NBA Fantasy Picks Today: DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Basketball Rankings

There are eight games in the NBA circuit tonight, but half of those games have a double-digit point spread. However, it is tough to avoid those games as there are several fantastic DFS plays even on the underdog side. These four options listed below are driven by Awesemo’s Fantasy Basketball Rankings. As always it is critical to stay up to date on all of the news, which you can do at our Starting Lineups page to see who is in and out of the lineup tonight. Awesemo’s NBA DFS Ownership Projections are free tonight as that is always a popular landing page.

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.

PF Trey Lyles — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

Trey Lyles is the best value play on DraftKings and FanDuel according to our Awesemo NBA player projections and it is not particularly close. He started last game for the first time since being acquired by the Kings and had a terrific game. Lyles finished with 24 points and six rebounds while shooting 10-for-14 from the field in 31 minutes. He is projected to start again, but make sure to check the starting lineup page to confirm. Awesemo has Lyles projected for only 25.3 minutes tonight, and he is still popping like crazy due to his cheap salary.

This matchup against the Pelicans features the highest total on the slate at 235.5 points. The Kings are six-point road underdogs, which seems a bit aggressive. The Pelicans allow their opponents to shoot 36% from behind the arc, which is the sixth-highest in the league. That is good news for Lyles, who is known for being a stretch-four that can knock down perimeter shots. He is shooting 42.9% from downtown for the Kings. Lyles has upside that is also displayed in our Boom/Bust Tool as he has the highest boom percentage on DraftKings and second-highest on FanDuel. Lyles is also projected for over 50% ownership on DraftKings. He is a fantastic value at this price tag.

As we noted, Lyles is popping as one of the best value plays in the NBA Rankings today. To see all of the other best high-end and value plays for tonight’s fantasy basketball slate, check out the DraftKings NBA Cheat Sheet, FanDuel NBA Cheat Sheet and Yahoo NBA Cheat Sheet today.

PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — Grades: A, A | Values: B, B

The Thunder are not a good basketball team, but they do have one shining star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Despite shooting a career-low 43.8% from the field and 28.3% from behind the arc this season, he is still averaging 23.5 points per game. Gilgeous-Alexander is a great way to be different on this slate, as he still has incredible upside. The Thunder have so many injuries, but most notably is rookie Josh Giddey. In five games without Giddey this season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 33.6 points while shooting 22.8 field goal attempts per game. During that time he is also averaging 52.5 DraftKings points and a 39% usage rate per game.

The price tag on Gilgeous-Alexander has risen quite a bit, but it is deserving. However, the matchup on the road against the Nuggets is always difficult. The Thunder are implied to score a slate-low 105.5 points as they are 14.5-point underdogs. They have been beaten by 20 or more points in two of their last three games, but Gilgeous-Alexander still finds a way to put up 30+ points. He is priced at $10,000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel, but still has a top-five boom percentage on DraftKings according to our Boom/Bust Tool. His ownership is below 16% on both sites and he is popping as a great leverage play. He will be heavily involved once again tonight.

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PG Cameron Payne — Grades: C, C | Values: A, A

Beyond Lyles, the second-best value play on DraftKings and FanDuel according to our Awesemo NBA player projections is Suns backup point guard Cameron Payne. It has been over a month since fans have last seen Payne play in a game. He was injured on January 22nd and has been out ever since. It is doubtful that he returns to the starting lineup, but he comes back at a great time as the Suns have lost two-straight home games and will be playing without Chris Paul for the foreseeable future. Payne is projected for 22.7 minutes tonight.

The Suns are in a great spot as they host the Trail Blazers as 13.5-point home favorites. They are implied to score 121 points, which is the second-highest on the slate. The Trail Blazers have lost by an average of 34.5 points in their last two games as they deal with the loss of Jusuf Nurkic and being massive sellers at the trade deadline. It would be nice to get confirmation on Payne’s playing time before this game tips off, but he is top- five on both sites in our NBA DFS ownership projections. Payne is averaging double-digit points for the second time in his career while also averaging a career-high 9.8 field goal attempts per game. He is a great source of value if he gets 20+ minutes.

C Rudy Gobert — Grades: A, A | Values: B, A

The center position is absolutely loaded on this slate. There are three centers who have an A Grade and A Value on FanDuel in our NBA Rankings. Going with the cheapest option of the three would be Jazz center Rudy Gobert. The Jazz are in an awesome spot tonight as they travel to take on the Rockets. They are 14-point favorites implied to score a slate-high 121.5 points. The Rockets rank last in defensive rating and first in pace, allowing a league-high 117.8 points per game. They also rank 25th in rebounding percentage.

Gobert is having an incredible season as he is not only averaging a career-high 14.9 rebounds per game but also leads the league by a comfortable margin. He is also scoring 15.6 points per game and ranks third in double-doubles this season. Gobert is an incredible leverage play at center tonight. He has a top-three boom percentage on DraftKings and FanDuel in our Boom/Bust Tool but is not in the top-10 of ownership. Many will be paying up for Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, but playing Gobert in this spot is a great way to be different. The Rockets allow the second-most points in the paint at 51.4 per game. Gobert will feast in this matchup tonight.

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