Happy Blake Griffin day! I'm assuming Griffin will make his debut Thursday night, and while it's tough to know how his new role will affect his DFS production, it will be fun to watch regardless. We have five games total tonight, and although injuries and trades have Vegas hesitant on most of the lines, we can still try to decipher tonight's NBA DFS puzzle to a point.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 2/1/18. I will break down the best plays at each position based on price versus projected production. I will also mention some GPP plays to consider at each position as well.
As always, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @BellRoto with any questions or comments you may have. Let's get to it!
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Tomas Satoransky - PG, WAS vs. TOR (DK - $4,600)
From watching Tomas Satoransky as a Wizards fan for a couple of years now, everything in his recent game log against OKC seems sustainable, except for the fact that he only scored four points in 30 minutes. The 30 minutes is the most encouraging part for sure. I was curious to see if the Tim Frazier run two games ago was because of a blowout, and I think that answers my question. We should be able to project Sato for 28-32 minutes again tonight, and the peripheral stats should all be similar. My hope is that a few of his shots go down, and maybe he builds a little confidence and gets more aggressive. I love this cheap price tag for the Wizards' starting point guard.
Wayne Selden - PG/SG, MEM @ DET (DK - $4,000)
This spot could very easily belong to teammate Dillon Brooks, but none of it will matter unless we get word that Mario Chalmers and Kobi Simmons won't play again. The reason I'm siding with Wayne Selden over Brooks for the time being is the minor price discount and the 6% usage advantage he had last night. I do expect Brooks' shooting percentage to be better than last night's going forward, but the four steals seems a little unsustainable. Then again, he did play 40 minutes to Selden's 31. You can't really go wrong here, and luckily this is the first game on the slate so we won't have to guess about availability and starting lineups.
Other Guards to Consider: Khris Middleton, Dejounte Murray, Ish Smith,
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Giannis Antetokounmpo - SF/PF, MIL @ MIN (DK - $10,400)
In three games sans Jason Kidd, Giannis Antetokounmpo (let's just call him Giannis) has usage rates of 37%, 34%, and 35%. He's also averaged about 65 DK points in those three games. Does that sound like a $10.4k player to you? Me neither. What's even more encouraging is that Giannis has begun to play like a center on defense for parts of games. He's basically just chilling in the paint waiting for the next block or rebound opportunity to come his way. And in the final five minutes of a close game you better believe he's taking every shot and going after every loose ball, whether that's a rebound or a steal. Oh yeah, and I should probably mention that Eric Bledsoe is doubtful for this game. If Chris Paul sits again, James Harden will give Giannis a run for his money, but as of right now I plan to have a ton of the Greek Freak on Thursday.
Serge Ibaka - PF/C, TOR @ WAS (DK - $4,900)
Serge Ibaka is back to getting no love after his hot stretch and immediate cold streak a few weeks ago. That's good news for people like me who love Ibaka's high floor and crazy ceiling at these low price points. The 34 minutes last game was extremely encouraging, and the fact that he's still shooting three pointers and blocking shots regularly is great for his floor and upside. We know Markieff Morris has a reputation of being lazy when getting out to cover a stretch four like Serge. This seems like a dream spot for Ibaka, and I will gladly be overweight on the field.
Other Forwards to Consider: Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Trey Lyles
DraftKings DFS Centers
Nikola Jokic - C, DEN vs. OKC (DK - $8,100)
This is the lowest price tag we've seen for Nikola Jokic since the beginning of January. However, he's playing more minutes than ever, and his usage rate continues to sit well-above 20% on most nights. His past two games against OKC this year have been skewed by Paul Millsap, an early OKC lead, and limited minutes from injury, but his production has been just fine. And we should expect that to continue against a bulky center in Steven Adams who likes to stay in the paint. Jokic should be treated to a few extra rebounds in this one, especially without Mason Plumlee again, and I like to think his looks from outside will be a little more open against someone like Adams. I like Jokic in all formats tonight.
Other Centers to Consider: Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, Jonas Valanciunas