It’s Tuesday, February 3rd. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a total of 10 games on the slate. Below are our top NBA DFS picks and advice for tonight’s slate. We’re going to focus on the eight-game slate, as that’s how they’re offered at both DraftKings and FanDuel. You can play a separate slate with the 10:00 p.m. ET and 11:00 p.m. ET games, but we won’t be including those.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
- DraftKings: $10,200
- FanDuel: $10,700
Jalen Johnson is a strong play in this matchup against the Miami Heat, a team with an opponent rank of 26th, while he is averaging a healthy 52.3 fantasy points per game. It’s a solid recipe for a big night of production for prospective DFS players.
Johnson is coming off a triple-double in Indiana, going for 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists with three steals and three triples across 36 minutes. The last time he faced Miami, he missed a triple-double by a single rebound (24 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds).
- DraftKings: $8,900
- FanDuel: $8,400
If you want a cheaper option at the power forward spot or you want to pair Jalen Johnson with another big body with high upside, consider Pascal Siakam. The defensively-challenged Utah Jazz stroll into town to battle Siakam and the Pacers.
Utah is 5-18 on the road this season and ranks dead-last in the NBA with 127 points per game allowed, while checking in 29th in both defensive field-goal rate (49.1%) and defensive three-pointer rate (37.8%). Look for Siakam to go off. It’s a good idea to build a nice little Indiana mini-stack for this one.
- DraftKings: $8,500
- FanDuel: $8,700
Jalen Brunson is in line for a favorable matchup, and he isn’t priced out of line, either. Brunson has rolled up 42.5 fantasy points per game this season, and he faces a Wizards team with a league-worst opponent rank of 30th.
Brunson wasn’t at his best against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, shooting just 4-of-15 from the field, but he ended up with 12 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds with a steal across 37 minutes. The last time he faced Washington, he recorded 16 points and nine assists, with a three-pointer.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
- DraftKings: $8,600
- FanDuel: $8,600
LeBron James at this price? Against the Nets? Sign me up. The Nets have an opponent rank of 22nd, and King James is producing 42 fantasy points per game this season.
Last time out, James went for 22 points, six assists and five rebounds with a steal, while dropping in a pair of three-pointers. He has posted 20+ points in three of the past four games. James has dished out five or more assists in three straight and 10 of the past 11 games. He isn’t going to blow up for a triple-double, but James will still post a strong line against the beleaguered Nets.
- DraftKings: $8,300
- FanDuel: $8,500
Remember, we said to pick on the Wizards, and Karl-Anthony Towns should be an important part of your stack. The only team worse than the Wizards in points allowed (122.5 per game) is the aforementioned Jazz. If you comprise a DFS lineup mostly of Knicks and Pacers, you’ll be in pretty good shape.
Towns is averaging 19.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, while hitting a respectable 46.1% from the field. He had 11 points and 13 rebounds last time out against the Lakers on Sunday, and he has 11+ rebounds in four consecutive outings.
- DraftKings: $7,800
- FanDuel: $8,100
Derrick White is a little pricier on FanDuel, but he is a good play regardless. He is averaging 37 fantasy points per game, while the Dallas Mavericks have an opponent rank of 23rd. I tossed it back and forth, trying to decide between White and Bobby Portis Jr. It’s easy, if you consider fantasy points per game. Portis has managed just 26.2 fantasy points per game, and he has a similar price tag.
White and the Celtics should have a good time against a banged-up Dallas team that is allowing 116.6 points per game. Normally, the Mavericks are a strong perimeter defense, ranking No. 1 in the NBA (33.6%), but they’re missing plenty of pieces for this one.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
- DraftKings: $7,500
- FanDuel: $7,600
Another piece of a potential Indiana stack. Andrew Nembhard is a tremendous play against the Jazz’s leaky defense. Utah is 29th in opponent rank, while Nembhard has posted a respectable 34.5 fantasy points per game.
The Pacers guard had just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting with eight assists and three turnovers in 32 minutes in a loss to Houston on Monday, so he’ll be champing at the bit to get back on track. Before that, he posted 26 points, 10 assists and six rebounds against the Atlanta Hawks. Expect a similar line here against the defensively-challenged Jazz.
- DraftKings: $7,400
- FanDuel: $7,700
Dyson Daniels has been a solid, yet unspectacular option this season from a DFS perspective. Don’t expect Daniels to roll up giant point totals, as that’s not his style. But, he is going to log plenty of assists, rebounds and steals, with an occasional three-pointer. He has seven or more assists in four straight games, and five or more rebounds in 21 consecutive games.
When you play Daniels in your lineup, you know what you’re going to get — consistency, just not overwhelming offensive production.
- DraftKings: $7,100
- FanDuel: $7,200
Coby White has managed 31.3 fantasy points per game this season, and he has a very favorable matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on the road. You might mix and match Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker (33.9 fantasy points per game) here, if you plan to play several lineups. Both have favorable similar matchups.
White dropped 16 points in 30 minutes last time out in Miami despite an 0-for-6 night from behind the arc. The last time he faced the Bucks, White scored 16 points, including four three-pointers. He has scored 14+ points in nine straight games, while posting at least three assists in each of his past 12 outings.
NBA DFS Value Plays
- DraftKings: $4,000
- FanDuel: $3,900
Walter Clayton Jr. is a strong value, way more so than Isaiah Collier. Both players will be leaned upon to pick up the slack with Keyonte George (ankle) missing a second straight game due to a sprained left ankle.
- DraftKings: $4,300
- FanDuel: $3,900
Tristan da Silva and Anthony Black are expected to continue seeing extra run with Franz Wagner laid up for a seventh consecutive game due to an ankle injury. We’ll side with da Silva, who is a much cheaper option. He has some ability from behind the perimeter, too.
- DraftKings: $4,700
- FanDuel: $4,800
Egor Demin had a real stinker in Detroit on Sunday, going for just three points on 0-of-4 shooting, all from behind the three-point line. Before that, in Utah, he went for 25 points, 10 rebounds and six three-pointers. If he can replicate those numbers, or anything close to that, he’ll be a steal at this price.
