NBA DFS: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks - Tuesday, February 1st
Hello Grinders, we have a packed 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, which you can access here. Let’s dive in.
NBA DFS, DraftKings Picks
Spencer Dinwiddie – The Wizards have ruled out Bradley Beal for the next two games due to a wrist injury, leaving Spencer Dinwiddie and company to run the offense. The RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool shows that when Beal has been off the court this season, Dinwiddie has averaged 1.10 fantasy points per game with a 25.8% usage rate. The real appeal here on DraftKings is his price tag. He’s only $5,900 tonight, which is the lowest he’s been since December 23rd, 2021. Dinwiddie also carries the highest RG Value on the slate, which is a calculation of his projected points relative to his implied value (you can find this information for every player using our Premium projections). Given the fantastic spot that Dinwiddie is in tonight and his price tag being lower than normal, he sets up to be a fantastic starting point on DraftKings.
Gary Trent Jr. – Trent Jr. has been out of this world lately, having now reached 40+ DraftKings points in four straight games. The Raptors continue to roll out a tight rotation, and that has allowed Trent Jr. to rack up massive minutes, including 55 minutes just two games ago in a triple-overtime thriller against the Miami Heat. The Raptors take on these same Heat tonight, and given the solid form Trent Jr. has been, it’s hard to ignore him at just $5,800. Among all shooting guards on DraftKings, he currently carries the 2nd highest RG Value score and the 3rd highest Smash Percentage, which is a calculation the number of times he has exceeded his implied tournament threshold. I’m not sure if he can continue this recent hot streak, but I’m willing to take some chances in GPPs tonight.
Cameron Johnson – The Suns have already ruled out DeAndre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne on Tuesday for their game against the Nets, leaving Phoenix down several key bodies. The absence of Crowder is a big one which should lead to Cameron Johnson drawing another start. Johnson has now started four straight games and has played minute totals of 38, 36, 37 and 36 in that timespan. He is coming off a disappointing 18 DraftKings point performance but that recent dud did cause his salary to drop from $5,900 to $5,400 tonight. The matchup against the Nets isn’t an too imposing on paper either, as the Nets rank middle-of-the-pack in terms of defensive efficiency and remain without Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap (James Harden is also questionable). Given the likelihood Johnson sees another heavy dose of minutes here at just $5,400, he makes for a fine DraftKings pick.
Update – Jae Crowder has been upgraded to questionable. If Crowder does play, it would make Johnson a much less appealing option, especially if he shifts back to the bench. Keep an eye on news for Crowder’s status.
NBA DFS, FanDuel Plays
Stephen Curry – Curry did play 38 minutes last night in a victory over the Houston Rockets so there is a little concern about his workload on this backend game of a back-to-back. At the same time, the Warriors will be without Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, so he may be asked to play through any fatigue and help carry this Warriors offense once again against the Spurs. Curry is only $9,300 on FanDuel, which is the lowest he’s been all season on FanDuel. We’re getting a big discount here on Curry and CourtIQ shows that he’s averaged 1.32 fantasy points per minute this season when both Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are out. Assuming he receives a normal workload, it’s hard to pass up Curry in this spot where the offense should flow even more through him with the Warriors down two of their core players.
Update – Welp, the Warriors just ruled out Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Otto Porter, Andre Iguodala and Nemaja Bjelica. This is going to make Jordan Poole an elite option now in all formats as he likely moves into the starting lineup with Curry out.
Nikola Jokic – I have to caveat this recommendation for Jokic with the fact Jokic enters the day with a Questionable tag due to a sore toe. If he were to be ruled out, that would open up all kinds of value and usage in Denver. If he’s good to go, it’s hard not to like the big man on FanDuel where he’s only $11,300 (compared to $12,500 on DraftKings) against the Timberwolves. It’s an ideal matchup for Jokic, as the Timberwolves are tied for 2nd in pace while ranking league-average in defensive efficiency. Jokic has faced the Timberwolves twice this season and has finished with fantasy scores of 54.5 and 64.3 FanDuel points. Both he and Stephen Curry are spend-up priorities for me on FanDuel for this slate.
Jerami Grant – This is a FanDuel pick that is going to require monitoring the news, as Grant will be seeing the court for the first time in 1.5 months after missing time due to a thumb injury and health protocols. Normally I’d completely avoid a player coming back from an injury like Grant is as it’s very likely he sees a minute restriction tonight, but the $6,900 price tag for Grant is the lowest we’ve seen on him all season on FanDuel. Grant’s lowest price prior to tonight was $7,100, so we’re getting a discount. The Pistons are also shopping Grant on the trade block, so it’s going to be important that Grant plays enough to convince other teams he’s fully back. This is a FanDuel-only pick as Grant is $7,300 on DraftKings and much more expensive there. Just make sure you’re monitoring the RotoGrinders news and alerts page throughout the day to see whether Grant is on a minute restriction. You can also monitor his minute projection in LineupHQ through Premium access, which will reflect the latest news on Grant.
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