NBA Fantasy Picks Today: DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Basketball Rankings

Tonight features a relatively small five-game NBA slate. The major news is the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. That will make the Bucks a very popular team in NBA DFS lineup builds. Make sure to monitor Awesemo’s NBA Starting Lineups page to see who is in and out of the lineup tonight. These four players are driven by Awesemo’s Fantasy Basketball Rankings.

DraftKings & FanDuel NBA Fantasy Basketball Rankings

*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 Jrue Holiday — Grades: A, A | Values: A, A

With Giannis and Middleton out, it will be the Jrue Holiday show. He already saw a significant boost without Middleton in the lineup, but those numbers increase even more without Giannis. Holiday’s usage rate jumps from 22.7% to 29.5%, along with increases in his points and assists per game without Middleton. The Bucks will provide more value with Bobby Portis and other role players, but it is Holiday who leads the way as the best option in this fantastic matchup.

The Bucks get a home game against the Wizards where they are nearly double-digit favorites. This matchup has the third-highest total on the slate at 229.5 with the Bucks implied to score 119.5 points. The Wizards have lost seven of their last eight games and are basically cooked in their chances of making the playoffs. Their defensive rating has fallen to 25th, as they have mailed it in this season. Holiday looks better on DraftKings, where he has the highest boom percentage by far in Awesemo’s Boom/Bust Tool. Do not be afraid to pair him with Portis.

SG Alex Caruso — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

The Bulls are a team that looks way too cheap across the industry, especially on FanDuel. They have four players who rank in the top eight of Awesemo’s NBA fantasy Boom/Bust Tool for the highest boom percentage on FanDuel. The best option of the four is Alex Caruso, who is leading them all in value in Awesemo’s DFS projections. DeMar DeRozan is questionable to play, while Zach LaVine is probable. Caruso has played back-to-back games of 30 or more minutes, and he is still too cheap on both sites for the upside that he provides in those minutes.

Despite having a much better record than the Pelicans, the Bulls are two-point road underdogs. This game has the second-lowest total on the slate at 226 points, as the Pelicans rank 20th in pace this season. Tonight will be Caruso’s seventh game since returning from injury. The playing time and production have ramped up lately. In his last three games, Caruso is averaging exactly 20 DraftKings points per game. Caruso is in the top four in Awesemo’s NBA DFS ownership projections on both sites and that will increase if DeRozan is ruled out.

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C Goga Bitadze — Grades: C, C | Values: A, B

The value option to look at on DraftKings is Goga Bitadze. He started and played 29 minutes last night, which is the most he has played in a game since early February. Bitadze finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and 37.75 DraftKings points while shooting 9-of-12 from the field. Isaiah Jackson returned last night from injury but had to leave early with a headache and only played seven minutes. Jalen Smith also did not play, due to illness. Awesemo projects Bitadze to play 26.7 minutes and be the fourth-best value on DraftKings.

This game could be over quickly, as the Pacers are dealing with a ton of injuries and the Grizzlies may get Ja Morant back. The Grizzlies are heavy home favorites and this game has the highest total on the slate at 237.5 points. This is a very difficult spot to get too much from the Pacers, but Bitadze provides a good value. He also ranks in the top five in terms of ownership and boom percentage on DraftKings. Bitadze has scored 20 or more points in two of his last three games. He is a great salary saver on tonight’s slate.

PF Rui Hachimura — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

Another really solid value play on DraftKings is Wizards’ power forward Rui Hachimura. Similar to Bitadze, the matchup obviously is not great, but Hachimura does provide a good source of value on this slate to fit in Nikola Jokic. Kyle Kuzma is out tonight, which will provide a significant boost for Hachimura. With so much ownership now flocking to the Bucks players with Giannis and Middleton out, Hachimura may be overlooked in this matchup. He is a fantastic bring-back in heavy Bucks lineup builds tonight.

In three games without Kuzma this season, Hachimura is averaging 12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 22.25 DraftKings points per game. He has increased his usage rate and is shooting 11.3 field goal attempts per game during that time. The Bucks rank fifth in pace this season and their defense takes a significant hit without Giannis and Middleton in the lineup. Awesemo NBA projections have Hachimura still ranking sixth in terms of value on DraftKings. Being at the power forward position also helps with roster flexibility on this slate.

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