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Welcome, RotoBallers, to Super Bowl Eve. We have an unusually large 10-game slate on tap for tonight and just two afternoon games tomorrow as the NBA, rightfully, wants to avoid conflicting with the most-watched event of the year. It is a really tricky slate, though, as a group of top teams we'd love to target (Phoenix, Golden State, Chicago, Miami) are in spots where their starters could have their minutes cut due to a blowout. There is one clear top matchup to hone in on tonight in the Grizzlies-Hornets affair, which holds the highest implied total, fastest projected pace, and the most combined fantasy points per game allowed on the slate.
There are still plenty of questionable tags and "just got traded to a new team" situations to monitor for tonight. James Harden and Ben Simmons aren't expected to suit up for their new squads, but keep an eye out for updates on Russell Westbrook, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, Tyler Herro, Kristaps Porzingis, and Spencer Dinwiddie.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 2/12/22. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our live-updating NBA injury updates tool as the slate can completely change before lineups lock. As always, feel free to follow my Twitter (@RING_DFS) - I post about a variety of things but mainly NBA DFS with my K-Rate and Positional K-Rate model. Let's get to it - good luck RotoBallers!
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
LaMelo Ball - PG, CHA vs. MEM ($9,400 DK, $8,500 FD)
Ball is playing tournament-winning ball *ducks* as of late, putting up 59.3 and 65 FD points over his last two games and scoring at least 31 real-life points in each. This is the top game to target on the slate (as detailed in the intro), so you're going to want to pick out the right pieces here and I don't have any hesitation going back to the red-hot LaMelo, especially at his price on FanDuel. The Grizzlies play pretty solid defense overall (7th in defensive rating), but they can be prone to giving up fantasy points to guards as they're allowing the 11th-most FPPG to the position this season.
Kyle Lowry - PG, MIA vs. BKN ($6,800 DK, $5,900 FD) | Better FanDuel play
Like Ball, Lowry profiles as a much more appealing option at his broken salary over on FanDuel. Lowry is getting the Cade Cunningham treatment on the blue site, which just means that FanDuel's pricing algorithm is somehow forgetting that Lowry is a real starting NBA player. He just dropped a 52.7 FD point triple-double last game, and he's priced behind Jalen Brunson and Reggie Jackson for goodness sake. Lowry should see 30-35 minutes tonight and his positional matchup doesn't get much better as the Nets allow the fourth-most FPPG to PG's this season. With Durant still out, it'll be the Kyrie-and-a-bunch-of-guys show for Brooklyn until Ben Simmons is ready to play. The only factor holding Lowry back from being a near-lock is the fact that the game currently has a 10.5-point spread - if Kyrie and his crew can keep this somewhat competitive, Lowry is going to crush value.
Devin Vassell - SG/SF, SAS vs. NOP ($4,200 DK, $4,900 FD)
Vassell is likely going to be heavy chalk, but there's absolutely an element of "good chalk" that comes into play when strategizing DFS lineups. When we get a player that is such an obviously great value that a lot of people are on, you generally should be strongly considering that player and looking to differentiate your lineup elsewhere. That is the case with Vassell tonight as he's way underpriced relative to his new starting role in the absence of Derrick White (traded to Boston). His rates don't move with White off the floor, but he's now getting around 30 minutes per night and has put up at least 31.25 DK points over his last two contests in his newfound role. The game has the second-highest implied total on the slate and Vassell is right up there among the best value options to target in lineups tonight.
Others to consider: Terry Rozier ($7,300 DK, $6,400 FD), Ja Morant ($10,500 DK, $10,200 FD), Facundo Campazzo ($3,000 DK, $3,500 FD), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($4,100 DK, $4,300 FD), Corey Kispert ($3,300 DK), Devonte' Graham ($5,000 DK), Raul Neto ($4,300 DK, $4,500 FD), Tre Mann ($4,100 FD)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Kyle Kuzma - SF/PF, WAS vs. SAC ($7,900 DK, $7,700 FD)
It's a pretty small sample size of only 71.8 minutes we're working with, but Kuzma holds a team-leading 28.6% usage rate and 1.20 FPTS/min rate with Beal, Gafford, Bertans, Dinwiddie, and Harrell off the floor this season. We got confirmation that Porzingis won't be making his debut tonight, so this is going to be the Kyle Kuzma show for at least one more game. He has been genuinely impressive this season, averaging 34.9 FPPG and putting up way more 45-50+ DK point ceiling games than anyone thought possible. He's in great form, too, recording at least 46.75 DK points in four of his last six games. The Kings are allowing the 11th-most FPPG to SF's this season and hold the second-worst defensive rating in the entire NBA, so he's not likely to feel much resistance from the Kings' defense here either.
Thaddeus Young - PF, TOR vs. DEN ($3,400 DK, $3,800 FD)
The veteran Young is a major wild card on tonight's slate. He was traded from the Spurs to the Raptors and it has been reported that he's available to play tonight, though it is extremely unclear what kind of role that will include. He's cheap enough on both sites where we can absolutely take shots on him, though, and it feels highly unlikely that he'd play any less than 20 minutes after the Raptors traded for him. He averaged a solid 1.09 FPTS/min this season with the Spurs and that could see a bump with the new frontcourt he's working with. He's competing with Watanabe, Boucher, Birch, and Achiuwa for minutes, so he should see enough clock to be viable at his salary at the very least. What makes this even more appealing is the positional matchup - the Nuggets have allowed the third-most FPPG to PF's this season and the most over their last 15 games.
Aleksej Pokusevski - SF/PF, OKC vs. CHI ($3,800 DK)
Others to consider: Desmond Bane ($6,000 FD), Franz Wagner ($5,300 DK) P.J. Tucker ($3,700 DK), Kessler Edwards, ($3,400 DK), Kenrich Williams ($4,500 DK), Deni Avdija ($4,000 DK, $4,300 FD), Lu Dort ($6,500 DK), Maxi Kleber ($3,800 DK)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jonas Valanciunas - C, NOP vs. SAS ($7,500 DK, $6,900 FD) | Better FanDuel play
JVal hasn't hit a ceiling game ever since Brandon Ingram made his return to the lineup on February 1st, but he has mostly still been his consistent self and his salary has now dropped to a spot where we can pounce on him in a very advantageous matchup. The Spurs have allowed the fifth-most FPPG to C's this season and their weak spots are in the points and rebounds categories - Valanciunas averages 18 points and 11.6 rebounds per game this season. Buy low on the big man as he's far too cheap for his potential ceiling in this matchup.
Others to consider: Ivica Zubac ($3,700 DK), Nicolas Batum ($3,400 DK), JaVale McGee ($4,000 DK, $4,800 FD), Deandre Ayton ($6,700 DK, $7,200 FD)
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