NBA Fantasy Picks Today: DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Basketball Rankings

We lead off the week with a five-game slate that is lacking star power. There are only two players on DraftKings priced over $10,000 tonight which will lead us to a more balanced build. These four players listed below are driven by Awesemo’s NBA DFS Rankings, which are free today! The biggest news on the slate is the status of Zach LaVine. Be sure to check the Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page the closer we get to lock to see his status and who is in and out tonight.

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.

SF Gordon Hayward — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

Gordon Hayward is coming off of his worst game of the season where he shot 0-for-7 from the field and only had 6.75 DraftKings points. The Hornets were blown out at home against the Heat resulting in only 22 minutes for Hayward. As a result, his salary dropped like a rock, especially on DraftKings, which is why he is popping with the second-highest boom percentage according to Awesemo’s boom/bust probability tool and the second-highest owned player according to Awesemo’s ownership projections. Take advantage of the drop in price because the minutes will still be there for Hayward.

The Hornets are slight home underdogs as they have lost four straight games. This is the closest spread on the slate as the other four games have at least a six-point spread. Not only that, but this matchup against the Raptors also features the second-highest total on the slate at 224 points. There is value with the Hornets despite the Raptors playing at the fifth-slowest pace in the league and only allowing 106.9 points per game, almost the exact opposite of how the Hornets like to play. Despite the matchup, Awesemo projects Hayward to be the best value option on DraftKings.

SG Devin Booker — Grades: A, A | Values: B, B

The only player in Awesemo’s NBA DFS Rankings that has an A grade and B value across both DraftKings and FanDuel is Suns shooting guard Devin Booker. The Suns are on another tear right now as they have won 12 of their last 13 games. Booker has been very boom or bust for most of the season because he is a very scoring-dependent fantasy producer. He ranks third in the league in field goal attempts with a career-high 20.7 per game, while also having a 32.2% usage rate. In Awesemo’s boom/bust probability tool, Booker leads the slate on DraftKings with the highest boom percentage.

This matchup against the Bulls features the highest total on the slate at 228 points as the Suns are implied for 117 points. The Bulls allow the fourth-highest 3-point percentage in the league, which Booker should absolutely feast on. He can get cooking from long-distance in a hurry, but he also scores in a variety of ways. Chris Paul continues to average a career-low in points, which will allow Booker plenty of opportunities to fill up the scoreboard. Awesemo projects Booker to be the best value play of anyone on DraftKings that is priced above $5,000 tonight.

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PG Josh Giddey — Grades: B, B | Values: D, A

Despite a 17-35 record, the Thunder have won three of their last four games. They are playing extremely well lately for their standards. However, they are still massive home underdogs in this matchup against the Warriors, who lead the league in defensive rating this season. The Thunder are implied for a slate-low 99.75 points tonight. They are difficult to ignore from a fantasy standpoint as they are playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and potentially Luguentz Dort who popped up on the injury report as questionable.

Josh Giddey is a much better play on FanDuel than DraftKings tonight. Our ownership projections have Giddey as the highest-owned player on FanDuel right now. In seven games without Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup, Giddey has averaged 17.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 41.7 DraftKings points per game. He has played the most minutes without Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor and serves as the primary ball-handler. This matchup is brutal, but there is value going to Giddey, especially on FanDuel at his cheaper salary.

PF Pascal Siakam — Grades: A, A | Values: C, C

The best part about rostering a Raptors player is the minutes that are provided. They have four starters that rank in the top five minutes played per game in the entire league. Pascal Siakam is second on the list, averaging 37.7 minutes per game. He has also played fantastic lately averaging 24 points, 11 rebounds and 52.4 DraftKings points in his last five games. The stability in minutes makes Siakam a very safe play any given night. This matchup against the Hornets is a massive boost for Siakam tonight, as well.

The Hornets rank 24th in defensive rating and second in pace this season. They have allowed the third-most points in the league with 114.2 per game. They play much faster than the Raptors and are awful defensively. It is hard to ignore not only Siakam but the rest of the Raptors in this matchup. The ownership projections have Siakam as the fifth-highest owned player on DraftKings, but he is just outside the top 10 on FanDuel. Siakam should dominate in this type of game environment. He is a fantastic pay-up option on a slate that does not have the star power.

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