DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 2/11/20
With five games to choose from on tonight's NBA slate, let's take a look at how to utilize the DFS possibilities.
Here are some of the top plays and sleepers on DraftKings. As always, good luck.
Point Guard
Russell Westbrook ($9,900) - The Houston Rockets have utilized Westbrook well, giving him nine rest days out of 53 games. In the 44 games he has appeared, he's earned his ninth All-Star selection, ranking top 25 in points (11th), rebounds (24th), and assists (8th). Westbrook has scored at least 28 points in nine of his last 10 games, and he's netted 30 or more eight times during that stretch. Over his last 10, he's averaged 33.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists for 53.1 fantasy points per game. He's averaged 1.54 fantasy points per minute on the season, the third-best clip among active players on this slate, and he's up to 1.57 DK points per minute across his last 10 games. numberFire's model projects Westbrook to post 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists for 47.5 fantasy points.
Dennis Schroder ($6,500) -- Schroder's season average of 0.97 fantasy points per minute looks like nothing compared to his season-high 1.25 fantasy points per minute over the last five games. He's done it all for the Oklahoma City Thunder of late, averaging 24 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.4 rebounds on 50.9% shooting in his last 10 games. The Spurs allow the 11th-most points per game to opposing point guards (24.29) as well as the third-most three-pointers made (3.01) per game to the position. San Antonio is traveling on a back-to-back after blowing a lead to Denver last night without DeMar DeRozan ($7,200), who is questionable for tonight's matchup. Expect Schroder to continue his stellar play off the bench for Oklahoma City.
Shooting Guard
C.J. McCollum ($6,400) -- McCollum and the Portland Trail Blazers meet the New Orleans Pelicans for the third time this season, this time in the Big Easy. New Orleans is third in pace (106.0), and Portland is 11th (103.4), so expect to see a high-scoring game between these two. Portland has lost both meetings versus the Pels, with McCollum leading the team in scoring once with 22 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds; plus another 20-point effort in the next meeting to along with four assists and three rebounds. Versus shooting guards, the Pelicans allow the fourth-most points (24.23), fifth-most three-pointers (3.46), and sixth-most fantasy points per game (43.94). We project McCollum to have his third-straight 20-point performance against the Pelicans in addition to 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 33.7 fantasy points.
Zach LaVine ($8,200) -- Last time out, LaVine surpassed 30 points for the first time in six games, dropping 32 on the road in Philadelphia. The 2020 three-point contestant was warming up for Saturday night, making 5 for 10 from three-point land. LaVine heads to Washington to face a squad that allows the most fantasy points per game to shooting guards (46.15). The WIzards are in the bottom three in all of points allowed (26.13), assists (5.22), and made three-pointers (3.99) per game to shooting guards. Overall, the Wiz are surrendering an NBA-worst 120.4 points per game as a team. LaVine ranks 12th in usage rate (30.9%) and has a sky-high ceiling in this spot.
Small Forward
Kawhi Leonard ($9,300) -- Leonard posted 32.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 10 January games, dominating the month, and he has continued to impress in four games so far in February. He's registered four straight outings of at least 41 fantasy points to start the month, and his usage rate has climbed to sixth-best in the league (33.5%). Leonard leads all players tonight with a mark of 1.75 fantasy points per minute across his last 10 games. Leonard is projected to record 27.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists tonight in Philly, per our numbers.
Gary Trent Jr. ($4,400) -- Trent has played well off the bench the past three games, playing far above his 12.8 fantasy points per game average for the season. Trent's averaged 32.6 fantasy points per game in his last three and has scored double-digit real-life points in four straight games. Trent averages 0.70 fantasy points per minute on the year, but in the past five, he's up to 0.92, and his usage rate is at 16.47% during that stretch.
Power Forward
Zion Williamson ($7,400) -- Zion has four straight games with at least 20 actual points and 31 fantasy points. The No. 1 overall pick put together in his best shooting performance last time out versus the Chicago Bulls, going 8 for 11 (81.8%) from the field . Williamson is averaging 33.6 fantasy points per game for the season, and Portland is one of their worst defensive teams versus the power forward thanks to Carmelo Anthony ($4,900). Portland allows the second-most points per game (24.40), the most rebounds (13.02), and second-most fantasy points (53.29) to the position per game. Zion is averaging 1.24 DK points per minute, and he's gone over 30 minutes in three of his last five games. The floor and ceiling are both good here.
Jayson Tatum ($8,400) -- The Boston Celtics are getting healthy heading into the All-Star break, and everyone should be available for this game. Boston will be in Houston tonight for a big game, and Tatum has led the team in scoring three of the past four. He's done it all, too, averaging 28.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists for 48.65 fantasy points per game in his last five. Tatum is averaging 1.33 fantasy points per minute over his last 10, the third-most among forwards tonight, trailing only the Clippers' superstar duo. numberFire projects Tatum to total 21.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for 38.3 fantasy points.
Center
Joel Embiid ($9,100) -- Embiid is averaging 1.60 fantasy points per minute on the season and is coming off a 64.5-fantasy point performance at home versus the Bulls. The Clippers allow the seventh-most fantasy points to centers (55.32) on the season, and they struggle rebounding, giving up 16.27 per game (26th) and 1.24 made triples (26th). numberFire projects Embiid 23.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for 46 DraftKings points.
Enes Kanter ($5,000) -- The Rockets are revolutionizing small-ball right in front of our eyes with all their guards and three-and-D wings, but big men gotta eat, too. Kanter has averaged 24.9 fantasy points across his last five games and has a favorable matchup off the bench. Over his last five, Kanter is putting up 1.18 fantasy points per game and averaging 21.2 minutes played. Houston allows the seventh-most points to centers (22.39) and ninth-most fantasy points per game to the position (54.88). Daniel Theis ($5,100) made a return Sunday after missing two games with a minor ankle injury. Theis' return dings the upside for Kanter, but I still like him in this spot.
Vaughn Dalzell is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Vaughn also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username vdalzell. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
