NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook: February 6
Published: Feb 06, 2024
We have a six-game NBA DFS main slate on Tuesday, February 6th, on DraftKings and FanDuel. It's an interesting slate with notable injury designations on the likes of Luka Doncic, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Williams, and Jaren Jackson Jr. Still, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, and Alperen Sengun are going to hit the floor tonight. We're now just a few days away from the NBA trade deadline, so make sure you're monitoring the news for who's on the move!
NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!
Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based on their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!
Here's the NBA DFS Podcast for today's slate. Like the video and subscribe to our channel!
Notable NBA Injury Updates
QUESTIONABLE
- Luka Doncic
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Jaren Jackson Jr. – DOUBT
- Jalen Williams – went through shootaround
- Vince Williams
- Santi Aldama
- Alex Caruso
- Cameron Johnson – DOUBT – OUT
- Lonnie Walker – OUT
- Xavier Tillman – DOUBT
- John Konchar
- Duncan Robinson – IN
- Derrick Rose
- Cason Wallace
- Jalen Smith – IN
- Ochai Agbaji – OUT
- Bennedict Mathurin – QUEST (mid-day downgrade)
OUT
- Fred VanVleet
- OG Anunoby
- Tari Eason
- Dereck Lively
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Patrick Williams
- Ziaire Williams
- Quentin Grimes
- Dante Exum
- Jericho Sims
PROBABLE
Back-to-Backs
First Leg
Second Leg
Pace
Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.
*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.
Green = Fast Paced team
Blue = Neutral Paced team
Red = Slow Paced team
Houston Rockets 17th vs Indiana Pacers 2nd
Dallas Mavericks 8th vs Brooklyn Nets 23rd
Orlando Magic 22nd vs Miami Heat 28th
Memphis Grizzlies 15th vs New York Knicks 27th
Minnesota Timberwolves 26th vs Chicago Bulls 30th
Oklahoma City Thunder 10th vs Utah Jazz 9th
NBA Game Totals
Houston Rockets vs Indiana Pacers - 244.5 (IND -8.5)
Dallas Mavericks vs Brooklyn Nets - 236.5 (DAL -3.5)
Orlando Magic vs Miami Heat - 213.5 (MIA -3.5)
Memphis Grizzlies vs New York Knicks - 212.5 (NYK -14.5)
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Chicago Bulls - 216.5 (MIN -5.5)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Utah Jazz - 239.5 (OKC -3.5)
Top Tier Core Plays
He had a bad game yesterday, so what? He's one of the best fantasy producers in the game and even with Kyrie Irving this year, he has a 36% USG and averages 1.6 FP/min.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Even if Jalen Williams returns, it doesn't matter, SGA has been an MVP candidate with Williams all year long. On the year, SGA has a 33% USG and averages 1.58 FP/min. This game has the highest implied total and is the only game on the board with two teams in the top 10 in pace.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
So yeah, Jalen Brunson. Good at basketball. He's put up 47+ DKP in five straight games and has 32+ actual in four of five without Julius Randle. With everyone that's out/traded for the Knicks, Brunson sits at a 34% USG and 1.33 FP/min. He's also playing 40+ minutes a night.
Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
He's used a hub to start and now every possession will run through Sengun. With FVV and Eason out, Sengun has a 27.4% USG and 1.37 FP/min. This is an amazing spot for the Rockets considering Indiana is second in pace and 26th in DRtg.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
On the year, Towns has been good, but outside of the 62-point game, all the talk around Minnesota has been on Anthony Edwards. Despite that, Towns has a 27.8% USG and 1.23 FP/min, which is second and T1 respectively. He's shooting north of 40% from three and the Bulls are the worst 3PT defense in the league.
Donte DiVincenzo, New York Knicks
Another 40 minutes are incoming for DDV here. I understand it's a little bit of sticker shock when it comes to 7.4K on DK, but he's topped 40 DKP in three of four games and has scored 20+ points in four straight. He's taken 15+ threes in all four games too, so if they fall at a high clip, he has slate-breaking upside.
Nobody on the Rockets gets a bigger usage bump on than Green when Fred VanVleet's out. Green's bump is +6.3% up to a robust 33.8% while also putting up 1.13 FP/min. Big pace up spot, great match-up and all the usage. Sounds great to me!
The minutes are ALL the way back for Wagner and so is the production. He's coming off 38 actual points and has now put up 37+ DKP in four straight games, which is right on par with his seasonal average. He draws a Heat team that's 2-8 over their last 10 games and during that span are 21st in DRtg.
Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
I love the Thunder tonight in Utah. It's hard not to want as much exposure as possible. Williams has stepped into such an elite playmaking role with this team and after missing a week, it looks like he's going to be back here. We'll see if there are any limitations if in fact he does return, but this spot against Utah is ELITE.
Isaiah Hartenstein & Josh Hart, New York Knicks
I like both guys to collect a LOT of rebounds against a short-handed Memphis team that is poised to miss a lot of shots. Hartenstein has 12+ rebounds in three straight games and 31+ DKP in all three as well, despite facing limitations and foul trouble in two of them. If Josh Hart ever makes shots, he'll break a slate because four times in five games he's given us 33+ DKP but has only one shot better than 43% during that span.
Value Tier Core Plays
Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
Look, I understand how poorly Smith Jr. has played, but whatever THIS version has been won't continue for much longer. The Rockets are playing without Fred VanVleet tonight and Smith gets a 3% USG bump and averages .94 FP/min without FVV. His price has cratered to the lowest number of the season tonight and it's in an ELITE spot against the Pacers.
Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets
The field is expecting Amen Thompson to start here and the last time we saw VanVleet sit, he started over Aaron Holiday and had a monster game. He's a chalk monster but he's a REALLY good FP/min player. Thompson's at 1.09 FP/min this year and with VanVleet off the floor he's at 1.15.
Dennis Smith Jr., Brooklyn Nets
There isn't a massive sample with Johnson, Sharpe, Finney-Smith, and Walker being out, but with those four off the floor, DSJ has a 23% USG and averages 1.3 FP/min, which is first on the team amongst all those that have a decent sample of minutes. He's going to be very popular and we saw when Walker left after four minutes on Monday, Smith played 31 minutes.
After playing 27 minutes on Monday, O'Neale will be in line for an even heftier workload with Dorian Finney-Smith, Lonnie Walker IV, and Cameron Johnson ruled out. O'Neale isn't an amazing FP/min producer, but the opportunity is right in front of him.
Late-News Core Play Section
*Section for players we are considering “core plays” based on late-breaking news & research
- Miles McBride, New York Knicks
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (FanDuel)
- Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (FanDuel)
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Luka Dončić  $12,600 |  Devin Booker $9,800 | Kevin Durant $9,900 |  Giannis Antetokounmpo $12,100 |  Alperen Şengün $9,200 |
 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander $11,700 | |||||
 Jalen Brunson $9,700 | |||||
| Medium | Bradley Beal $7,600 |  Franz Wagner $7,900 | Karl-Anthony Towns $8,100 | Precious Achiuwa $6,300 | |
| Jalen Green $7,200 | Mikal Bridges $7,900 |  Aaron Nesmith $6,400 |  Rudy Gobert $8,000 | ||
| Donte DiVincenzo $7,600 | Jalen Williams $7,500 | Jabari Smith $6,300 | |||
 Cam Thomas $7,400 | Josh Hart $6,600 |  Santi Aldama $6,100 | |||
| Low |  Spencer Dinwiddie $5,600 | Amen Thompson $5,600 | Royce O'Neale $4,400 |  Jalen Smith $5,200 | |
| Dennis Smith $5,100 | Dillon Brooks $4,900 | ||||
| Miles McBride $4,500 |
Player News
Kristaps Porzingis (illness) said after Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Knicks that his current stamina issues may be related to the problem that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season.
After an illness limited him to 13 first-half minutes in Boston’s series-opening defeat on Monday, Porzingis came off the bench in Game 2. Unfortunately, he could only give the Celtics 14 minutes. Following the game, Porzingis said his current problem may be related to the upper respiratory ailment that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season. “Probably, probably,” Porzingis said. “I’ve had like ups and downs throughout until this point. Just now, had a big crash. Now, my energy, my everything, hasn’t been good, but who cares? Have to move forward and it will get better from this point.” While Boston’s shot selection was the focus following its two home defeats, Porzingis’ limited availability has also been a factor. He’ll hope to return to full health in time for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.