 rebound effort last night. Giannis Antetokoumpo is interesting on a back-to-back, but if Hassan Whiteside is out, how close will Portland keep this game? Lastly, Luka Doncic is just so spendy by comparison, I think we can find a better point per dollar option.
So let’s talk about Zach LaVine who is in a sneaky good matchup against Detroit. In their last 15 games, the Pistons have THE WORST defensive efficiency in the league allowing 115.3 point per 100 possessions. In his last dozen games, LaVine has less than 21 field goal attempts in only two of them. During this stretch he is averaging 36.83 minutes with 45.4 fantasy points or a 1.23 fantasy points per minute rate.
We can roll with Zach Attack and still get one of the top players I mentioned in the first two paragraphs above. However, our strategy will be entirely shaped by the news we are still waiting on.
NBA DFS Picks: Good Value
Jaxson Hayes: New Orleans Pelicans at Boston Celtics
DraftKings $3,800, FanDuel $4,100, Yahoo $12 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 33.1%, FanDuel 16.0% Yahoo Fantasy 25.6%
It looks like Derrick Favors will be out tonight after a hamstring injury cut his night short on Friday. This is not an easy matchup as Boston actually is the best rebounding team in the league over the last month. Now for the positive. In his last two outings, Jaxson Hayes is averaging just shy of 27 minutes with 16.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. The only real concern is that we are using our center slot to make this play.
NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value
Delon Wright: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers
DraftKings $4,900, FanDuel $4,500, Yahoo $10 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 29.0%, FanDuel 29.3% Yahoo Fantasy 42.6%
Here is what I wrote yesterday and I see he is getting some early love in non-Awesemo projection systems in the 25-30 fantasy point range – Awesemo has him at 21 right now: No, No, No, this is just not a play that I am fond of even with projection systems giving him a nice point-per-dollar bump. Yes, Kristaps Porzingis is out so there will be some production and minutes trickle-down effect. J.J. Barea is questionable, but that does not move the needle for me either. So much of Delon Wright‘s fantasy upside potential is tied up in steals that this just seems not worth the likely pedestrian outing tonight.
Luka Doncic is a vortex that absorbs usage, rebounds, assists, etc. Whomever plays next to him gets a downgrade from a fantasy perspective. Last night Delon Wright played 20 of 26 minutes next to Doncic and both lost a couple minutes at the end of the game with the blowout. In the game prior to last night all 31 of Wright’s minutes were with Doncic. In 321.1 minutes with Doncic on the court, Wright is averaging 0.75 fantasy points per minute. In 426.1 minutes without Doncic, Wright is averaging 1.16 fantasy points per minute. Context is EVERYTHING.
FantasyCruncher Tip of the Day
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With the incredibly user-friendly and flexible rules creation feature on FantasyCruncher, we can take our lineup construction to the next level.
Today’s highlighted feature is the ability to import data in our own customizable fields which can then also be utilized with rules for our NBA DFS Crunches.
By using the Add/Remove Column feature, we can bring in different data elements to help inform our crunches with just a little pre-planning in Excel or Google Sheets. In the example below, Awesemo Points and Value Grades have been added as new columns. The boom/bust percentage outcomes are a new feature added for this season.
Final Thoughts
For breaking news updates with Fast Eddie Fear and Sal Vetri, tune into Live Before Lock 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
If you haven’t signed up for Yahoo Fantasy DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit and you will be eligible for $30 of free play, which Yahoo will match through the first $30 of your deposit (this bonus will be received in Yahoo Sports Rewards Points, aka YSRP, which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately).
