RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another installment of my favorite FanDuel plays for tonight's 8-game main slate of NBA DFS on FanDuel! I hope some of the picks I gave out for Draftkings this weekend helped you cash some lineups and my goal is always to give you a core group of players for you to use when building those lineups and I like to mix and match both cash and GPP plays in for those who play different contest formats.
Once again we have a slew of injuries to very important players tonight that is going to impact this slate in a big way. The Philadelphia 76ers will be without both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris for their matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. We will definitely want some Sixers in our lineups tonight as that's a matchup that we've been targeting in DFS all season. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat will be without their star guard Jimmy Butler once again as they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in three days. Minnesota remains without their star center, Karl-Anthony Towns, but should get D'Angelo Russell back in the lineup, tonight. Make sure you are keeping tabs on all the injury news that breaks today because there will most assuredly be other players ruled in or out as the day goes along.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 2/24/20. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks. Find me in the NBA Chat Room or @ThunderDanDFS on Twitter.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Kendrick Nunn - PG, MIA @ CLE ($4,700)
Let's start with a fairly obvious value play here. Both Nunn and Goran Dragic are going to be popular plays as they both have tremendous per-dollar upside with Butler out of the lineup tonight. The Cavs are a terrible defensive team and have been particularly bad against guards all season long. While I usually lean Dragic over Nunn in these situations, I like the 800 dollar savings we get by taking Nunn here and also like the fact that Nunn is likely to play more minutes in this game. In Friday's game between these two teams, Nunn was awesome, posting 24 points and 8 assists on his way to 46 FanDuel points. It's possible that Dragic has the bigger game tonight and I don't advise game log-watching by any means, but I don't think you'll find another sub-5k guard on the slate with Nunn's safety and upside combination.
Luka Doncic - SG, DAL vs. MIN ($9,800)
Luka sat out on Saturday (of course I wrote him up that day since he was in a great spot against the Hawks) but is expected to go tonight against the Timberwolves. This is another great spot for Luka and the Mavs as the Timberwolves play fast and don't play much defense. After giving up 128 points to the slow-paced Nuggets last night, I expect this Minnesota defense to yield another big number to the Mavs who are even more likely to push the tempo than Denver was. Luka was an 11k player earlier this season so this price is just absurd assuming he is good to go for his normal minutes and he is my absolute "can't fade" play of the day in any format.
Josh Richardson - SG, PHI vs. ATL ($5,100)
With the Sixers being shorthanded tonight, I expect Richardson to take on a lot of the playmaking and scoring for Philly in this game. Ball-handlers are usually in a great spot against Atlanta as they play fast and often coax teams into more transition basketball. Richardson has some nice assist upside here as he should function as the team's point guard on many possessions. He also has some nice steal/block upside against this Atlanta team as they turn the ball over more than most teams in the league. I expect Richardson to play heavy minutes tonight and this price is way too cheap for a player who is going to have the ball in his hands as much as I expect him to and the matchup is also one of the best on the slate.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Brandon Clarke - PF, MEM @ LAC ($5,200)
Clarke is another player who stands to benefit from an injured teammate. Jaren Jackson Jr. is out for a few weeks meaning that Clarke should pick up more minutes at the PF spot for Memphis. He's been a solid producer all season long on a per-minute basis but has been stuck in a timeshare with Jackson and Jonas Valanciunas for minutes at the PF or C positions. After Jackson got hurt last Friday, Clarke ended up playing 32 minutes and finished with 37 FanDuel points. He should draw the start tonight and the combination of his price and expected increase in minutes makes him my favorite value at PF on FanDuel.
Jae Crowder - SF, MIA @ CLE ($4,800)
I'm probably going to have at least two Miami players in every lineup tonight as all of them (other than Bam Adebayo) are too cheap for their expected minutes, boosts in production with Butler out, and a great matchup with Cleveland. Crowder didn't start Saturday's game against Cleveland, but he was still very productive as he scored 34.8 FanDuel points in 26 minutes off the bench. Whether or not he starts tonight, he's a great DFS option with his ability to make threes and rack up boards and defensive stats. His teammate Derrick Jones Jr. is also a great option tonight for 600 less dollars at the same position, but I just trust Crowder a bit more for cash games.
Naz Reid - PF, MIN @ DAL ($5,000)
Naz has been a staple of my articles now for several slates and I'm not shying away from him after one sub-par game last night. He battled foul trouble throughout the game against Denver but still managed to put up 21.5 FanDuel points in 21 minutes. The opportunity for a big game should still be there tonight as the T-Wolves are still without Towns and are looking to Reid and James Johnson to soak up most of the minutes at center. While he's playing a bit out of position at center, his fantasy-friendly game should be on display tonight against the Mavericks, a team that is vulnerable to big men. After being a chalky bust last night, he could be a relatively low-owned sleeper tonight. Don't let recency bias prevent you from playing him as he still carries a ton of upside tonight.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Nikola Vucevic - C, ORL @ BKN ($9,400)
I expect Joel Embiid to be the highest-owned center on tonight's slate due to the fact that he will be the main source of offense for the Sixers in their plus matchup with the Hawks. However, for 600 fewer dollars, you can roster one of the hottest big men in the league in an equally good matchup by clicking on Vucevic. The Magic center has gone over 50 FanDuel points in four straight games and faces a Brooklyn team that is notorious for getting lit up by rebounders. In their only meeting earlier this season, Vucevic piled up 24 rebounds against this Nets team. He only scored 11 points that day due to some poor shooting, so if he is scoring and rebounding the ball tonight I think he has the potential to match or exceed what Embiid does. It's definitely a great day to pay up at the center position and there's plenty of value available to make that happen.
