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Free expert daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for today's slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Use Thunder Dan's NBA DFS expert picks to building winning DFS lineups on January 31, 2024.
Happy Hump Day, RotoBallers, as Wednesday brings us nine NBA games and an eight-game DFS slate on both FanDuel and DraftKings (the late game between Portland and Milwaukee is not available on either site). It's day two of our brand new look for our free NBA DFS picks and I am hoping our new format gives you, our readers, the most detailed and insightful first look at the day's NBA DFS slate.
The key to being successful in NBA DFS comes down to making adjustments during the day as injury information becomes available. But it's always really important to have a game plan and the best players and spots circled first before making those adjustments. To keep up with all the latest developments and get access to updated projections, grab an NBA season pass and also gain access to our RotoBaller Premium Discord where @chiefjustice6 is talking about the slate up until lineups lock!
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 1/31/23. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7:00 PM EST on FanDuel and DraftKings.
Today's NBA DFS Core Plays
Let's first take a look at our premium projections to see who we want to target for our top spend-ups tonight.
We have a huge matchup between Oklahoma City and Denver tonight, but the star players on both sides are currently questionable. I think they both end up playing and if they do, I would be sure to have some Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he's priced under 10k tonight in a good spot.
Sabonis and Mitchell are fades for me as Sabo faces a tough Miami squad and Mitchell is likely to get his running mate Darius Garland back tonight. Devin Booker has been on fire lately and makes for a great tournament play, but the price and matchup against Brooklyn are easy to skip over.
That brings us to the Clipper duo of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard against Washington. The game has a 12-point spread, but I don't like projecting blowouts. The Wizards have been so bad defensively this season that a few of the Clippers' stars could still meet or exceed value without playing their full minutes. The prices are too good to pass up for that matchup.
The last time Alperen Sengun faced the Pelicans, he dumped 37-11-6 on them and he's pretty much always in play for me. But I do like Nikola Vucevic against the Hornets just a tad more at the center position for $1100 less.
He's not pictured in the screenshot, but Tim Hardaway Jr. rounds out my core plays at $6k on DraftKings. He has a 42% usage rate with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, and Derrick Jones Jr. off the floor and all four will likely miss tonight's game against Minnesota.
Top Core Plays:
- Kawhi Leonard, LAC @ WAS – SF/PF ($8,200 DK; $9,200 FD)
- Nikola Vucevic, CHI @ CHA – C ($7,500 DK; $7,900 FD)
- Tim Hardaway Jr., DAL @ MIN – SG/SF ($6,000 DK; $6,400 FD)
Today's NBA DFS Value Plays
Using the same premium NBA projections, let's sort them by fantasy points per dollar to see what players are popping as the best values tonight.
We have to strongly consider some value options in Dallas as they are set to be without four starters in this game. After Hardaway Jr., it's Jaden Hardy who is second on the team in usage without those four on the floor with a 30% usage rate and I expect him to put up a bunch of shots like Hardaway Jr. will.
Grant Williams's game log is a roller coaster ride as he's scored as many as 53 FD points and as few as 5 FD points in his last two games. But with so few healthy bodies, we can expect him to play 30-35 minutes and it will be hard for him not to at least hit his floor.
I played Ayo Dosunmu last night and featured him in this column yesterday. He certainly didn't disappoint with a 21-5-2 line that was good for 7x value on his price. And...well, DK dropped his price $200 since then and he has an even better matchup against a tanking Charlotte team tonight.
Speaking of Charlotte, they traded away Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward continues to be out, and LaMelo Ball is doubtful. They moved Cody Martin over to point guard the last two games and he's produced 14 assists while chipping in on the boards, too, with 13 rebounds. He makes for a solid play tonight, just note that he's only SF-eligible on DK and he's PG/SG-eligible on FD.
Top Value Plays:
- Jaden Hardy, DAL @ MIN – PG/SG ($4,400 DK; $5,100 FD)
- Ayo Dosunmu, CHI @ CHA – PG/SG ($4,600 DK; $5,700 FD)
- Grant Williams, DAL @ MIN – PF ($4,000 DK; $4,800 FD)
- Cody Martin, CHA vs. CHI – SF ($4,400 DK; $5,600 FD)
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Today's NBA DFS Lineup Picks: Point Guard
Thanks to Dallas and the two guys from the Chicago-Charlotte game I just covered, there's a lot of value at both point guard and shooting guard today. But if you're going to spend up, I would do it on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (currently questionable) or James Harden. Washington gives up the most production to wings and bigs, so I like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George a ton tonight, but Harden is still relatively cheap compared to his upside and he's in good form.
James Harden tn:
22 PTS *(Game-High)
13 AST / 1 TO *
10 REB
57% FG
70% TS
+27 *First triple double in a Clippers jersey. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0TZ8LGqUMQ
— Sai (@LeGoatedOne) January 27, 2024
Top PG Options:
- Jaden Hardy @ MIN, ($4,400 DK; $5,100 FD)
- Ayo Dosunmu @ CHA, ($4,600 DK; $5,700 FD)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. DEN, ($9,900 DK; $11,100 FD)
- James Harden @ WAS, ($8,500 DK; $8,400 FD)
Today's NBA DFS Lineup Picks: Shooting Guard
We are locking in Tim Hardaway Jr. in cash games, but I think Jalen Green makes for a really compelling tournament option tonight. His salary is right there in the mid-tier of pricing and he's been red-hot lately, going for 59 DK points against Charlotte and then 64.5 DK points vs. the Lakers just a couple of nights ago.
A montage of Jalen Green scoring in between a bunch of Lakers last night
34 PTS | 12 REB | 7 AST | 4 3PT | 1 TOpic.twitter.com/hDSobhDqsy
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 30, 2024
I mentioned Devin Booker already, but Cam Thomas is another guy in the mid-tier I like quite a bit from the same game. Thomas has gone for 39 DK points or more in three straight games and is getting to the foul line at an incredible rate, shooting 30 free throws in those games.
Top SG Options:
- Tim Hardaway Jr. @ MIN, ($6,000 DK; $6,400 FD)
- Jalen Green vs. NOP, ($6,500 DK; $7,200 FD)
- Devin Booker @ BKN, ($9,700 DK; $9,800 FD)
- Cam Thomas vs. PHX, ($6,300 DK; $7,000 FD)
Today's NBA DFS Lineup Picks: Small Forward
We have already covered just how badly mispriced Kawhi Leonard is in a smash spot, and Cody Martin is my top value at the position as he's actually playing point guard for the banged-up Hornets.
Josh Green is yet another value option we can look to in Dallas, while Norman Powell has some appeal off the bench for the Clippers, especially if that game gets out of hand and the bench players get some extra run.
Top SF Options:
- Kawhi Leonard @ WAS, ($8,200 DK; $9,200 FD)
- Cody Martin vs. CHI, ($4,400 DK; $5,600 FD)
- Josh Green @ MIN, ($4,500 DK; $4,700 FD)
- Norman Powell @ WAS, ($4,600 DK; $5,300 FD)
Today's NBA DFS Lineup Picks: Power Forward
If we want to get off the Dallas-Minnesota and Charlotte-Chicago game a bit, then Paolo Banchero makes for a fantastic pivot tonight. He's been in great form or late, scoring 40+ DK points in three straight, including a massive 62 DK-point outing against Dallas his last time out.
Paolo Banchero with 30 tonight, his 8th 30-point game of the season and 14th of his careerpic.twitter.com/iibtcVDRqS
— RotoBaller NBA (@RotoBallerNBA) January 30, 2024
KAT makes some sense tonight if you want to stack the Dallas game and hope the Mavs keep things close. I also think PJ Washington is in play for Charlotte as there as he, Miles Bridges, and Nick Richards should also soak up some of the usage vacated by LaMelo Ball.
Top PF Options:
- Paolo Banchero @ SAS, ($8,400 DK; $8,700 FD)
- Karl-Anthony Towns vs. DAL, ($8,100 DK; $8,400 FD)
- Grant Williams @ MIN, ($4,000 DK; $4,800 FD)
- PJ Washington vs. CHI, ($5,800 DK; $6,300 FD)
Today's NBA DFS Lineup Picks: Center
Vooch is my guy tonight as the price is just too nice to pass up and he should get plenty of shots up with Zach LaVine continuing to miss games for Chicago. Nick Richards has been solid as the starting center and is a solid option down in the cheaper range.
Coby White with an INSANE dime to Nikola Vucevic for the finish 😮💨pic.twitter.com/fWAmBmVmMa
— Bulls Nation (@BullsNationCP) January 29, 2024
If you want to pay up, Alperen Sengun continues to post big lines on a nightly basis and I think he could have his way with Jonas Valanciunas defense tonight, too.
Top C Options:
- Nikola Vucevic @ CHA, ($7,500 DK; $7,900 FD)
- Nick Richards vs. CHI, ($5,700 DK; $6,500 FD)
- Alperen Sengun vs. NOP, ($8,600 DK; $9,500 FD)
- Rudy Gobert vs. DAL, ($6,900 DK; $8,100 FD)
Today's Top NBA DFS Game Stacks
- New Orleans @ Houston (230.5 total)
- Denver @ Oklahoma City (229 total)
- Charlotte @ Chicago (217.5 total)
Today's Top NBA DFS Avoids
- Cleveland Cavaliers players (Darius Garland returns and now they are fully healthy)
- San Antonio Spurs not named Victor Wembanyama (Orlando a tough matchup)
- Domantas Sabonis vs. Miami (incredibly tough matchup for centers)
My Favorite NBA DFS Lineup Picks for Today
Here is where I leave you with some of my favorites.
- My favorite overall play on the slate: Kawhi Leonard
- My favorite CASH play on the slate: Tim Hardaway Jr.
- My favorite GPP play on the slate: Jalen Green
- My favorite value play: Cody Martin
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