NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Amen Thompson and Numerous Nets! (Feb. 22)

NBA DFS Picks Today – Building Blocks: Saturday, Feb. 22

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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

Since VanVleet has been sidelined, Thompson is averaging 37.9 minutes and 10.4 field goal attempts, with a 55.4% conversation rate. In this timeframe, he has averaged 14.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 3.6 stocks (combined blocks and steals), with a pair of 50 fantasy point efforts and one 60-plus fantasy point masterpiece. Over the last 15 games, the Jazz are the worst team in the league with a 16.6% turnover rate.

Utah was boat raced last night by the Oklahoma City Thunder, resulting in a 130-107 loss that wasn’t even that close. OKC put 14 different players on the court, while holding a lead of nearly 14 points for the majority of the matchup. The Jazz are unabashedly tanking, so expect to see several regulars sit tonight. Jordan Clarkson has been dealing with a torn left plantar fascia and he is not expected to play on consecutive days for the remainder of the season. Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler and John Collins have also been sporadically “rested” so expect at least one of that trio to be out with an “injury” tonight. This of course increases the appeal of whomever is available.

Clarkson being out will likely give rookie Isaiah Collier and second-year guard Keyonte George a little more playing time. Typically this duo shares the court for around 8-to-10 minutes per game, though in the last two games without Clarkson that was closer to 12 minutes, excluding the overtime period in each of those matchups, which saw the duo share the court for every minute in each extra frame. This is important to consider, with the slim eight-team player pool.

By no means is Utah shorthanded, even with Collin Sexton (ankle) expected to miss his eighth straight contest. It is just tricky to know which players will benefit the most among rookies Kyle Filipowski and Cody Williams, second-year scorer Brice Sensabaugh and journeyman Svi Mykhailiuk. Best guess is that Filipowski and Mykhailiuk are the “safer” options.

Turning our attention back to the Rockets, with the chronically injured Eason likely sitting, Cam Whitmore could move back into the rotation, after not leaving the bench last night. Smith should also be a mainstay, playing 38 minutes last night demonstrated that conditioning should not be an issue. He averaged 34.3 minutes per game in the 16 contests leading up to his injury which was his non-dominant left hand.

Alperen Sengun has been in a mini-slump, but he should be able to operate in the paint with impunity tonight. This is the first time this season that these teams have squared off, but the last time Sengun faced the Jazz (including Kessler, Collins and Markkanen) he had 37 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, with one steal and one block. There are ample post players in action tonight, even with the short-slate, which has Sengun in line to be on around one-in-four lineups, across the main DFS tournaments tonight.

Aaron Holiday had a career-game just prior to the break, with 40-plus fantasy points against the Golden State Warriors. In the eight games that VanVleet has missed, Holiday was a DNP-CD twice, with 55 total fantasy points in the five other appearances. Caveat Emptor. Jalen Green is the more appealing guard, though his 49 fantasy points last night was his second foray into the 40 fantasy point plateau in his last 16 games.

Hayes is still only 23-years-old, despite having spent the last four seasons with the Detroit Pistons. He saw 145 starts in his 210 Motown appearances, so he should at least be semi-competent. Cam Thomas (hamstring) remains out, having played only two games since Thanksgiving and none since Jan. 2, while Noah Clowney (ankle) is going to miss his ninth-consecutive game.

Trendon Watford is going to be another popular option, ideally staying out of foul trouble as Nicolas Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe deal with Joel Embiid. Cameron Johnson is a strong play on DraftKings ($5,700, 35.1%), though he is neutral on FanDuel ($6,600, 14.2%). Ziaire Williams is another fantasy point per dollar option, though similar to Johnson, in that neither has a particularly appealing top-range.

If he plays, Embiid is a tournament wild card, though he has acknowledge that his knee has sapped him of a lot of explosiveness. Quentin Grimes is the most appealing of the Philadelphia options, since most have appropriate salaries.

The benefit of loading up on the Nets tonight, will be the ability to work in the likes of Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Luka Doncic and LaMelo Ball. Do not forget about the secondary-tier consisting of Jamal Murray, Tyrese Maxey, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams, since this quartet looks like they will be underrepresented in tournaments, with gamers going with the coveted “stars and scrubs” roster construction.

Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick

Mr. DGAF himself, Kelly Oubre Jr., is popping in the models for the over on his 19.5 points+rebounds+assists (PRA) prop on DraftKings, which currently lists this wager at -110 — well above the -130 posted by sharp book Pinnacle, which has pushed the PRA to 20.5.

The screenshot of Portfolio EV shows that this wager projects to win 55% of the time. That combined with the -110 odds on DraftKings leads to a favorable 4.6% expected value when accounting for the -121 “True Odds.”

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Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Oubre projected for 35.8 minutes, 11.69 points, 6.27 rebounds and 1.92 assists for a 19.88 PRA.

Keep in mind, that is the median projection and it doesn’t account for a range of outcomes, though that is baked into the 4.6% expected ROI. In his last 17 games, Oubre has posted a PRA of 20 or higher 15 (88%) times. While Embiid missed a lot of those games, who is going to be among the first off the court if they 76ers can take care of business against the motley crew in front of the Philly faithful?

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

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