Basketball Lineups Daily Fantasy Expert Advice
DFS NBA Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - Saturday 2/11
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Guards
Trae Young FD - $9700 DK - $9500
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 45.99 DK - 49.51
Trae has been one of the most consistent high-priced fantasy plays all season and has been especially dominant in the short term. He comes into Saturday with double-doubles in seven of his last eight games averaging 26.1 points/11.5 assists for 49.9 fantasy points per game. The floor is elite and we get a good shot at seeing the upside again here in a matchup against the Spurs league-worst defence playing on a back-to-back. Trae is a core play for me in all formats.
Jalen Brunson FD - $7900 DK - $8600
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 41.15 DK - 41.89
Brunson has one of the safest floors in the league in terms of playing time as he is averaging 35 on the season and just over 39 per game going back to Christmas. The next part of the equation is what he does with all that playing time and over his last 19 games, he is averaging 28.5 points on 20.5 shots and has delivered an average of just over 44 fantasy points per game. He not only provides a safe floor for cash games but he also provides upside scoring 50+ fantasy points in three of his last five. There is a good chance we get a similar performance in a great matchup vs the Jazz who rank 26th in defence and 29th in fantasy points to guards. Fire up Brunson in all formats.
Jordan Poole FD - $7800 DK - $7500
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 39.63 DK - 42.08
With Steph Curry still out of the lineup for the Warriors, it is a bit of a mystery to me how Poole's price has remained in the sub $8K range on both sites. Going back to the start of December, Steph has missed 15 games with Poole starting all of them, playing 35 minutes a game, averaging 28.9 points on 21.5 shots while providing us just over 40 fantasy points per game on average. This game has a very high total(238.5) and should get there as these are the #1 and #2 ranked teams in terms of pace while ranking 18th and 21st in defence. Poole is a core play in all formats.
Small Forward
Deni Avdija FD - $6300 DK - $5900
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 30.71 DK - 32.96
With Kyle Kuzma set to be out a third straight game, we can once again look to Deni Avdija for some PTS/$ value. He is coming off one of his best games of the season recording a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds and has taken double-digit shots in three straight with Kuzma out(exited early last Saturday). Overall, even with Kuzma in the lineup before his injury, Deni has tallied 33 or more DraftKings points in six of his last eight games averaging over 36 per game in that stretch. In a matchup against the Pacers' 23rd-ranked defence I will have exposure to Avdija in all formats.
Also Consider: Josh Green(DAL) who has played 37+ minutes in three straight while averaging over 33 fantasy points per game
Power Forward/Center
With the way the guard landscape is shaping up, it could be hard to fit Jokic in tonight but if enough value arises he is our top projected player and an elite play in all formats. With that said, let's take a look at some more affordable options.
Julius Randle FD - $9300 DK - $10300
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 47.76 DK - 52.6
The Knicks are just an average team overall but have been great for fantasy as they are very consistent with their minutes and rotations. I mentioned the high floor with Brunson and his elite minutes above and it's the same story with Randle who averages 35.9 minutes on the season and nearly 39 per game going back to mid-December. Over that stretch of 26 games, Randle has been elite for fantasy averaging a double-double on 27.7 points and 12.8 rebounds returning an average of over 54 fantasy points per game. He is as safe a big man as they come and is in play in all formats.
Mark Williams FD - $4800 DK - $3500
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 33.38 DK - 33.4
The Hornets' first-round pick was finally unleashed on Friday night and looked terrific in his first career start. He played 31 minutes, made 4 of 7 shots, and tallied his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, all against a Top 5 Celtics defence. The price didn't budge on FanDuel and only went up $300 on DraftKings and with Williams expected to get his second straight start, he is once again a high-floor/high-ceiling play.