The seven-game NBA slate today does not feature a ton of elite talent but there is certainly plenty of opportunity for big daily fantasy scores. There is a handful of poor defensive teams who play at fast paces on this slate with Charlotte, Houston and Portland so, while being mindful of blowout potential, if those teams can keep their respective games close serious shootouts could be on hand as well. As for injury news, the big names with questionable tags at the moment include Julius Randle, Karl Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. Seemingly every game has someone with a questionable tag who could shift the projections later in the day though, so make sure to stay tuned to Awesemo’s NBA projections for any last-minute changes.
This column will use the Awesemo NBA player projections, fantasy basketball rankings and NBA DFS tools to build lineups and help wade through the day’s data and news. Make sure to read to the end for a couple of extreme value plays for Yahoo fantasy basketball lineups today.
Yahoo Fantasy Basketball & NBA DFS Value Picks Today
Guard — Luka Doncic $55
The Mavericks’ Luca Doncic looks set to return to the lineup today and is not even on the injury report for Dallas, which speaks to the fact that he should be in for a full workload. He comes back to what should be a fast-paced matchup against the Timberwolves, who have allowed the sixth-most assists this year and fifth-most 3-pointers as well. The fact that he only managed 32 Yahoo points in his last outing against Minnesota is likely going to keep people off him today, but Doncic rates out as the clear top play at point guard on Awesemo, with over a nine-point lead over second-place Trae Young. Doncic coming off rest in what should be a great fantasy environment feels like a great move in GPPs today.
Guard — Donovan Mitchell $37
The shooting guard position is deeper than normal today, which allows for a couple of different ways to go about making lineups. It is fine to double-down at guard though and pay up for one of the top projected plays in Donovan Mitchell, as he has been nearly unstoppable of late and has a terrific matchup against Charlotte. Mitchell has now scored 30 or more real-life points in four straight games and faces a Hornets team who has allowed the most 3-pointers to the shooting guard position per game on the season. Mitchell rates out a strong second in the Awesemo NBA Projections, just 2 points behind first, yet comes $12 cheaper than James Harden, making Mitchell the preferred pay-up option today by a longshot.
Mitchell was showing up well in Awesemo’s fantasy basketball rankings today. He is popping as one of the best Yahoo Fantasy Basketball plays on the entire DFS slate. Check out who else is one of the best NBA picks today in the Yahoo NBA DFS Cheat Sheet.
Forward — Jerami Grant $24
The Pistons are in a nice spot against the Wizards today, who have been getting smoked down the middle of late. Washington has now allowed the fifth-most points per game to the power forward position on the season and that should make this a great spot for a player like Jerami Grant to continue rolling. Grant comes in having scored 20 or more real-life points in five straight games. His usage has been rising of late and he has even shown an increase in rebounding, which could continue against the banged-up Wizards team. Grant ranks out third in the Awesemo NBA projections today and seems like a solid safe-haven type of play at what is a very depleted position with both Julius Randle and Kyle Kuzma having injury concerns.
Forward — Andrew Wiggins $24
Small forward today offers a few superstars today but some good mid-tier options to choose from. Similar to power forward, the move is likely to target some good value and hope for an upside game out of a player like Andrew Wiggins, who is in a very good spot against Atlanta. The Hawks are sixth-worst in opposing 3-point field percentage on the season and have also allowed the ninth-most points against on the year. They are also bottom-10 in terms of assists and points allowed to the small forward position this year. Wiggins projects out as a strong value and has scored 32 or more Yahoo points in three of his last four games, making this a nice spot to target him at a very affordable price.
Center — Christian Wood $31
The Rockets and Portland meet in what should be a fairly ugly game from a defensive perspective, but a great one to target for fantasy purposes. The Rockets are 3.5-point road favorites in a game with a 234-point total, so targeting the Houston starters today should be high on the agenda. Assuming the game stays close (and Houston’s defense should help with that) this should be a smash spot for Christian Wood, who has gone for over 50 Yahoo points in three of his last eight games. Wood only played 27 minutes in his last game so he should be in for big minutes tonight and projects out as a solid value among the top plays at center today.
Yahoo NBA DFS Value Play — Killian Hayes $11
This spot against the Wizards, who are without Kyle Kuzma and on the tail end of a back-to-back, is good enough to stack multiple Pistons players. From a value standpoint, Killian Hayes certainly stands out in the Awesemo Model today as a great target in this game. Hayes comes with one of the best value scores at his position and has now played over 30 minutes in four of his last five games. He has been a solid source of assists over that stretch, averaging over 6 per game, and faces a Wizards team who is not exactly flexing elite depth at his position. Hayes has gone over 30 Yahoo points in two of his last eight games and should push for that same mark again today in what is a great matchup on paper.
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