Monday, Jan. 20 has a variety of main slates 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 James Harden, Darius Garland and more.
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Don’t forget to check out the NBA Strategy Show featuring Dave “Loughy” Loughran and Josh Engleman 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
James Harden and Russell Westbrook: Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Harden: DraftKings $11,200, FanDuel $11,700, Yahoo $51 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 9.2%, FanDuel 11.8% Yahoo Fantasy 5.6%
Westbrook: DraftKings $9,800, FanDuel $9,500, Yahoo $41 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 4.3%, FanDuel 9.8% Yahoo Fantasy 3.8%
The Rockets vs. Thunder game is at 5 p.m. EST so it fits into the main slate for each of the big DFS sites. This will be the third time these teams have squared off this season and we saw this matchup 12 days ago in Oklahoma City. With the premium for James Harden at 12% on DraftKings, 20% on FanDuel and 25% on Yahoo, we have some decisions to make between him and Russell Westbrook.
Typically, I prefer Harden, but the sites have done a good job with the pricing, making this an interesting decision. Even the projected popularity of each player is close, so that is not going to be too much of an influencing factor.
Houston is on a three-game losing streak and they have dropped three of their last four. I expect both of these former MVPs to play heavy minutes today as coach Mike D’Antoni looks to stem the tide and turn things around. Over the last 10 games, the Thunder have been in the middle of the pack from a pace and defensive efficiency standpoint.
All of the key players should be a full go on both sides of this contest and it has the second-highest projected total of the 5 p.m. games at 230.0 points.
Early Slate
Look to Andre Drummond who should flirt with a 20/20 against the woeful Wizards frontcourt. The value play du jour will be Matisse Thybulle who particularly stands out on FanDuel and Yahoo where blocks and steals are worth three points.
NBA DFS Picks: Good Value
Darius Garland: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks
DraftKings $5,000, FanDuel $5,000, Yahoo $13 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 24.2%, FanDuel 10.3% Yahoo Fantasy 28.8%
This is a nice spot for rookie Darius Garland who should continue to see minutes in the mid-30s. Over their last 10 games, the Knicks are playing at the ninth-fastest pace (102.0) with the third-worst defensive efficiency (115.4). New York has lost eight of their last nine games and they have allowed 120 or more in seven of those contests.
Over his last dozen games, Garland has averaged 33.9 minutes with 15.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.2 made 3-pointers. Today’s production should be in line with that 0.80 fantasy points per minute and there is room for 5-10 points of upside in this matchup.
Monday Late Night Hammer: Portland Trailblazers at Golden State Warriors
We have a fun nightcap here so if you do not have anyone from this game, be prepared to see your “currently winning” amounts dwindle for slates that have this matchup.
C.J. McCollum (ankle) is going to be out for another game and the trade has not yet been finalized so Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan will not be available for Portland. We will want to make Damian Lillard a featured play across the board along with Hassan Whiteside, who disappointed in a tough matchup Saturday against Steven Adams. In the two prior matchups against the Warriors, Whiteside topped 40 fantasy points and it is hard not seeing him in that range again tonight.
Carmelo Anthony should see 15-20 shot attempts which is a nice volume level for his price point. Plus, there is the chance he gets six rebounds or so. Mario Hezonja may slide under the radar, but he is likely to see more shot attempts after deferring to his hot shooting teammates on Saturday.
Gary Trent Jr. dropped a career-high 30 points on 12-for-18 from the field along with three steals which also tied a career high. I still prefer Anfernee Simons, however, both should see minutes in the mid-30s for the short-handed Blazers.
D’Angelo Russell is another core play as we should see another 20-plus field goal attempts from him. Draymond Green will be back from his finger injury, but I am not particularly enamored with him on anything but a short slate. If Glenn Robinson (ankle) misses another game, then Eric Paschall and Omari Spellman see a boost. Alec Burks and Damion Lee are also in play as fringe options on the larger slate and borderline core options for any late night action.
Yahoo Fantasy Discount Dandies
Donte DiVincenzo vs. CHI – $10
Larry Nance Jr vs. NYK – $10
Reggie Bullock at CLE – $10
NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value
With the mishmash of slates and so many teams in play, there is no risky value to highlight. The learning moment here will be to understand what your player pool is for each game set if you are hopping between sites and slates on this holiday.
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
With the holiday today we have a different schedule than usual on our video platforms including YouTube, Twitch and Periscope
Noon EST: NBA DFS Strategy Show getting everyone ready for the entire slate from the 2 p.m. through 10 p.m. tip-offs.
4 p.m. EST: DeeperDive leading into the main slate for the 5 p.m. games.
6:30 p.m. EST: Live Before Lock leading into the games tipping off at 7:30 p.m.
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 SuperDraft DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit of at least $100 and you will be eligible for $20 of free play, which will be provided in SuperDraft Cash which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately.
