With six games on the schedule for tonight, it’s a laid-back NBA fantasy Saturday slate, especially since the first game won’t be included for the DFS main slate. While there are only a few games, there appears to be a bunch of injury news. The Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page will give you 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 Boom/Bust Tool and NBA DFS projections.
Be sure to read up on your ol’ pal EMac’s NBA DFS Building Blocks article for today’s five-game slate. He’ll take you through all of the core plays you’ll need when building your DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups.
NBA Fantasy Projections & Optimal Lineup Picks Tonight
Top Boom Candidates
Dennis Schroder: $5,400 DraftKings/$6,000 FanDuel | 37.3% DraftKings Boom/16.6% FanDuel Boom
One piece of injury news that we will not need to wait for comes out of Boston. Jaylen Brown injured his hamstring and will be inactive tonight. Brown has been the Celtics’ scoring leader this season, so his absence creates a great deal of opportunity (for more on the key injuries to watch for tonight’s slate, be sure to read Adam Strangis’ in-depth NBA Injury Report).One of the players that should benefit most is Dennis Schroder. When Brown missed the game on the Oct. 24, Schroder started, had a 27% usage rate and scored 18 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
While Schroder has much more upside on DraftKings, due to him being $600 cheaper, he can be a solid play on both sites. The Awesemo Boom/Bust Tool gives Schroder a floor of around 25 NBA fantasy points tonight but a ceiling of about 36.
Al Horford: $7,600 DraftKings/$7,600 FanDuel | 39.6% DraftKings Boom/40.7% FanDuel Boom
One of the biggest surprises of this young NBA season has to be the play of Al Horford, who is back in Boston. The veteran is averaging three blocks to go along with a double-double. With Brown off the floor this season, Horford sees the second-highest usage bump, increasing is usage by 5.2% on average. Looking at the usage with Boston’s projected starting five for tonight sharing the floor, Horford leads the group with a 35.6% usage rate, though this is only a 10-minute sample size. Still, it shows how involved he will be, and it certainly appears he will benefit from Brown’s absence tonight.
The Awesemo Boom/Bust Tool gives Horford a floor of around 34 NBA fantasy points and a ceiling of about 47.
C.J. McCollum: $7,900 DraftKings/$8,000 FanDuel | 34.4% DraftKings Boom/24.2% FanDuel Boom
While C.J. McCollum is on the second leg of a back-to-back, his stats during his entire career show his performance doesn’t dip with zero days of rest. Tonight, playing a Lakers team without LeBron James, there is a lot of opportunity. Damian Lillard will be chasing around Russell Westbrook more often than not, which could lead to him deferring slightly more on the offensive end to McCollum, who has been the offensive leader for Portland this season anyways. He is also coming off a four-game stretch in which he has hit 43% of his shots from downtown, averaging 23.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Look for him to keep the momentum rolling tonight.
The Awesemo Boom/Bust Tool gives McCullum a floor of around 34 NBA fantasy points and a ceiling of about 46.
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Top Bust Candidates
Donovan Mitchell: $9,300 DraftKings/$8,000 FanDuel | 68.0% DraftKings Bust/58.1% FanDuel Bust
Donovan Mitchell has not played since Tuesday, due to an ankle injury. Even if he does play this evening, he should be avoided for NBA fantasy, due to his matchup against Miami. The Heat are the second-ranked team in defensive efficiency this season, and they combined that defensive tenacity with the fourth-slowest pace. That’s a bad combo for a high-scoring guard. Especially on DraftKings, where he is $1,300 more expensive, there is no reason to touch Mitchell in this matchup.
Awesemo’s projections give him a -10.38 value on DraftKings and -5.75 on FanDuel today.
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