NBA Fantasy Picks Today: DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Basketball Rankings

Tonight features six NBA games, but surprisingly most of the value and top plays are coming from the games with the lower point totals. There are some big names who are questionable to play tonight, highlighted by LeBron James and Fred VanVleet. Make sure to stay up to date on the NBA Starting Lineups page to see who is in and out of the lineup. These four players listed below 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 Luka Doncic — Grades: A, A | Values: C, A

Going to the top and paying up for Luka Doncic looks to be the best route to go on this slate. Doncic continues to lead the league in usage rate with 37.2% per game. He has basically single handily led the Mavericks to the fifth seed in the Western Conference, as he leads the team in points, rebounds and assists for the second-straight season. Doncic has an incredible ceiling so it is no surprise that he has the highest projection in our NBA DFS Projections. His ceiling is also displayed in our Boom/Bust Tool where Doncic has the highest boom percentage on FanDuel and the second-highest on DraftKings. There is enough value to prioritize Doncic on this slate.

Playing against the Lakers right now is a great spot to target. They have lost 14 of their last 20 games and their defensive rating drops from 107.8 to 110.6 without Anthony Davis in the lineup. This is a major pace-up spot for the Mavericks, who rank dead last in pace. The Lakers rank fifth in pace, allowing 112.4 points per game. This late-night hammer has the second-lowest total on the slate at 216.5 points, but Doncic is a scary fade as he has the highest projected ownership on FanDuel and the second-highest on DraftKings according to our NBA ownership projections.

If possible do whatever you can to make sure Doncic is in the utility spot. This does not get discussed enough, but if you are far behind in your cash game or tournament, make the simple swap from Doncic to LeBron James. Give yourself a chance to come back.

Our NBA optimizer also has Doncic coming up high in the projections. As mentioned above, he is a top pay-up option tonight, so finding some NBA picks in the value range can help when building your NBA lineups tonight. Check out the DraftKings NBA DFS Cheat Sheet, FanDuel NBA DFS Cheat Sheet and Yahoo Fantasy Basketball Cheat Sheet tonight.

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

After the Raptors dismantled the Nets 133-97 last night, these two teams are changing the scenery, but running it back once again tonight. The Raptors played without Fred VanVleet last night as OG Anunoby continues to be out. VanVleet remains questionable to play tonight, but Pascal Siakam stands out as the best option if this game can stay competitive. Last night it was the rookie Scottie Barnes who went bananas with 65.5 DraftKings points only missing two shots all game. Siakam had an abysmal shooting night with only 2-for-14 from the field. Siakam’s shooting numbers should regress back to the mean and this is a fantastic matchup for him.

Besides Doncic, Siakam is the only other player who has an A Grade and A Value on either site tonight in our NBA DFS Rankings. The only concern is the Nets do not keep this game close. The Raptors are the biggest favorite on the slate at eight points playing at home. The Nets are still without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and have lost 14 of their last 17 games. If the Nets do keep this game close, Siakam is in for a big performance, especially if VanVleet is unable to play. Prioritize Siakam on FanDuel where he has the fourth-highest boom percentage. He is also coming in fifth in ownership for both DraftKings and FanDuel.

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C Daniel Gafford — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

This is a slate where it is best to pay down at center. There are two great options with Daniel Gafford and Dwight Howard. If they can stay out of foul trouble, both will easily play over 20 minutes. Gafford stands out the most, especially on DraftKings. Awesemo NBA projections have Gafford to be the best value play by quite a bit. He also has by far the highest boom percentage on DraftKings according to our Boom/Bust Tool, as he is leading by over 11%. Newly acquired Kristaps Porzingis is still out which will solidify the minutes for Gafford.

The price tag on Gafford for DraftKings is simply too cheap for the upside that he can provide. He is projected for a modest 21.4 minutes tonight but has played 29 and 24 minutes since the Wizards have returned from the All-Star Break. This matchup against the Pistons is also very promising, as they rank 25th in defensive rating and last in rebounding percentage. The Pistons allowed 62 points in the paint in their most recent game against the Hornets. Gafford should be able to feast in the paint. Our NBA DFS ownership projections have Gafford with the highest ownership on DraftKings. The low minutes risk is mitigated with the price tag.

SF De’Andre Hunter — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

Another great source of value that fills a position that is always difficult is Hawks small forward De’Andre Hunter. The Hawks are still likely without John Collins, who will miss his sixth-straight game. Hunter played 38 minutes last game while our daily fantasy basketball projections have him for 34.2 tonight. Playing against the Celtics, who have elite wings in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, will bode well for the playing time of Hunter, who is the Hawks best perimeter defender. Playing heavy minutes at this salary is fantastic value.

Playing Hunter will provide another avenue to get to Doncic, which is extremely important on this slate. The Hawks are seven-point road underdogs tonight as the Celtics have climbed to second in the defensive rating rankings. They have allowed only 103.9 points per game, led by their pace which ranks seventh-slowest in the league. The Hawks actually have the second-best offensive rating, which may come as a surprise as they are just 29-31 this season. The value with Hunter mitigates the tough matchup. The minutes will be there while playing against Tatum and Brown, and Hunter ranks in the top six of both DraftKings and FanDuel for value tonight.

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