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    Joel Bartilotta | Fri, Feb 4th 2022, 6:58am EST

NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Friday (2/4)

This week was rough for yours truly. It felt like I was bubbling in every tournament, and it felt like I had an injury every single night. That’s one of the challenging factors in DFS, though, and it’s important to forget it and move to the next day. Being able to move on is arguably the most critical thing in this industry because you never know when you might bink a tourney!

Friday slates always tend to be big, and we have another one here. There are nine games making up this card, with some great matchups on the docket. Seven of the nine games have spreads within six points, leading to some tight games. There’s a lot to discuss, though, so let’s go ahead and get into the schedule!

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

Schedule and Odds

  • BOS at DET (BOS -8) O/U: 213
  • CHI at IND (CHI -1.5) O/U: 231
  • CLE at CHA (CHA -5) O/U: 218.5
  • ATL at TOR (TOR -1.5) O/U: 215
  • HOU at SAS (SAS -3) O/U: 234.5
  • NOP at DEN (DEN -5.5) O/U: 221.5
  • BKN at UTA (UTA -5.5) O/U: 228
  • PHI at DAL (DAL -1) O/U: 213
  • OKC at POR (POR -7.5) O/U: 214

Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros

Injury Report

Core Plays

Joel Embiid (C – PHI): $12,300 DraftKings, $11,000 FanDuel
Joel is now the frontrunner for MVP, and it’s easy to understand why. The big man has at least 52 DraftKings points in eight of his last nine games, posting a 61-point average in that span. All of that makes him an easy option against Dallas, with the Mavericks having one of the worst center rotations in the NBA.

Pascal Siakam (PF/C – TOR): $9,200 DraftKings, $9,300 FanDuel
Many people might not realize it, but Siakam has been a Top-10 fantasy player for the last month. He’s scored at least 36 fantasy points in 26 straight games, averaging 46 DraftKings points per game in that span. A big reason for that is his role, playing over 39 minutes a night in that amazing stretch. That makes it hard to believe that he’s barely cracking $9K, especially against a 27th-ranked Hawks defense.

Jarrett Allen (C – CLE): $7,900 DraftKings, $7,100 FanDuel
The Fro is one of the most consistent players in fantasy. The big man has at least 25 fantasy points in 39 of 44 games this season, averaging a career-best 37 DK points per game. That’s quite the total from a sub-$8K player, and we absolutely love this matchup with Charlotte. The Hornets rank 26th in defensive efficiency while owning a 24th OPRK against opposing centers. That’s on full display when you see Allen’s 38-point average in their two meetings this season.

Cash Game Considerations

Nikola Jokic (C – DEN): $12,400 DraftKings, $11,200 FanDuel
Here we are with the copy and paste guy! Jokic leads all players with over 60 DraftKings points per game and has scored at least 41 fantasy points in all but one game this season. That’s the best floor around, and it makes him the best cash game option every night. We love all of that against a 25th-ranked Pelicans defense, with The Joker averaging 70 DK points per game in their two matchups this season.

C.J. McCollum (SG – POR): $8,300 DraftKings, $7,700 FanDuel
McCollum has been a regular in this section as well, playing the de facto point guard in Portland with Damian Lillard sidelined. Dating back to last season, C.J. is averaging over 40 fantasy points per game in these circumstances, leading the team with a 32 percent usage rate. That makes him a great play at $8K, particularly with Oklahoma City surrendering the third-most fantasy points to opposing guards.

Derrick White (PG/SG – SAS): $6,400 DraftKings, $6,600 FanDuel
White was well on his way to a monster night on Thursday if it weren’t for that blowout. He had 19 points at the half and finished with 21 points l in just 22 minutes of play. He will be running things with Dejonute in the lineup, and we genuinely believe he should be an $8K player in this expanded role. The best part of this is the matchup, though, with Houston ranked first in pace and dead-last in both points allowed and defensive efficiency. It also means we don’t have to worry about blowout potential, either!

GPP Targets

Kevin Porter (PG/SF – HOU): $6,900 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel
It’s strange that KPJ remains below $7K. This dude has shown us a 70-point upside in the past, and he’s in one of his best stretches of his career right now. Porter has at least 30 DK points in seven straight games, flirting with a 40-point average in that stretch. That makes him an easy play against San Antonio, with the Spurs ranked 24th in points allowed and fifth in pace.

Robert Covington (PF – POR): $5,500 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
Did you see the line this guy posted on Wednesday? RoCo went scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting but still had 38.3 DraftKings points. That’s a laughable line, but it shows just how valuable this guy can be. That makes it hard to understand why he’s just $5,500 on each site, especially with Oklahoma City owning a 29th OPRK against opposing power forwards.

Brandon Goodwin (PG – CLE): $4,100 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel
If Goodwin starts for Garland again, this is one of the best value plays on the board. In the last two games without DG, BG is averaging 28 DK points per game across 29 minutes a night. Those are ridiculous numbers from a player this cheap, and this might be the best matchup of the three. The Hornets rank second in pace and 29th in points allowed.

Value Plays

Mason Plumlee (C – CHA): $5,100 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
Plumlee has been rebounding like a madman recently. Plumdog has scored at least 24 DK points in six straight games, scoring 30-plus in each of his last three fixtures. It might worry you that he faces an elite Cleveland defense, but we actually love it. They happen to have one of the biggest frontlines in the NBA, which should guarantee Plumlee 30-35 minutes of play. Playing time is the only thing that holds him back, and he should be a monster with that sort of role.

Terry Taylor (PF/C – IND): $4,200 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
I honestly didn’t know who this guy was last week, but that’s the nature of DFS. Indiana has lost Turner, Sabonis, Bitadze, and Jackson over recent weeks, leaving Taylor as the only big man left. In the game without those guys on Wednesday, TT tallied 24 points and 16 rebounds en route to 52 DraftKings points. That’s one of the best per-dollar performances of the season, and he’d be a lock if all of those guys are out again.

Thaddeus Young (C – SAS): $3,000 DraftKings, $3,500 FanDuel
It’s crazy to see a starting center at the minimum. In any case, Thad got a start for Poeltl on Thursday and looks in line for another one here. He’s been one of the best fantasy producers in this role in the past, regularly sitting around $7,000. He collected seven points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals in that role on Thursday, and if he does that at this price, Thad will be in every optimal lineup out there. Not to mention, the Rockets are the most fantasy-friendly matchup in the NBA.

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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.

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