DFS NBA Lineups for February 8, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
Each day that there’s a nice slate of DFS NBA games, we’ll give you the game totals, spreads, and pertinent injury news to follow for NBA daily fantasy, as well as some players that we’re considering for our lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
We have a massive twelve-game main NBA basketball slate for 2/8/17 that’s void of Westbrook and Harden, but still features Angry LeBron, The Greek Freak, Isaiah Thomas, and a criminally underpriced Anthony Davis (sure, he faces Utah, but he’s $9.9k on DraftKings!). Also, don’t roster Boogie Cousins tonight. He’s been suspended for a game because he’s a technical foul machine.
Speaking of DraftKings, they’ve got a $333 buy-in with $500k guaranteed that pays out $100k to first place. They’ve also got $4 Four Point Play that’s guaranteeing $450k tonight with the winner taking home $50k. At FanDuel, they’ve got the Jumbo Dunk going tonight with a $150 buy-in and $500k guaranteed. They also juiced up the Layup tournament, a $7 buy-in that’s got $100k in the prize pool and $20k to first place.
As always, be sure and monitor any of the injury news that breaks throughout the day, as value plays and player upgrades can arise in a moments notice.
PLAYERS RULED OUT
DeMarcus Cousins (suspension)
Garrett Temple (hamstring)
Danilo Gallinari (groin)
Pau Gasol (finger)
Chris Paul (thumb)
Avery Bradley (Achilles)
Zach LaVine (knee)
Jeremy Lin (hamstring)
Rodney Hood (knee)
Iman Shumpert (ankle)
INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR
Jimmy Butler (heel)
Kawhi Leonard (quad)
Dion Waiters (ankle)
Josh Richardson (ankle)
Thaddeus Young (wrist)
Klay Thompson (personal)
Joel Embiid (knee)
Emmanuel Mudiay (back)
Kenneth Faried (personal)
Joakim Noah (hamstring)
NBA GAME SPREADS, TOTALS & START TIME FOR TODAY’S GAMES
Cavs -3 @ Pacers (7:00p): 216
Spurs -8 @ 76ers (7:00p): 212
Nuggets @ Hawks -4 (7:30p): 223
Lakers @ Pistons -7.5 (7:30p): 216.5
Wizards -10 @ Nets (7:30p): 221
Heat @ Bucks -3 (8:00p): 210
Suns @ Grizzlies -9.5 (8:00p): 210.5
Jazz -4 @ Pelicans (8:00p): 201
Raptors -3.5 @ Timberwolves (8:00p): 212
Clippers -1.5 @ Knicks (8:00p): 218.5
Bulls @ Warriors -13.5 (10:30p): 222
Celtics -8.5 @ Kings (10:30p): 211.5
Best NBA Picks for February 8, 2017
LeBron James ($10.6k DraftKings, $11.5k FanDuel)
It’s tougher to fit The King into lineups on FanDuel, but he still stands out as the clear-cut top option on a huge slate that somehow doesn’t feature either Russell Westbrook or James Harden. LeBron has put his team on his shoulders with averages of 28.3 PPG, 11.2 APG and 8 RPG as the Cavs have won five of their last six contests, including a dramatic OT win over Washington on Monday in which LBJ dropped 32 points and 17 dimes before fouling out. He faces the Pacers for the first time this year and should find plenty of room to operate against Paul George, whose defensive efforts have been extremely lackluster this season.
Blake Griffin ($9.3k DraftKings, $9.4k FanDuel)
Speaking of carrying a team, Griffin put up his first triple-double in forever with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a losing effort in Toronto on Monday. He’s sporting a 29.8% Usage Rate and averaging 1.34 FPs per minute with Chris Paul off the floor this season and leads the team with 0.17 assists per minute under those circumstances. The offense should run through Blake tonight in MSG against a Knicks team that’s fallen apart defensively to the point that they were undressed by the lowly Lakers on Monday. New York surrenders the second-most FPPG (48.57) to opposing PFs over the last month and it’s fair to question the health of opposing PF Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles) as we approach the All-Star Break. The game has a healthy total of 218.5 with just a 1.5 point spread, both indicating Blake could be in for a big night.
Jrue Holiday ($8k DraftKings, $8.2k FanDuel)
The Pelicans offense runs through two men in Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, yet you never know how long The Brow will last on a given night and you can guarantee that the stout Jazz defense will attempt to limit him in Utah tonight. Holiday has consistently exceeded value with big time performances over six of his last seven appearances and he draws a much better matchup than Davis tonight. The Jazz actually give up the fourth-most PPG (25.92) to opposing PGs over the last month and have been burned by some of the more athletic floor generals in the league lately. It’s hard to bet against Holiday when he’s shooting 53% from the floor and averaging 24 PPG over his last 6 games.
Mid Tier DFS NBA Picks
Darren Collison ($5.3k DraftKings, $5.4k FanDuel)
The Kings roster is going to be chock full of value plays thanks to the giant void left by DeMarcus Cousins’ absence tonight. Sacramento depends on Boogie more than any other team depends on one star outside of perhaps the Thunder, but the Kings should find a way to remain competitive since Cousins isn’t necessarily the most efficient offensive player or consistent defensive player. Boston is giving up the 11th most PPG (105.6) and Isaiah Thomas is not great on defense by any stretch. Collison leads the Kings with a 29.9% Usage Rate when both Rudy Gay (Achilles) and Big Cuz are off the floor this season.
Anthony Tolliver ($4k DraftKings, $4.6k FanDuel)
Kosta Koufos will be the chalk value play with Cousins out but I like Tolliver more in tournament formats. The stretch 4 has a higher ceiling if he can get hot and he draws a good matchup against Boston’s aggressive defense tonight. The Celtics struggle badly on the glass (ranked 27th in rebounding rate) and Tolliver has found a consistent role even when Cousins is active with averages of 9.3 PPG and 5 RPG on impressive 53.8% 3PT shooting (14-of-26). It’s fair to project his playing time and workload increasing with the Kings very shorthanded.
Bargain Tier DFS NBA Picks
Larry Nance Jr. ($4.2k DraftKings, $4.3k FanDuel)
Julius Randle remains under the weather for the Lakers and it’s possible that he might be losing his job to a far more consistent PF in Nance Jr. The second-generation NBA player has been huge for the Lakers with two consecutive double-doubles (total of 28 points and 21 boards) and it’s no coincidence that his team was competitive in Boston and won in New York thanks to his efforts. With Randle logging 7 and 21 minutes in those contests, Nance Jr. was free to do his thing on both ends of the floor and that trend could continue tonight if Randle struggles in limited minutes against a stout Pistons front line.
Jonathon Simmons ($3.6k DraftKings, $3.7k FanDuel)
There’s no official word as of this writing, but Kawhi Leonard (quad) seems to be on the wrong side of questionable and it would certainly be like Gregg Popovich to rest him in a winnable game at Philadelphia tonight (UPDATE: report at 11:15am says Leonard ‘on track’ to play). If Kawhi is indeed out, lots of Spurs will be asked to step up and while Kyle Anderson could start, Simmons is the more appealing option as a dynamic bench player who can fill the stat sheet. He’s averaging 10 PPG while playing just 21.1 MPG over his last four appearances and sports per 36 minute averages of 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3 assists in his career. Keep an eye on the Leonard news as Simmons will definitely be worth a look at this price and will be a solid value play to allow us to get to some of the top shelf options.
Kosta Koufos ($3.6k DraftKings, $4.9k FanDuel)
We have to touch on the big man for Sacramento, who will serve as a staple in DraftKings lineups and is very tough to fade at his price tag on that DFS site. KK will likely draw the start with Cousins out as he’s been far more consistent than second-year man Willie Cauley-Stein. New HC Dave Joerger has limited Cauley-Stein to just 12.2 MPG this season, and while he’ll get more run tonight, Koufos is likely to be the bigger beneficiary with Boogie serving suspension. Koufos was solid with 10 points and 7 boards in a blowout loss with Cousins resting back in mid-December and he averages 0.30 rebounds and 0.88 FPs per minute with Cousins and Gay off the floor this season. He’ll likely be a popular option on DraftKings at his incredibly low price, but makes for a great piece of a stars and scrubs lineup construction.
If, Then Player
If Kawhi Leonard (quad) is in fact ruled out, LaMarcus Aldridge would become a great upper-tier option as the leader of the Spurs offense.
If Jimmy Butler (heel) can’t go, Michael Carter-Williams will remain a solid value play with the Bulls up against a monumental task at Oracle Arena, but it might be wise to fade the top Warriors in that case since we’ll probably be looking at a blowout win.
If Emmanuel Mudiay remains out for the Nuggets, look at Jamal Murray and Jameer Nelson as potential value plays.
