DFS NBA Lineups for February 24, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com
Happy Friday! On days that there’s a nice slate of DFS NBA games, we’ll give you the game totals, point 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 ten games on our DFS NBA slate for 2/24/17 with a fantasy friendly Nets vs Nuggets game on tap tonight with a game total 231.5 and both team totals of at least 111.25. Despite 20 teams being in action tonight, only Russell Westbrook, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, and John Wall come in at a price over $10k. A guy that’s been priced over $10,000 for the last month is Giannis Antetokounmpo, but with dynamic pricing, can be had for $9600 tonight at DraftKings due to a matchup with the Jazz.
Your DFS NBA GPP rundown shows DraftKings has their Four Point Play featuring a $4 buy-in and $425,000 guaranteed. They’ve also got a Super Spin Move on Friday that has a $40 buy-in and $550,000 guaranteed with $100,000 going to first place. We’ve got a Jumbo Slam at FanDuel with a $40 buy-in and $500,000 guaranteed. FanDuel has also Jumbo’d their Layup tourney, a $7 buy-in with a prize pool of $200,000.
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
Joel Embiid (knee)
Nerlens Noel (trade)
Gerald Green (heel)
INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR
Chris Paul (thumb)
Thaddeus Young (wrist)
Avery Bradley (Achilles)
Pau Gasol (finger)
Enes Kanter (arm)
Dennis Schroder (personal)
Rodney Hood (knee)
Jeremy Lin (hamstring)
PJ Tucker (trade)
NBA GAME SPREADS, TOTALS & START TIME FOR TODAY’S GAMES
Grizzlies @ Pacers -1 (7:00p): 205
Wizards -8 @ 76ers (7:00p): 217
Celtics @ Raptors -3 (8:00p): 215.5
Heat @ Hawks -3.5 (8:00p): 208
Jazz -2.5 @ Bucks (8:00p): 201.5
Lakers @ Thunder -10 (8:00p): 222.5
Suns @ Bulls -6 (8:00p): 217
Mavericks @ Timberwolves -3.5 (8:00p): 203.5
Nets @ Nuggets -9 (9:00p): 231.5
Spurs @ Clippers: n/a (Chris Paul news will set lines)
Best NBA Picks for February 24, 2017
Karl-Anthony Towns ($10.5k DraftKings, $10.4k FanDuel)
The Wolves budding superstar draws a fantastic matchup at home out of the break. Towns is averaging 25.7 PPG, 12.8 RPG and 51 DK PPG while shooting 54.5% from the floor in Minnesota this season and tonight he’ll face a Mavericks team that ranks dead last in total rebounding on the season. Dallas coughs up the third-most RPG (16.12) to opposing centers this year and just moved defensive stopper Andrew Bogut for rail-skinny Nerlens Noel. KAT went for 26 points and 10 boards in a meeting with the Mavericks earlier this season and could very well exceed those numbers tonight.
Blake Griffin ($8.6k DraftKings, $9.7k FanDuel)
Griffin’s price tag on DK tonight simply makes you go, huh?? Chris Paul did not make it back for last night’s beatdown at Golden State and it’s hard to expect him to play the following night against the Spurs, but regardless, Griffin is looking at heavy usage in another high-scoring affair. The Spurs have a great defensive reputation and are incredible stingy on the perimeter, but prime Tim Duncan isn’t walking through that door and David Lee and company are coughing up the tenth-most PPG (22.55) to opposing PFs over the last month, so the matchup definitely isn’t daunting enough for Griffin to see a nearly $1k price drop on DraftKings.
DeMar DeRozan ($7.8k DraftKings, $8.1k FanDuel)
DDR should benefit from some extended rest to his ailing ankle and come out of the ASB much like he did at the beginning of the season, when he averaged 28.8 PPG and 4.5 APG over the first 18 games of the year. That included a stellar performance against the Celtics with defensive stalwart Avery Bradley active and now AB is questionable with an Achilles injury. With Bradley out, the Celtics have struggled to contain star players on the wing and DeRozan will have a significant height advantage over Marcus Smart if the C’s use him as their shutdown defender. In any case, a battle between the second and third best teams in the ECF sets up very well in DFS terms and DeRozan comes at a discount due to his inconsistent performance over the last month.
Mid Tier DFS NBA Plays
Jeremy Lin ($5k DraftKings, $5.8k FanDuel)
You certainly shouldn’t trust Linsanity outside of GPP formats as he comes back from a 26-game absence on Friday, but there’s a huge void in the Nets offense at PG and he could fill it right out of the break. Brooklyn plays at the fastest pace in the NBA and should get into a juicy shootout with fast-paced Denver, as indicated by this game’s 231-point Over/Under. Denver gives up the second-most FPPG (46.72) and fourth-most PPG (24.25) to opposing PGs this season and Lin can fill it up in a early, so as long as you don’t hear about any tight minutes restrictions for him, feel free to gamble in tournaments.
T.J. Warren ($4.6k DraftKings, $5k FanDuel)
With P.J. Tucker gone, Warren should become a far more consistent producer in a fast-paced offense. He’s flashed plenty of upside this season but also shown a scary low floor when HC Earl Watson decides to roll with a superior defender in Tucker for heavy minutes. With P.J. off the floor this season, Warren sports a 20.3% Usage Rate and averages 0.43 points per minute and he was heating up before the ASB with good scoring performances in 3 of 4 games. Warren happened to burn the Bulls for 16 points on 8-of-17 shooting in a meeting earlier this season and he should be able to meet value now that he’s locked into a steady role.
Value Tier DFS NBA Plays
Bobby Portis ($5k DraftKings, $4.2k FanDuel)
The Bulls moved Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson ahead of yesterday’s trade deadline, presumably so that they could give Portis the starting PF job and start their movement towards rebuilding. The talented young 4 has been blocked by Gibson and to an extent, Nikola Mirotic, but is averaging 14.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per 36 minutes throughout his two-year career and could clearly thrive in a starting role. Portis might get his first start tonight against a Suns team that gives up the second-most PPG (112.9) and ranks 27th in opponents FG shooting (.471%) this year, so he could be poised to exceed value on FanDuel at least, where he’s a certifiable value option.
Los Angeles Lakers
It’s a new era for the Purple and Gold with Magic Johnson calling the shots and there’s a big void in terms of scoring with Sixth Man of the Year candidate Lou Williams traded. Corey Brewer is only expected to play limited minutes in his debut, so Brandon Ingram ($4k, $3.6k) should see secure playing time with a good chance to bounce back from some lackluster games before the break. Ivica Zubac ($3.6k, $3.8k) is another young player that Magic wants to see develop and the Lakers will need his size against the big Thunder front line tonight. It’s worth noting that D’Angelo Russell ($6.6k, $5.7k) sports a team-high 29.7% Usage Rate with Lou-Will off the floor this year, while Jordan Clarkson ($4.8k, $4.4k) should see significantly more playing time with Williams out of the picture.
If, Then Player
If Dennis Schroder is benched for disciplinary reasons, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kent Bazemore would likely take on more ball-handling responsibilities for the Hawks, while Paul Millsap would become more of a playmaker as well.
