NBA Daily Fantasy Projections & DFS Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel 2/28

Monday delivers a seven-game NBA slate for DFS players to attack. As always, be sure to watch the Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page closely today for updates on each team before making your NBA picks. Below are some NBA daily fantasy basketball picks that stand out for tonight’s slate using Awesemo’s Boom/Bust Tool and NBA DFS projections.

Boom/Bust NBA Daily Fantasy Projections & Picks

Boom: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: $9,600 DK/$9,600 FD

28% DraftKings Boom/30% FanDuel Boom

With Josh Giddey (hip) and Luguentz Dort (shoulder) out collectively for the first time this season on Friday, Gilgeous-Alexander tore apart the Pacers for 60.5 DraftKings points across 38.1 minutes. In the 215 minutes he has played with Giddey and Dort off the court this season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 1.5 DraftKings points per minute thanks to a huge 38.7% usage rate, which is an 8.9-percentage-point increase from his season average.

After leading the Thunder to a victory on Friday, Gilgeous-Alexander finds himself in a great spot tonight against the Kings, who rank second-to-last in defensive efficiency and second in pace. This matchup’s total is the fourth highest of the night (227.5 points), and this is expected to be a competitive affair, with Sacramento only favored by 5 points. Gilgeous-Alexander should score nothing less than 50 fantasy points and is one of the better pay-up options on the slate.

Boom: Tre Mann: $5,400 DK/$7,200 FD

7% DraftKings Boom/1% FanDuel Boom

While extremely overpriced on FanDuel, Mann is very affordable at only $5,400 on DraftKings and is expected to come with little ownership according to Awesemo’s projections. With Giddey and Dort absent Friday, Mann started and served as the Thunder’s No. 2 option behind Gilgeous-Alexander, scoring 40 DraftKings points against the Pacers. He logged a season-high 34 minutes in the win and should handle a similar workload in tonight’s prime matchup against the Kings. Take Giddey and Dort off the floor, and Mann averages 0.9 DraftKings points per minute and a 22% usage rate in a sample size of 316 minutes. Plus, in the nine games he has surpassed the 30-minute mark this season, Mann has provided 31 DraftKings points per game. He brings much better upside than his modest DraftKings salary suggests, and pairing Mann and Gilgeous-Alexander in the same lineup is a strategy that is guaranteed to be contrarian.

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Boom: Wendell Carter Jr.: $7,400 DraftKings/$7,600 FD

23% DraftKings Boom/20% FanDuel Boom

With Awesemo projecting Carter for decently low ownership on both DraftKings and FanDuel, he is one of the best tournament targets on the board. In his last start Carter posted 42.5 DraftKings points across 35.1 minutes against the Rockets. With Mo Bamba struggling and playing a smaller role as of late, Carter has been utilized more as a center for the Magic, unsurprisingly improving his fantasy stock. This month Carter is leading the Magic with 1.24 DraftKings points per minute and tonight presents a terrific matchup against the Pacers.

Indiana will be playing their second game in two nights, and in the new year they have been the second-worst defensive rating in the league. The Pacers are allowing the second-most points in the paint during this time, and this game’s total is third highest on the slate (232.5 points). To put a cherry on top, the Magic boast the third-largest implied team total on the board (117 points) and are only favored by 1.5 points, which is the tightest spread of the night. Carter has contributed 40 DraftKings points per game in the seven Orlando games that have presented single-digit spreads and totals of at least 220 points this season.

Boom: Fred VanVleet: $8,000 DK/$8,100 FD

25% DraftKings Boom/24% FanDuel Boom

VanVleet (knee) is listed as questionable but played through this same designation Saturday and should suit up again tonight. On DraftKings and FanDuel, the guard is simply too cheap for life without O.G. Anunoby (out, finger). With Anunoby out Saturday, VanVleet finished with 44.8 DraftKings points across 34.4 minutes against the Hawks. He has now eclipsed 40 DraftKings points in nine of his 15 starts without Anunoby this season. Furthermore, with Anunoby off the floor, VanVleet’s usage has risen 2.2 percentage points to 26.8%. Tonight the Raptors will be going against a Nets’ squad that ranks 28th in defensive rating in the new year. VanVleet brings 50-fantasy-point upside in this spot and is expected to come with single-digit ownership on both sites according to Awesemo’s projections.

Update: According to Raptors’ HC Nick Nurse, VanVleet is “unlikely” to play tonight. However, Nurse said this on Saturday and VanVleet ended up playing and handling a full workload. Thankfully, with this game tipping at 7:30 PM EST, we should have official word on VanVleet before the start of the slate. If he plays, expect him to come with minimal ownership and be an elite pivot in GPPs. Now, if VanVleet does end up sitting, all our attention should shift to Gary Trent Jr. In the last four contests VanVleet has missed, Trent Jr. has moved over to point guard and been outstanding with the role, scoring 46.4 DraftKings PPG.

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