NBA Daily Fantasy Projections & DFS Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel 1/29

On tap for Saturday night is a six-game slate that presents some fantastic matchups. NBA fantasy lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel will be flush with high-level talent and value plays. The Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page will provide breaking news when starters are announced as well as a full injury report on players who might be missing in action. Below are some NBA daily fantasy options 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: Jalen Brunson: $6,100 DraftKings/$5,600 FanDuel

26.3% DraftKings Boom/29.7% FanDuel Boom

Popping as the highest boom percentage on FanDuel and third-highest on DraftKings is Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson. According to our ownership projections, Brunson is also showing up as the highest-owned player on FanDuel and second-highest on DraftKings. He certainly isn’t near as good as Luka Doncic, but he is a cheaper way to get exposure to the Mavericks who are a 10-point home favorite against the Pacers tonight. The Pacers rank 24th in defensive rating this season and may have heavy legs as they are coming off of an overtime victory over the Thunder last night.

Brunson is coming off of a double-double where he had 20 points and 11 assists. He also grabbed six rebounds as he scored 46.5 DraftKings points which was his third-highest output of the season. Brunson has been extremely consistent ever since he moved into the starting lineup. In the 30 games that Brunson has started this season, he is averaging 18.1 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 50.1 percent from the field. He is averaging 35.1 DraftKings points per game during that time and provides a ton of value on this slate tonight, especially on FanDuel.

Boom: Precious Achiuwa: $3,600 DraftKings/$3,700 FanDuel

31.4% DraftKings Boom/28.4% FanDuel Boom

Coming in as the second-highest boom percentage on both DraftKings and FanDuel is Raptors center Precious Achiuwa. Unlike most of the Raptors starters, their center rotation has been a bit of a carousel all season long. There are games where Achiuwa plays 35 minutes and games where he only plays 15 minutes. Awesemo projects Achiuwa to play 27.2 minutes tonight and he is popping as the best value play on both sites. This game has the lowest total on the slate at 208 points, but the Raptors will need Achiuwa’s size against Bam Adebayo who is finally back from injury.

There is certainly risk with Achiuwa, but his price tag has gotten out of control while his minutes are starting to ramp up again. He has played an average of 24 minutes in his last two games and has provided an average of 6.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Monitor the status of Fred VanVleet, because if he is out that will affect the Raptors rotations and solidify Achiuwa’s minutes tonight. He has also seen a $1,000 price drop on DraftKings in just one week, which doesn’t correlate with the playing time increasing. The salary and playing time mitigates the risk for Achiuwa.

Boom: Joel Embiid: $11,700 DraftKings/$11,400 FanDuel

23.6% DraftKings Boom/20.7% FanDuel Boom

With the two value plays provided above, salary should not be an issue in paying up for Joel Embiid who is the most expensive option on DraftKings and FanDuel. The price tag is deserving as he also provides the highest ceiling. Awesemo projects Embiid to score the most fantasy points on both sites tonight. He is coming off of a mediocre 26 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists performance as the 76ers blew out the Lakers 107-85. However, in his previous four games, Embiid averaged a massive double-double with 42.5 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.

For a center, this is the best matchup possible. Not only do the Kings rank 29th in defensive rating this season, but they have allowed the most points in the paint with 52.6 per game. They allow 114.9 points per game total which rank second-highest in the league while they also rank seventh in pace. Embiid continues to lead the league in usage rate with 36.3 percent per game and will absolutely feast against the undersized Kings frontcourt. He has averaged 67.1 DraftKings points per game in his last five games and should be a focal point in your lineups tonight.

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Bust: Caris LeVert: $8,800 DraftKings/$7,600 FanDuel

70.0% DraftKings Bust/51.8% FanDuel Bust

Caris LeVert had an incredible run earlier this month where he had over 40 DraftKings points in seven of eight games. However, his production has taken a dip recently and the Pacers just got Domantas Sabonis back from injury. Sabonis had his fourth triple-double in his last eight games last night to lead the Pacers to an overtime victory. Malcolm Brogdon is still out with an injury which solidifies LeVert’s minutes, but he has been awful lately. Over his last two games, LeVert is averaging 10 points per game while shooting 23.1 percent from the field and 11.1 percent from behind the arc.

Among the highest-priced players tonight, LeVert stands out as having one of the highest bust percentages for both sites, but especially DraftKings. This is also shown in our NBA DFS Rankings where LeVert has an E value, but a B grade. The Pacers have a 6-19 road record and are 10-point road underdogs tonight. The Mavericks rank fifth in defensive rating and 29th in pace this season. They only allow 103.3 points per game which ranks third-best in the league. The Pacers are implied for only 103.25 points as this should be a slow and low scoring game. This is a tough spot for LeVert and the Pacers.

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