NBA DFS Show DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Preview February 15
Published: Feb 15, 2024
NBA DFS Strategy & DraftKings Top Picks 2/15
We have a three-game NBA DFS main slate on Thursday, February 15th, on DraftKings and FanDuel. We have elite options that are hitting the floor with Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Damian Lillard playing. Let's dive into the NBA DFS podcast for 2/15 and break down our top NBA DFS plays of the day. Jon Impemba and James Grande break down the main slate by going position-by-position and bringing an example lineup into the fold at the end. Be sure to check out our NBA DFS projections, powered by FanJections, NBA DFS Lineup Generator, and all of the rest of our NBA DFS content and tools.
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Player News
NBA insider Marc Stein reports Dwight Powell will activate his player option for the 2025-26 season.
Powell had until Tuesday to decide whether or not he would activate his player option for the 2025-26 season. Per Stein’s report, the veteran center had made his decision a few days early, deciding to pick up the option worth $4 million. Powell appeared in 55 games this season but only averaged 10.0 minutes, his lowest mark since the 2014-15 season. He did not impact fantasy basketball this season, and that’s highly unlikely to change in 2025-26.
Josh Green underwent surgery to address instability in his left shoulder.
Green is expected to make a full recovery, though he’s out indefinitely and without a timetable to return. A first round pick in 2020 by the Mavericks, Green moved into the Hornets starting lineup late in the year as Charlotte dealt with multiple injured starters. While Green had some good performances, he needs to become more of a consistent scorer to be a fantasy asset in the future.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points (7-of-15 FGs, 7-of-8 FTs), four rebounds, two assists and eight turnovers in a 108-91 loss to the Pacers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
This certainly wasn’t the performance OKC was hoping to get out of the MVP with a chance to close out the series. Sure, he led the team in scoring, but the eight turnovers were abysmal. Turnovers haven’t been an issue for the Thunder this year; they averaged the fewest turnovers per game in the league during the regular season and have won the turnover matchup for most of this series. They’ll certainly need to clean things up to defend their homecourt and win a championship in Game 7 on Sunday.
Jalen Williams contributed 16 points (6-of-13 FGs), three rebounds and one assist in Game 6 against the Pacers on Thursday.
After a 40-point masterclass in Game 5, Williams cooled off in Game 6. It was a disappointing night after two consecutive strong performances. He also posted a team-worst -40 plus/minus, which isn’t solely on his shoulder, but it was indicative of how the game went during his 27 minutes. The 24-year-old will have to be better in Game 7 on Sunday.
Alex Caruso started the second half on Thursday and finished with three rebounds, two assists and one block in 22 minutes against the Pacers.
Caruso has had some big games in this series, but Thursday was not one of them. He was held scoreless and didn’t contribute much else in the box score. Of course, his defense is always valuable, but it wasn’t enough to slow down Indiana. What was noteworthy was that Caruso started the second half in place of Isaiah Hartenstein. The Thunder were down 22 points at halftime, so this could’ve been Mark Daigneault trying to create a spark. Caruso will likely return to a reserve role on Sunday for Game 7, but the situation is worth monitoring.
T.J. McConnell provided a boost off the bench with 12 points (6-of-12 FGs), nine rebounds, six assists and four steals against the Thunder on Thursday.
McConnell has been fantastic in this series, and this was arguably his best performance. He has averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.3 steals through the first six games of the Finals, and he has scored in double figures four times. He stepped up with Tyrese Haliburton (calf) not fully healthy, which allowed them to manage Haliburton’s minutes. McConnell has been invaluable for the Pacers in this series, and they’ll need him to continue to contribute on Sunday, especially if Haliburton’s calf is still bothering him.