RADIO
Happy Friday, RotoBallers! I hope you all had a wonderful week up to this point, and a great weekend is forthcoming! We have a nice NBA slate this Friday night. Usually, the Thursday night slate is small and the Friday night slate is huge, but the slates have been more evened out this week than usual. Tonight's slate is better than last week's five-game Friday slate, so let's take a look!
Tonight, we have ourselves an eight-game slate on this lovely Friday. With both FanDuel and DraftKings having multi-position eligibility players, we'll have to attack slates accordingly to make our lineups as optimal as possible. That's where I come in! I'll look to find my personal top plays and values for tonight's slate. Things can also change during the day, so I'll do my best to update you as news comes out!
Without further adieu, here is my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 2/3/22. Keep an eye on RotoBaller’s NBA injury news and also our full NBA injury report today to stay up to date before lineups are locked.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Fred VanVleet, at HOU (FD: $8,900, DK: $8,300)
I'll start tonight's slate off with Fred VanVleet. VanVleet is coming off a fantastic game against the Jazz on Wednesday night, logging a triple-double with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and ten assists, while adding a steal and a block. He now gets a fantastic matchup against the Rockets that come into this one ranked tied for 28th in the league in point guard efficiency. My model projects VanVleet to play 39 minutes tonight with a 25.83% usage rate.
FanDuel Projection: 52.64
DraftKings Projection: 51.93
Tyrese Maxey, at SA (FD: $6,000, DK: $5,900)
I'll take a look at Tyrese Maxey next. Maxey comes into this one averaging 20.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on the year. Both he and the Sixers have seriously benefitted from Maxey coming off of the bench and De'Anthony Melton in the starting lineup, as he's seen a usage rate increase, and the team as a whole has been playing much better. He gets a great matchup against the Spurs who are tied with Houston, ranking 28th in point guard efficiency. My model projects him for a 23.62% usage rate across 32 minutes in this one tonight.
FanDuel Projection: 34.92
DraftKings Projection: 35.03
Davion Mitchell, at IND (FD: $3,800, DK: $3,000)
I'll finish things up at the guard position with Davion Mitchell. Mitchell is averaging 5.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on the season, but he's been playing just 18 minutes per game this season. This should change tonight, though, as De'Aaron Fox is OUT tonight for the Kings. This bumps Mitchell's projections up to a 14.3% usage rate across 30 minutes, but he should see a nice bump in usage. The matchup isn't terrific, as Indiana ranks 3rd in point guard efficiency, but the 105.1 projected pace should be enough for Mitchell to hit value at his price on both sites.
FanDuel Projection: 22.44
DraftKings Projection: 21.7
Also consider: Trae Young (FD: $9,500, DK: $9,400), Daishen Nix (FD: $4,300, DK: $3,800)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Lauri Markkanen, vs ATL (FD: $8,700, DK: $8,400)
I'll start things off with the forward position with Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen is having an awesome season in Utah, averaging 24.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on the year, and is coming off an impressive game against the Raptors where he logged 28/13/1 with a steal and a block. He gets a middle-of-the-pack matchup against the Hawks tonight, which ranks 18th in power forward efficiency. My model projects Lauri for a 23.89% usage rate across 35 minutes in tonight's game.
FanDuel Projection: 40.61
DraftKings Projection: 47.27
Jerami Grant, at WAS (FD: $6,700, DK: $6,600)
I'll take a look at Jerami Grant next. Grant isn't in a "smash" spot here by any means but is a solid cash player on this slate. He's averaging 21.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on the year, and gets a semi-difficult matchup against the Wizards who rank 12th in power forward efficiency. The pace is what I'm a bit worried about here, with just a 99.4 projection. However, my model projects Grant for a 22.74% usage rate across 36 minutes in tonight's showdown against Washington.
FanDuel Projection: 35.02
DraftKings Projection: 34.35
Jaden McDaniels, vs ORL (FD: $5,400, DK: $4,700)
I'll wrap things up at the forward positions with Jaden McDaniels. With Jordan McLaughlin and Karl-Anthony Towns out once again for tonight's game, this gives a solid bump for McDaniels. McDaniels averages 11.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and two assists per game this year, but does project to have himself a good night. While the usage rate is low (13.7%), my model does project him to play 33 minutes in tonight's matchup with the Magic, so we're getting solid value here given his price tag on both sites.
FanDuel Projection: 28.14
DraftKings Projection: 27.9
Also consider: Keldon Johnson (FD: $7,500, DK: $7,300), P.J. Washington (FD: $6,200, DK: $6,500)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Joel Embiid, at SA (FD: $11,500, DK: $11,500)
I'll wrap things up with Joel Embiid. Embiid has been a man on fire over the last few weeks. He's been quiet, of course, relative to his price, over the last two games, but he is coming off of a game against the Nuggets last Saturday where he scored 47 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and logged five assists. He gets a plus matchup tonight against the Spurs who rank 22nd in center efficiency. Embiid projects to a whopping 35.09% usage rate across 35 minutes tonight.
FanDuel Projection: 65.94
DraftKings Projection: 63.32
Also consider: Isaiah Stewart (FD: $4,500, DK: $4,600)
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