NBA DFS Projections: Best DraftKings and FanDuel Plays - Tuesday, February 15th
Hello Grinders, we have a seven-game slate on this Tuesday night. We’ll go through the top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel, highlighting key plays using data from our RotoGrinders Premium tools.
I need to mention that we’re still waiting on some key pieces of NBA player news. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed last night’s game and we currently still don’t have a Bucks Injury Report. If he’s listed doubtful again, that’s going to shift several of these Bucks into much better options. For now, let’s see what we’re working with as things stand. Let’s dive into the top NBA projections of the day.
NBA DFS, DraftKings Projections and Picks
Oshae Brissett – It’s odd to start this article off with Brissett considering he’s not a household name (unless you actually live with Oshae Brissett, in which case he would be), but Brissett remains too cheap on DraftKings given his new role. With Domantas Sabonis and Torrey Craig shipped out of town, and with Myles Turner and Chris Duarte out hurt, there’s a route for Brissett to continue to see major minutes. He’s moved into the starting power forward role and has played 38 and 36 minutes in back-to-back games. Newcomer Jalen Smith is going to push for some minutes as well, but Brissett’s role and minutes seem secure. Brissett has been at 0.93 fantasy points per minute this season with Sabonis/Turner off the court, so he’s been close to a point per minute player. We have him projected for 34 minutes in our early projections, making him a solid DraftKings pick at just $5,400.
Lance Stephenson – This also feels like an odd DraftKings recommendation, but I much prefer Stephenson on DraftKings at $4,000 than on FanDuel at $5,100. As mentioned above, the Pacers are down bodies and last game, Stephenson played 32 minutes and essentially closed the game. He also was the main benefactor when Chris Duarte went down in the 1st quarter, being the first sub off the bench. The RotoGrinders projections team is currently penciling in Stephenson as the starter in Duarte’s place tonight, but even if Stepheson comes off the bench there’s a route to solid minutes here given how thin the Pacers are now. Using the RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool, when you take all of LeVert/Sabonis/Turner/Brogdon (who we’re considering closer to doubtful) off the court this season, Stephenson has been at 1.14 fantasy points per minute. Given his price tag, Stephenson currently holds the highest Smash Percentage and RG Value score among all players on this slate. To see how the other players on this slate rank compared to him, you can find all that information using the RotoGrinders Premium tools.
NBA DFS, FanDuel Projections and Picks
Kyle Lowry – Lowry is someone I’m eyeing on FanDuel at just $5,900 (compared to $6,400 on DraftKings). He’s only two games removed from a 50+ FanDuel point outing but more importantly, he’s coming off back-to-back games of 36 minutes. Lowry missed several weeks due to a personal issue but has had his minutes slowly ramped up and he appears to be a full go now. The main reason I’m watching him is because the Heat have already ruled out Tyler Herro and have also listed Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin as questionable. If one or both of them get ruled out, it would make Lowry an even better play. This season with Herro off the court, Lowry has averaged 1.03 fantasy points per minute. When both Herro and Butler have been off the court this season, that number shoots up to 1.13 fantasy points per minute. As you can see, Lowry is a solid option even if Butler does play, but he’d become an even stronger play if Butler can’t suit up. Just make sure you’re on top of the RotoGrinders alerts as we await for Butler’s status.
Joel Embiid – Embiid is not projecting for massive ownership on FanDuel at the moment due to the nature of this slate. There are plenty of other spend-up options that are worthy priorities, but on a site like FanDuel where you can only roster one center, there’s still a case to be made to pay up for Embiid. He projects to be the highest scoring center on FanDuel in terms of median projection by nearly eight fantasy points, and there’s a fairly big drop off after Karl-Anthony Towns and Bam Adebayo below him. I will note that if Jimmy Butler does miss this game then I can see a case to prioritize Adebayo over Embiid. At the moment, there are only two players on this slate with 70 point fantasy ceilings – Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid. Put another way, it’s going to be hard to make up those points at the center position if Embiid goes off, and with James Harden still not suiting up tonight to make his 76ers debut just yet, the offense will continue to flow through Embiid.
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