NBA Daily Fantasy Projections & DFS Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel 2/5

We have another medium-sized NBA DFS slate tonight as this Saturday features five games. There isn’t one game that stands out above the rest, so ownership should be pretty level. These four players below are led by our Awesemo Boom/Bust Tool while this article provides three boom and one bust player. As always with the weekend NBA daily fantasy slate, news is extremely important. Be sure to check our Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page to find out who is in and out tonight.

Boom/Bust NBA Daily Fantasy Projections & Picks

Boom: Mamadi Diakite: $3,000 DraftKings/$3,500 FanDuel

39.5% DraftKings Boom/29.2% FanDuel Boom

Mamadi Diakite. Who is that?! He was the post player who dyed his hair blonde on the Virginia Cavaliers when they won the NCAA National Championship. This is his second stint in the NBA and he is is priced at the stone minimum on both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight. Diakite is coming off of a season-high 30 minutes where he had 12 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. The Thunder are once again a great source of value as they are playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Aaron Wiggins, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Diakite leads the way in our boom/bust probability tool with the highest boom percentage on DraftKings and the second-highest to fellow teammate Josh Giddey on FanDuel.

This isn’t the best spot for the Thunder as they are implied for a slate-low 105 points tonight. However, they have won three games in a row and this matchup against the Kings is one where they should be able to exploit. Awesemo projects Diakite to be the best value play on both DraftKings and FanDuel. He is also popping in our ownership projections for both sites as the second-highest owned player. He started last game and that is expected again tonight. The Kings allow the most points in the paint this season at 52.3 per game. Diakite is a fantastic salary-saver on this slate.

Boom: Anthony Davis: $10,100 DraftKings/$10,500 FanDuel

34.8% DraftKings Boom/25.8% FanDuel Boom

With the status of LeBron James up in the air, Anthony Davis is the clear-cut top option at the center position and is popping as the best way to spend your salary on this slate. James has been out for the past four games and is listed as doubtful to play tonight. In those four games the Lakers are just 1-3, but Davis is averaging 29.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. During that time he is shooting 55.4 percent from the field and is averaging 56.2 DraftKings points per game. Awesemo projects Davis to be just below Giannis Antetokounmpo in fantasy points at a much cheaper salary.

The downside of this play is that the Knicks present a very boring matchup as they rank dead last in pace this season. This game total is the lowest on the slate at 213.5 points as the Lakers are two-point home favorites. However, with the assumption of no James, Davis will get even more usage. In 16 games without James this season, Davis is averaging a double-double with 25.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Despite the matchup and projected low-scoring game, our ownership projections have Davis in the top five of highest-owned players on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

Boom: Anfernee Simons: $6,600 DraftKings/$6,500 FanDuel

38.2% DraftKings Boom/24.5% FanDuel Boom

The highest game total on the slate features the Trail Blazers hosting the Bucks at 228.5 points. It certainly isn’t leading the slate by much, but this game provides value in what should be an up-tempo matchup. The Trail Blazers are still playing without Damian Lillard and they also traded away Norman Powell and Robert Covington. That will open the door for more usage for point guard Anfernee Simons who had 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists in their game last night against the Thunder. The Trail Blazers received Eric Bledsoe in the trade, but he won’t be available.

The Trail Blazers seem to be mailing the season in as they sit 10th in the Western Conference standings. They are 10.5-point home underdogs to the Bucks tonight. However, where Simons can take advantage in this spot is from the perimeter. The Bucks allow a league-high 41.5 3-point attempts and are tied for the league-lead in 3-pointers made allowed per game this season. Simons leads the Trail Blazers in 3-point percentage with 39.2 percent while over 55 percent of his field goal attempts come from behind the arc. Simons aggressiveness should be on full display tonight.

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Bust: Chris Paul: $9,800 DraftKings/$9,900 FanDuel

54.0% DraftKings Bust/60.3% FanDuel Bust

Seventeen-year veteran Chris Paul is on an incredible stretch run lately where he has averaged 20.6 points and 13 assists while shooting 54.5 percent from the field over his last eight games. During that time he has averaged 53.2 DraftKings points and 38.8 minutes per game. He has yet to play a game below 37 minutes over that run. Each game they have played has been decided by 10 points or less. The Suns are eight-point road favorites against the Wizards who are playing without Bradley Beal. Awesemo projects Paul to play 35.7 minutes tonight which would be tough for him to have a ceiling game. Certainly still expect Paul to have a good game tonight, but the Suns could scale back his minutes in this matchup.

The Wizards have lost six of their last seven games and have fallen out of the playoffs right now in the Eastern Conference. The Suns not only have the best record in the league, but they are also an extremely impressive 19-5 playing on the road this season. Paul has also seen a steady hike in his price tag over the past few weeks. He has played 39 or more minutes in five of his last seven games and we project that to come down quite a bit. Paul continues to lead the league in assists with 10.5 per game, but is averaging a career-low 14.9 points per game. Look elsewhere than the veteran point guard.

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