NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook February 8
Published: Feb 08, 2024
It's NBA trade deadline day and boy has it been a day. Multiple teams have made moves and some big names will be wearing new jerseys in the next 24-to-48 hours. However, tonight we focus on the seven game NBA DFS main slate which includes teams that have made moves today in the Indiana Pacers who sent Buddy Hield to the 76ers, Brooklyn Nets who dealt away both Dennis Schroder and Royce O'Neale and the New York Knicks who acquired Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Pistons for Quentin Grimes and draft picks. The Knicks opponent tonight is the Dallas Mavericks who traded away Grant Williams, Seth Curry and Richaun Holmes as of the time this is being written. We also have the Memphis Grizzlies who traded David Roddy today and Xavier Tillman yesterday. The Utah Jazz traded Kelly Olynyk to the Raptors. The Phoenix Suns traded Chimezie Metu, Jordan Goodwin, Yuta Watanabe and Keita Bates-Diop as part of the Memphis, Brooklyn three team deal. So, as you can see, a lot of players have moved and it's not even the 4pm deadline just yet. That being said, make sure you stay tuned as updates to this playbook are sure to follow.
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 off their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!
Check out today's NBA DFS Playbook Preview Show
Notable NBA Injury Updates
Out
- OG Anunoby
- Khris Middleton
- Buddy Hield
- Dante Exum
- Chris Paul
- Cameron Johnson
- Dereck Lively
- David Roddy
- Xavier Tillman
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Royce O'Neale
- Lonnie Walker
- Day'Ron Sharpe
- Kelly Olynyk
- Patrick Williams
- Grant Williams
- Quentin Grimes
- Richaun Holmes
- Gary Payton
- Malachi Flynn
- Ochai Agbaji
- Cameron Payne
- Doug McDermott
- Chimezie Metu
- Yuta Watanabe
- Keita Bates-Diop
Questionable
- Devin Booker
- Jalen Brunson
- Damian Lillard
- Jaren Jackson Jr.
- Bradley Beal
- Bennedict Mathurin
- Jalen Smith
- Derrick Rose
- Ziaire Williams
- Torrey Craig
- Jordan McLaughlin
Teams on Back-to-Backs
Second Leg
First Leg
Pace Up Spots
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
- Golden State Warriors 12th vs Indiana Pacers 2nd
- San Antonio Spurs 5th vs Orlando Magic 23rd
- Cleveland Cavaliers 20th vs Brooklyn Nets 22nd
- Dallas Mavericks 8th vs New York Knicks 28th
- Chicago Bulls 30th vs Memphis Grizzlies 15th
- Minnesota Timberwolves 26th vs Milwaukee Bucks 4th
- Utah Jazz 9th vs Phoenix Suns 21st
Notable NBA Game Totals
- Golden State Warriors vs Indiana Pacers -5.5 (249)
- San Antonio Spurs vs Orlando Magic -10 (224.5)
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets +7.5 (224.5)
- Dallas Mavericks vs New York Knicks +3.5 (228)
- Chicago Bulls vs Memphis Grizzlies +6 (217)
- Minnesota Timberwolves vs Milwaukee Bucks -1 (226.5)
- Utah Jazz vs Phoenix Suns -6.5 (242.5)
Top-Tier Core Plays
Luka Doncic, PG Dallas Mavericks
Luka is playing 40+ minutes a night right now and he's gone for 80+ fantasy points now in two of the last four games. The Knicks are not great defensively right now given their injuries and overall lack of depth but Dallas doesn't play any defense either which often means competitive enough games where Doncic stays on the floor into the fourth quarter. There is a lot of value on tonight's slate that will make getting to Luka Doncic pretty doable this evening if you want to go in that direction.
Kevin Durant, PF Phoenix Suns
Both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are questionable to play tonight which means we could get a solo Durant in an elite spot, at home, against the Utah Jazz. Durant was already one of our favorite plays on the slate heading into the night but these possible injury statuses could make him one of the more popular plays on the entire slate. In THREE game against the Jazz this season, Durant is averaging 34 points, seven rebounds and 8.7 assists per contest.
Tyrese Haliburton, PG Indiana Pacers
Asleep at the wheel? That is the question I have here with Haliburton not only under $10,000 on DraftKings but under $9,000 as well. Yes, he was limited after his injury but he got to 29 minutes against the Rockets the other night and we know Haliburton is more than capable of paying off his price tag with 30 minutes of playing time. Add in the matchup tonight against a Warriors team that is on the second night of a back to back while finishing a five game road trip and all signs point to the Pacers here this evening.
Anthony Edwards, PG/SG Minnesota Timberwolves
He is the cover of the morning preview show and for good reason. Edwards is still priced too low and now has a great matchup against a bad Milwaukee Bucks defense. Edwards is coming off a near 70 fantasy point effort against the Bulls and he figures to be in for another big night tonight given the matchup.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Paolo Banchero, PF Orlando Magic
Big pace up spot for the Magic tonight and Banchero continues to put up big numbers night after night. What I'm loving to see from Banchero lately is not just the scoring but the rebounding and now the assist totals are starting to pop as well. I look for him to lead the way tonight against the San Antonio Spurs.
Pascal Siakam, SF/ PF Indiana Pacers
Siakam is getting into a rhythm and it come as no surprise that his game starts to pick up with the return of Tyrese Haliburton. Now that we are getting close to a full run of minutes from the Pacers point guard I'd expect he and Siakam to work a nice two-man game here at a high tempo pace. Again, I love the Pacers tonight in this spot against the Warriors and nobody on Indiana is that expensive.
Donte DiVincenzo, SG/SF New York Knicks
Help is on the way for the Knicks but they won't be there in time for tonight's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. With OG Anunoby already ruled out and Jalen Brunson questionable for tonight there is a really good chance that DDV is going to be the primary ball handler and scorer for the Knicks this evening against the Mavericks. DDV has been a sniper from three-point range lately and he won't be shy about launching them against a poor Mavericks defense.
Cam Thomas, PG/SG Brooklyn Nets
For better or for worse we know Thomas is going to take 20+ shots here tonight. The Nets are down to just eight players following today's trades and while the Cavaliers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, we are going to get 35-to-40 minutes from Thomas here tonight. You can also plug Mikal Bridges here as well.
Jonathan Kuminga, PF Golden State Warriors
While I think the Pacers win this game here tonight, I still like Kuminga here in this matchup. He has the younger legs and can bounce back in these back-to-back spots. He's also been very good now for the past two weeks. While Andrew Wiggins had the bigger night the other night, I think a contrarian pivot to Kuminga in this high pace, high scoring game isn't an awful spot to be.
John Collins, PF/C Utah Jazz
The NBA trade deadline has come and gone and Collins is still a member of the Utah Jazz. That said, Utah did deal away three front court pieces in Simone Fontecchio, Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji so I'm expecting Collins to have close to a ceiling minutes game.
Value Tier Core Plays
Santi Aldama, PF/C Memphis Grizzlies
We've been a bit confused with the minutes rotation for Aldama over the past few games but after the team traded away Xavier Tillman and David Roddy over the past two days we should assume Aldama gets 30+ minutes here this evening just given the overall lack of front court depth the Grizzlies have on their roster.
Dennis Smith Jr., PG Brooklyn Nets
This is not a great matchup for the Nets but they have only eight active players tonight following their trades. DSJ can fill the box score and he is a cheap guard on this slate that should/could start with Dinwiddie no longer in Brooklyn.
Bennedict Mathurin, SG Indiana Pacers
We know the elite scoring upside that Mathurin brings to the table and with Buddy Hield gone there are minutes that should be given to Mathurin here tonight that will hopefully now lock him into 30+ minutes on a nightly basis. Now, two things here. First, Mathurin is questionable to play with an illness and second, head coach Rick Carlisle is a maniac and is just as likely to play Mathurin 20 minutes as he is 40 minutes on a given night.
Walker Kessler, C Utah Jazz
While everyone is looking at Kris Dunn and Keyonte George when it comes to ownership here tonight why not give the big man a look? Remember, the team traded away Simone Fontecchio and Kelly Olynyk which will shorten their front court rotation and could force them into a lineup where John Collins is back as the power forward, his natural position, and Lauri Markkanen is at small forward, a position he played while in Cleveland. Kessler played 21 minutes against the Thunder and had a pretty solid line of four points with nine rebounds, one assist and three blocks. The game prior to that he saw 27 minutes against the Bucks and had 13 point with eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks. He could be very live for a double-double tonight with multiple block upside.
Miles McBride, PG New York Knicks
Chalk monsters here. McBride is set to play 25+ minutes regardless of the Brunson status here this evening but if Brunson is out then we lock our man in for 40 minutes tonight against the Mavericks. He was actually pretty great filling in for the injured Brunson for two games last month so DFS players at least have an idea of what to expect here.
Keyonte George, PG Utah Jazz
George is another highly rostered player on tonight's slate. We talked about him for a good portion of the preview show last night when we were on the point guard position and agreed that he was a lock for our lineups. Nothing here has changed for Utah when it comes to their backcourt. I'd expect 25 minutes from George here this evening with a ceiling of 30 if he continues to play as well as he has.
Check out today's NBA DFS Playbook Livestream at 5pm ET
Player Grid Updates Coming Soon
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