FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Thursday, 8/6/20

The NBA schedule has been fantastic from a sports fan point of view with games running all day. It's made for a sports weekend every day of the week. Let's take a look at plays for FanDuel and DraftKings on a Thursday slate.

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Point Guard

De'Aaron Fox FD - $7500 DK - $9200
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 46.25 DK - 46.48
The Kings have opened the bubble by losing their first three games and are on the edge of being eliminated from playoff contention now sitting “last” in the Western Conference. They played an OT game against the Mavericks and Fox had another great game (he was awesome against the Spurs too) with 28 points, nine assists and three rebounds. They’ll play the Pelicans who’ve actually looked decent on defense in their first three, allowing 106 and 99 to the Jazz and Grizzlies respectively. I think the price on Fox in what should still be a pace-up matchup looks good on paper. And one has to believe with the Kings on the brink he’ll be in line for a lot of minutes.

Along the same lines, Cory Joseph (FD $3600 DK $3400) got the start technically in the place of Bjelica on Tuesday. He played a lot of minutes, but it’s a huge fantasy points per minute dude. That being said, he’s still coming as a punt play on a slate devoid of cheap value guys.

Reggie Jackson FD - $4000 DK - $5800
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 22.31 DK - 23.61
Patrick Beverley left last game very early and didn’t return. He is probably considered doubtful for Thursday at this point seeing as how the Clippers were already bringing him on relatively slowly. It stands to reason that Reggie Jackson will return to the starting lineup. Though much of this was without Lou Williams as well, Jackson has still been fine on a fantasy points per minute basis in the restart. He’s averaging 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes per game. You can get by with that production at these prices if he’s in the starting lineup.

Shooting Guard

Luka Doncic FD - $10700 DK - $11300
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 57.09 DK - 61.26
It really looks like the Mavericks are motivated to get out of the seventh seed and avoid the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. It’s a reasonable stance especially if they believe the drop off of talent is stark going from the two to the three seed. Doncic has played 37, 38 and 39 minutes in regulation in the first three (two games went to OT) and is averaging an absurd 34 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the last three games. This is simply ridiculous production and you have to feel great again about the projected minutes even in a tougher matchup against the aforementioned Clippers.

The rest of shooting guard, on FanDuel, has a lot of question marks. We can roll through some of them here. The Sacramento situation remains a question mark. Bogdan Bogdanovic (FD $5100 DK $6600) has his issues even in the starting lineup. The price on FD is fine (DK is out of bounds) but his minutes were cut last game and he’s very scoring dependent. Buddy Hield (FD $4800 DK $7800) played a lot off the bench, but that’s tough to trust. (These DK prices are for Showdown slates fwiw)

If Victor Oladipo (FD $5600 DK $5500) has the minutes climb then this is too low of a price even with some of the shooting struggles. But the minutes are definitely in question.

Small Forward

Dorian Finney-Smith FD - $4500 DK - $4700
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 25.48 DK - 25.78
With Seth Curry out of the lineup on Tuesday and Mavericks playing matchups, Finney-Smith went nuts against the Kings, finishing with his best fantasy game of the season. He put up 16 points and 16 rebounds in 41 minutes (went to OT) in a world-beating performance at these price points. Curry has already been ruled out and DFS’s length is much needed to guard the Clippers’ wings so I think the minutes are rather safe again. He makes for a higher floor cash play at these prices.

Cameron Johnson FD - $4200 DK - $4900
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 26 DK - 27.06
Again, it’s tough to find cheaper plays on these slates with most teams playing relatively healthy and the starters running at higher minutes shares. Thursday might be a little different if guys like Westbrook or Brogdon sitting, but that’s more of a lineup lock discussion. Johnson ran a ton of minutes again on Tuesday though it was looking pretty grim until late. He finished with eight points and seven rebounds with a couple assists and a steal. That’s not much considering the amount of run. But this was following a 19/12 game against the Mavs. The truth is likely somewhere in between. I think he’s a fine value considering the Suns seem committed to playing him a ton.

Power Forward

Michael Porter Jr. FD - $5500 DK - $6400
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 38.41 DK - 40.6
We recommended Michael Porter Jr. for Wednesday even though the price had increased. It turned out we were somewhat on an island with that pick and his ownership in cash was relatively. That island turned into a paradise. Porter went absolutely off again on Wednesday. He was the play of the day dropping 30 points and 15 rebounds in 36 minutes while leading the team with 19 shots. Sure, the price is still up there, but with Will Barton and Gary Harris out again he should still see plenty of run. Don’t let the price climb scare you off, he’s a sensational play once again.

Along with Porter, I’m still fine with Paul Millsap (FD $4800 DK $5300) as a cheaper play. He got buzzed off minutes with foul trouble on Wednesday but I still think there’s upside at these prices and because the minutes were low yesterday, getting him on the back-to-back doesn’t seem as bad.

Much like shooting guard, there are question marks at power forward today after Michael Porter. Maximilian Kleber (FD $3900 DK $4400) started in place of Seth Curry on Tuesday though it will always be tough to get tons of fantasy love when sharing the court with Doncic and Staps. I still think the salary is cheap enough if he plays 30 minutes again and we’ll hope for the best in getting points around the periphery.

Marcus Morris (FD $4200 DK $4200) played a ton last game with the Clippers still playing shorthanded. He’s never going to get a lot done considering who he’s sharing the court with. I don’t think the ceiling is all that high but the floor should be there if he’s sitting in the mid-30’s minutes.

Center

Deandre Ayton FD - $7500 DK - $7200
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 43.77 DK - 44.6
The Suns have won their first three games of the restart and put themselves in the mix for the final playoff spot there. Anton’s had an up and down first three games, putting up a 24-12 line in the first, getting in foul trouble against the Mavericks and then putting up a modest 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes against the Clippers. It’s led to a stagnation in his price for sure and I still like him as an upper middle tier value play against the Pacers.

Myles Turner FD - $6400 DK - $6200
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 37.01 DK - 35.44
Turner got buzzed off minutes in the first game of the restart because of foul trouble, but the second two games have shown that Indy fully intends to run him in the mid-30’s when things are going well. Over the last two games he’s played 33 and 35 respectively with an average of 19 points and 7.5 rebounds per. That’s includes a few blocks which strikes me on the low side for what he’s done this season. I think he’s still a clear value at these price points on both sites and I’m not worried at all about the matchup.

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