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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on February 2, 2022. John Brubaker provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Wednesday and welcome to February, RotoBallers! I hope last night's slate of NBA DFS treated you well. I'm continuing to work on my NBA model, trying to gather more information to make sure all of you are as armed as possible going into each slate. Even with the small adjustments I've made so far, it seems to be working. I'm trying to implement different factors to separate cash options against GPP options. I'll continue to keep you all updated with the adjustments I make, and with all of that said, let's get to tonight!
Tonight we have a nice slate, with nine games on tap. With now both FanDuel and DraftKings having multi-position eligibility players, we'll have to attack slates a bit differently 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 change during the day as well, so I'll do my best to update as news comes out!
Here are my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 2/2/22. 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
LaMelo Ball - at BOS (FD: $8,800, DK: $9,500)
I'll start tonight's slate off with LaMelo Ball. LaMelo has been playing consistently well of late and should continue to roll tonight. The Hornets have already ruled out Gordon Hayward and Jalen McDaniels for tonight, and with those two off the floor, LaMelo averages 1.25 FanDuel and 1.3 DraftKings points per minute. Kelly Oubre is questionable for tonight's game as well, and with him off the floor, those numbers actually drop to 1.13/1.15, respectively. We definitely want Oubre to play here, but I rate Ball as a solid GPP option either way, especially on FanDuel with his price sitting below $9K.
Josh Giddey, at DAL (FD: $6,000, DK: $7,900)
FanDuel has really stayed staunch on Giddey's price here, which confuses the you-know-what out of me. We'll take it though, as the Thunder will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for at least the remainder of the first half of the season. With SGA off the floor, Giddey is a 1.04 FanDuel and 1.08 DraftKings point per minute player. In games where SGA doesn't play, Giddey averages 16.3/9.8/8.5. The matchup against the Mavs tonight proves to be a difficult one, as they come into this one ranked in 7th in both point and shooting guard efficiency. However, with the usage and FPPM boost, it's hard to fade Giddey on FanDuel.
Cedi Osman, at HOU (FD: $4,400, DK: $4,600)
When I was looking at today's NBA lineups, I kind of laughed when I saw Osman was slated as the projected point guard for the Cavs tonight. Nevertheless, here we are as Cleveland will be without emerging star Darius Garland as well as Lauri Markkanen for tonight's game. With those two off the floor, Osman averages 0.84 FanDuel and 0.85 DraftKings points per minute. It doesn't seem like much, but for a guy who should play 30+ minutes and should take at least some of the point guard duty against a team that ranks dead last in point guard efficiency, it's a tough value play to pass up on either site.
Also consider: Russell Westbrook (FD: $8,500, DK: $5,500), Cody Martin (FD: $4,400, DK: $5,500)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jarrett Allen, at HOU (FD: $7,600, DK: $7,700)
Speaking of the Cavs/Rockets matchup, we'll look to the big man Jarrett Allen. Both Allen and rookie Evan Mobley have been awesome for this emerging Cavs team this year, and tonight should be no different. Allen is a 1.03 FanDuel and 1 DraftKings point per minute player in the Cavs' current situation and gets a similarly strong matchup against the Rockets who rank dead last in both power forward and center efficiency. I'll have a ton of exposure to the Cavs tonight across the board for sure.
Isaiah Jackson, vs ORL (FD: $6,000, DK: $5,400)
Isaiah Jackson has been on fire over his last three games and hopes to keep that rolling against a Magic team who go into tonight on a back-to-back. Goga Bitazde, Domantas Sabonis, and Myles Turner are among the long list of Pacers out tonight, and with all of those guys off the floor, Jackson is a 1.34 FanDuel and 1.29 DraftKings points per minute player. This is a slam dunk cash play on both sites tonight, especially against the Magic who rank 19th in center efficiency and are on the second leg of a road back-to-back.
Dorian Finney-Smith, vs OKC (FD: $4,200, DK: $4,400)
Finney-Smith is always a curious case for me, but tonight I rate him as a solid GPP option. He's a 0.74 FanDuel and 0.73 DraftKings points per minute player with the likes of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis, both ruled out tonight, off of the floor. The Thunder currently sit in the middle of the pack against small forwards, ranking 17th in small forward efficiency. I just trust that "DFS" will play close to 32 minutes if not more, and I have no problems having exposure to him in GPPs in the event he has a "ceiling" game.
Also consider: Harrison Barnes (FD: $5,900, DK: $9,100), Robert Covington (FD: $5,300, DK: $4,600)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jusuf Nurkic, at LAL (FD: $7,600, DK: $8,000)
Much like the Pacers as I mentioned early, the Blazers are dealing with the injury bug as a slew of players, including Nurkic himself, find themselves either out or questionable for this one. As I'm writing this, though, Nurkic is slated as probable for tonight's game. So long as he plays with no restrictions, Nurkic is the biggest beneficiary of this Blazers' roster situation as he's a 1.2 FanDuel and 1.22 DraftKings point per minute player with the trio of Lillard, Nance, and Zeller off the floor, who have all already been ruled out for tonight's matchup with the Lakers.
Hassan Whiteside, vs DEN (FD: $6,500, DK: $6,600)
Despite his price rising, I still feel the need to show exposure to Whiteside as long as Rudy Gobert is out of the lineup. Whiteside is probable for tonight's matchup, and he'll hope to play as he averages nearly a double-double with two blocks per game when Gobert sits out. Whiteside averages 1.16 FanDuel and 1.14 DraftKings points per minute in the Jazz's current injury situation, and as long as he stays out of foul trouble we could see a big game from him against the Nuggets, despite their 9th rank in center efficiency.
Also consider: Nikola Jokic (FD: $11,300, DK: $12,500), Mo Bamba (FD: $5,800, DK: $5,300)
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