NBA Fantasy Picks Today: DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Basketball Rankings

It is time to win some money going into the weekend. Tonight features a nine-game slate that has a great mixture of promising studs and extremely high total game environments. There is still a fair share of questionable players so be sure to check the Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page to see who is in and out tonight. This NBA DFS picks article is driven by Awesemo’s NBA DFS Rankings. As always be sure to check out all of Awesemo’s tools. Our Ownership Projections are free today.

DraftKings & FanDuel NBA Fantasy Rankings Today

*Grades are ordered DraftKings, FanDuel. The initial grade indicates a player’s strength of output, with the value grade indicating their strength as a play in relation to their salary.

PG Brandon Goodwin — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best matchups on the slate on the road against the Charlotte Hornets. However, they are missing two of their starters in All-Star Darius Garland and Lauri Markkanen once again tonight. That will pave the way for Cavaliers role players to get extra minutes and usage. Cavaliers point guard Brandon Goodwin has thrived since jumping into the starting lineup. In their last two games, Goodwin is averaging 14 points, four rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He has shot 58.8 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from behind the arc.

Rostering a guard against the Hornets is always a good spot as they are second in the league in pace and 26th in defensive rating. They also allow the third-most points, averaging 114.6 per game. Goodwin should continue to thrive in this game environment. His playing time has ramped up from 27 to 32 minutes in the last two games while Awesemo projects Goodwin to play a modest 25.9 minutes tonight. Goodwin’s teammate Cedi Osman is popping a bit more, but his price tag has shot up. Both are good values but focus on the cheaper route, as the Cavaliers are only implied for 106.75 points.

SG Caris LeVert — Grades: A, A | Values: B, A

The best play according to our NBA DFS Rankings is Indiana Pacers shooting guard Caris LeVert. The Pacers are decimated with injuries. Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon, Isaiah Jackson and T.J. McConnell are all listed out tonight. Among players priced $6,500 or higher on both DraftKings and FanDuel, Awesemo projects LeVert to be the best value of them all. He is projected to play 35.3 minutes and should get plenty of usage without most of the Pacers starting lineup on the floor tonight. LeVert is a perfect mid-range option.

According to our boom/bust probability tool, LeVert also has the fourth-highest boom percentage on FanDuel, where he still remains at a very cheap salary compared to his upside in this spot. This game against the Chicago Bulls features the second-highest total on the slate at 231 points. The Pacers are four-point home underdogs implied for 114.25 points. It is surprising seeing the Pacers with a close spread against the best team in the Eastern Conference. If the Pacers can hang with the Bulls, LeVert is going to have a huge game. He has averaged 41.3 DraftKings points per game in his last two games.

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PG — Tre Mann Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

Another valuable team on the slate tonight will be the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are eight-point road underdogs against the Portland Trail Blazers but will be playing without their leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Point guard Tre Mann started in his place last game and had a career-high 29 points while shooting 8-for-14 from the field and 6-for-8 from downtown. Mann played 41 minutes and finished with 39.5 DraftKings points. He still remains at a relatively cheap salary and is popping in our ownership projections as the highest-owned player on DraftKings tonight.

It might be weird recommending another value play in a game where the Thunder are implied for a slate-low 103 points, but the matchup against the Trail Blazers is a bit too inviting. They rank 28th in defensive rating as they allow opponents to shoot 47.4 percent from the field and a league-high 36.8 percent from behind the arc. There are a few Thunder value plays that we can get to tonight, but do not go overboard with Thunder players regardless of the matchup. Mann should torch the Trail Blazers from long-distance. He has made at least two 3-pointers in five of his last six games.

C Christian Wood — Grades: A, B | Values: C, C

Getting exposure to the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets game will be critical tonight. With Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray‘s status up in the air, the Rockets’ Christian Wood is recommended instead. Wood leads the Rockets averaging a double-double with 17.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He has been one of the most consistent players at his salary over the last nine games. During that time he is averaging 20.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from behind the arc. He has scored over 40 DraftKings points in eight of those nine games with three of those nine scoring over 50 DraftKings points.

The Spurs present a great matchup for Wood as they allow 50.4 points per game in the paint, which ranks third-most in the league. They also rank 20th in defensive rating and fifth in pace this season. This game has the highest total on the slate at a ridiculous 236 points. This is a great game to stack. Monitor the status of Murray in our starting lineups page because if he sits, the Spurs also have some great value. The Rockets vs. Spurs matchup is the game of the night from a fantasy standpoint.

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