FanDuel NBA DFS Lineup Picks (2/23/21): Daily Fantasy Basketball Advice

Mike Marteny highlights the top FanDuel NBA DFS lineup picks for 2/23/21, and a couple of sleepers to consider while building daily rosters.

We have our largest Tuesday slate since I started doing these FanDuel writeups on Tuesday. We have nine games and tons of stars that might be available tonight. Dallas, Portland, and Washington are playing the second night of a back-to-back. I doubt we see Dame or Luka sit, but this is the NBA. You never really know until tipoff, or roughly ten minutes after the game locks on FanDuel. The Warriors are a total nightmare when it comes to this relatively new practice. Unfortunately, they are on tonight's slate.

The injury bugs have left some pretty big welts on this slate. C.J. McCollum, D'Angelo Russell, and Marcus Smart being out limit the depth at SG a little bit. Kevin Durant is the only other high-profile player still sidelined. Jrue Holiday should make his return for the Bucks, but he will almost certainly be on a minutes limit. That takes away the great values of D.J. Augustin and Bryn Forbes though. We'll have to look for other ways to try and pay up for some of these stars.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 2/23/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward, and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.

FanDuel DFS Guards

James Harden, SG – vs. Sacramento ($11,000)

I know one of the key things in DFS is to try to remember not to pick blowouts, but this may be the exception. The Kings have lost seven straight by at least eight points. One of those was to this Brooklyn team on their left coast swing. Harden went for 61.6 FanDuel points in that game. We can't say that he's not worth the money. Luka was a dud last night. I'm in no hurry to run guards at a healthy Clippers squad. Harden is the safest best to get near 6x value among the high-priced guards. He's worth paying for.

Kyrie Irving, PG – vs. Sacramento ($8,800)

There's enough work for both Brooklyn guards with KD out and the Kings are among the worst team in the league defending guards. I know it's weird to stack a backcourt on a nine-game slate, but hear me out. Kyrie put up 52.3 FanDuel points in that game against the Kings nine days ago. Harden and Irving totally dominated that game. There's no reason why they can't duplicate that feat at home. Irving came very close to 6x value in that meeting. You can pick and choose between Irving and Harden, but why? The middle tier is full of iffy matchups and there's value to be had to make this happen.

Saben Lee, PG – at Orlando ($5,000)

Dennis Smith Jr. trolled everyone against this same Orlando team on Sunday. He played like a dog. Meanwhile, Lee played 32 minutes with Delon Wright out and racked up 32.3 FanDuel points. FanDuel is on the ball here with raising the price on Lee, but it's not high enough to deter me from using him. Lee did more than enough to prove that he's better than Dennis Smith at running this team. Lee should clear 6x value with the potential for over 7x.

Also consider: Damian Lillard ($10,300), Collin Sexton ($6,900), Cam Reddish ($4,500)

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FanDuel DFS Forwards

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF – vs. Minnesota ($11,300)

Simply put, the Timberwolves are terrible. You can't just blame it on them being young and disorganized, and I don't buy for a minute that Ryan Saunders was the problem. What does this have to do with Giannis? Well, we can just concede that this game is going to be a blowout. We can also infer that Giannis is still going to flirt with 6x value in 30 minutes against a team that gives about as much effort on defense as FanDuel did on getting these slates up (they weren't live until after 10pm Eastern last night). Giannis hasn't been below 50 FanDuel points since February 8 against Denver and has only been under 60 once since then. He still has the highest ceiling on the entire slate, even in what will likely be an easy win.

Evan Fournier, SF – vs. Detroit ($6,800)

I don't like most of the middle tier at forward either and it is mostly to do with price. I really don't like paying this much for Fournier since the floor is notoriously low, but he has posted back-to-back games over 40 FanDuel points. Orlando is still short-handed and is playing a Detroit team that he scorched on Sunday. A guy like Kelly Oubre may have more upside, but Fournier is a guy to ride when he's hot. He certainly seems to be right now.

Daniel Theis, PF – at Dallas ($4,900)

If Kristaps Porzingis returns, I may rethink this one. Dallas is much better defensively with the Unicorn off the court. My thinking is that he will play tonight, thus leaving a feeding frenzy up front for Boston. Theis isn't the most consistent guy on the court, but Boston will need his size to handle Porzingis. Theis performs well when he gets those big minutes and has as strong floor because he doesn't rely a lot on scoring. You're on Theis for blocks and rebounds, which makes him much more valuable on FanDuel.

Also consider: Jayson Tatum ($9,400), Kelly Oubre ($7,600), Serge Ibaka ($5,200)

FanDuel DFS Centers 

Nikola Vucevic – vs. Detroit ($9,900)

Detroit doesn't have much left for big men with Drummond gone and Blake Griffin sitting out until he's traded. Mason Plumlee couldn't handle Vucevic on Sunday. Vuce went for 63.9 FanDuel points. We have seen Vucevic clear 60 FanDuel points five times this month. With Markelle Fultz and Aaron Gordon both out, Vucevic has taken over the offense on his own. Detroit is one of those teams that has no answer for him. Vucevic's ceiling is every bit as high as that of Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic. It's right up there with Giannis and Harden at a fraction of the price.

Jarrett Allen – vs. Atlanta ($7,600)

I always wondered what Allen could be when given the minutes. He is finally on a team that has committed to him. The Cavs are sitting Andre Drummond out while they try to deal him. Meanwhile, Allen has played 74 minutes over the last two games and racked up 98.4 FanDuel points along the way. One of those games was against Denver. Clint Capela is an elite rebounder, but he isn't a particularly strong defender. If Allen is going to play well over 30 minutes per game, he's going to continue putting up massive numbers that his price hasn't caught up to yet.

DeAndre Jordan – vs. Sacramento ($5,500)

Jordan is playing solid minutes of late, but he doesn't always do a lot with them. He is the third wheel with Durant out and a total afterthought with Durant in. However, Jordan is made for a site like FanDuel that rewards us DFS players for Jordan's defensive chops. The Kings aren't a good defensive team anywhere on the court and they are a remarkably sloppy team most of the time. Defensive guys like Jordan have the potential for a field day against teams like this.

Also consider: Nikola Jokic ($10,500), Clint Capela ($8,200), Richaun Holmes ($6,400)

NBA DFS News and Injury Alerts

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis