Saturday welcomes the weekend with a five-game featured slate, locking at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Given the packed collection of games and pivotal decision points, it’s a great time to spotlight the best NBA DFS building blocks and picks for the day. Let’s break down Saturday’s standout picks, with Stephen Curry and a few of his teammates looking like tremendous fantasy point per dollar options against the Wizards, while Tyrese Maxey stands out for Philadelphia.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Saturday, Jan. 18
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Stephen Curry: Warriors vs. Wizards
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 47.19 | FanDuel: 45.03
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 50.7% | FanDuel: 43.7%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $8,800 | FanDuel: $8,900
Golden State last played on Wednesday, with the next game on Monday against Boston, with a 2 p.m. local start time. It would make sense that the Warriors look to get the victory tonight, being at home and still trying to figure out what is going to happen for the rest of the season.
Jonathan Kuminga is out for the next two weeks, with Brandin Podziemski and Kyle Anderson on the shelf for this game as well.
There is a chance the Stephen Curry is not needed for his full complement of minutes, but he should still be able to produce a fine fantasy line against one of the worst defenses in the league. Washington is so bad, that the aging and injury riddled ‘Dubs are favored by a baker’s dozen in this matchup. Andrew Wiggins and Dennis Schroder rarely exhibit DFS upside, but each is fine from a fantasy point per dollar perspective, with solidified offensive opportunities for the shorthanded Warriors.
Trayce Jackson-Davis is trending to be one of the five most rostered players tonight and while his scoring is inconsistent, he should push for double-digit rebounds against the anemic Washington frontcourt. Draymond Green is always hard to project, but this is a matchup where he should be engaged, particularly with his distain for Jordan Poole.
There is no love lost on Poole’s side this evening either, which has him in play for tournaments. Aside from Malcolm Brogdon, the Wizards are at full-strength, leaving plenty of players available to absorb minutes. Do-everything wing Bilal Coulibaly looks like a strong option on FanDuel ($5,600), with shooting guard and small forward eligibility pushing him to be represented on around one-quarter of all tournament rosters. Alex Sarr (11.1%) is the only other player above 10% on DraftKings, while Kyle Kuzma (13.3%) and Carlton Carrington III (10.1%) have that distinction on FanDuel.
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Tyrese Maxey: 76ers at Pacers
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 48.77 | FanDuel: 48.17
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 26.3% | FanDuel: 37.2%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,500 | FanDuel: $9,400
Joel Embiid is likely out for the rest of January, with Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and KJ Martin missing in action tonight. Paul George (ankle) is questionable having missed three of the last five games, leaving Tyrese Maxey as the lead offensive option for the 76ers.
George may take the court tonight against the team that drafted him, which would put in in the mix as a tournament option. If he sits, that cements Maxey as a core play.
Maxey is posting as stat-line, similar to last season, when he made his first All-Star team. Since the start of last season, Maxey has averaged 1.08 fantasy points per minute, when sharing the court with Embiid. When the Cameroonian is on the sidelines, Maxey jumps up to 1.20 fantasy points per minute, which is nearly 1.25 when isolating to the current season.
Indiana has a solid defensive efficiency rating (108.8), ranking among the top three teams over the last 10 games and in the top-eight over the last 15 games. Maxey should still be able to get by on volume, though it will be through efficiency that he reaches his top-score. If George is out, then Kelly Oubre Jr. and Guershon Yabusele would move into more prominent roles, with Justin Edwards becoming a desirable discount dandy.
The ‘Sixers have a bottom-five defense over the last month, allowing nearly 116 points per 100 possessions. Indiana last played on Thursday and the team is off until next Thursday. That wrinkle is created by the Pacers facing the San Antonio Spurs for two games in France next week. Considering how tight the Eastern Conference is after Cleveland and Boston, expect Indiana to pull out all the stops tonight, to secure a victory on their home court.
For now, everyone is available, with Bennedict Mathurin having served his one-game suspension. Look to the first five, including Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner, with positional need and salary constraints being your guide. Because it is Saturday, there is going to be some sort of surprise, which of course means one of the Pacers could get the night off for some unknown malady, that would benefit the remaining available options, otherwise this is a mostly neutral option, with various players having a slight edge over their teammates, depending on your DFS site of choice.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Dyson Daniels is an interesting option in the sports wagering market for the under on his 3.5 assists prop.
The screenshot of Portfolio EV shows that this wager projects to win 52% of the time. That combined with the solid +100 aka even money odds leads to a solid 3.5% expected value when accounting for the -107 “True Odds.”
BetMGM is currently offering +100, which presents solid value compared to the “True Odds” of -107. Most other books are in the -110-or-worse range.
Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Daniels projected for 33.3 minutes and 3.47 assists, which is a slight tick under the 3.5 target and solidly below the four needed for this wager to lose.
Currently Trae Young is questionable, though the projections have the league-leader in assists playing tonight. If he is out, Daniels will take over more of the facilitation duties, with Vit Krejci, though that still leaves the tough matchup against a fierce Boston defense to be overcome.
In four of his last five games, Daniels has fallen shy of four assists, though it is important to point out that he had three in a trio of these tilts. This wager is likely to go down to the wire, but the math is in our favor.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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