FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Sunday 8/9/20

Head on over a for your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NBA FanDuel and DraftKings optimizer, our MLB Optimizer and NHL Projections as well. Plus our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below.

First time with NBA or NFL? Be sure to read our free NBA and NFL Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.

Point Guard

Kemba Walker FD - $5700 DK - $6100
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 33.91 DK - 35.17
Kemba was given the all clear to play 30 minutes against the Thunder, but the Celtics wound up not needing his services in the blowout. He'll presumably have the same minutes later (or higher) against the Magic, and that means he's still a little under-priced. It's not a phenomenal match-up against the Magic by any means, but Walker is probably 10% too cheap for his underlying talent in 30+ minutes per game, and you can expect him to have solid cash game ownership here.

Reggie Jackson FD - $3800 DK - $5500
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 22.98 DK - 24.35
R-Jax got another start on Saturday and performed admirably, compiling 25.9 FanDuel points against the Blazers in a full run of minutes. While the Clippers seem to be proceeding cautiously with their core pieces, they seem to be perfectly fine letting Jackson handle the primary ball handling duties while they moonwalk into the playoffs. The DraftKings price has caught up a little bit, but the FanDuel price is begging you to partake here, and the match-up with Brooklyn is as good as it gets on this slate.

Also considered: Kyle Lowry if you need a safer option.

Shooting Guard

James Harden FD - $10800 DK - $11300
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 62.59 DK - 65.12
Rule number one as we head toward the end of the season is that you need to sniff out teams that are still trying. The Rockets seem to qualify there, with Harden topping 33 minutes in each of his bubble games so far. While he was playing slightly more than that in close games during the season, the added benefit of Westbrook likely missing this game means we're getting a huge usage bump to offset our minutes losses. Harden is about $1200-$2200 cheaper than he's been with Westbrook sidelined earlier this season, and I expect him to pay these prices handily in a great match-up with Sacramento.

Bogdan Bogdanovic FD - $5400 DK - $5300
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 32.26 DK - 33.48

Bogdan Bogdanovic just looks like an outrageous deal right now, right? In his past two games he's averaged more than 35 minutes and 40 fantasy points. That's $8,000 worth of production, and we're getting it for $5,400? These prices are a joke. While Houston is a good team they are also a great match-up, pairing the a league average defense with the league's third fastest pace. There are a lot of options available to you at shooting guard today, but I think Bogdan is among the safest of them.

Small Forward

Tobias Harris FD - $7500 DK - $8700
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 40.07 DK - 41.06
If you guessed the right Sixers in the first game that Simmons missed you were handsomely rewarded, and while DraftKings has price corrected very quickly FanDuel is giving us another bite at the apple here. Harris was incredible, playing almost 40 minutes en route to a 23/15 line. This is arguably a better match-up against the Trail Blazers, too, and Harris should quite simply be the highest owned small forward on FanDuel.

Jaylen Brown FD - $6400 DK - $6900
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 33.56 DK - 34.38

Gordon Hayward FD - $6000 DK - $6800
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 35.36 DK - 36.19
I'll turn with a couple of Celtics, since both of these guys have been supplying plenty of floor to their DFS owners since the league has returned. Brown in particular has been a revelation, clearing 30 FanDuel points in each of his bubble games except the last one against Toronto, when he managed just 29.2. Small forward is pretty tough today, and these two should help you skate through if need be.

Also considered: Evan Fournier? There are a number of similar plays, like Harrison Barnes, or OG Anunoby, but I can't say I'm over the moon about any of them.

Power Forward

Marcus Morris FD - $4300 DK - $4700
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 24.73 DK - 25.48
Some Clippers may come and go during the bubble, but one constant has been Marcus Morris. He played 35 minutes in back to back games, and even played 31 in a goofy game against Portland where the Clippers tried (and failed) to lose. He's now scored between 26 and 29 FanDuel points over his last three games, and the DFS sites appear to be asleep at the wheel with this pricing. He'll likely be the highest owned power forward on the slate in a great match-up with the Nets' G-League squad.

Keep an eye on Steven Adams. If he sits, then Nerlens Noel will likely be the highest owned guy at the position once again. Rodions Kurucs would be an interesting DFS play if he gets the start again as well.

Al Horford FD - $6200 DK - $6500
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 32.04 DK - 31.86

Horford saw huge minutes in Simmons' first game on the shelf, and didn't disappoint. He went 21/9/2 over 30 minutes, and some of Simmons' opportunity seemed to flow his way (unlike, say, Josh Richardson). Portland also presents one of the better bubble match-ups for Horford, since they are very top heavy with their interior defense. Nurkic will have his hands full with Embiid, which should leave Horford with the far less defensively inclined Zach Collins.

Center

Joel Embiid FD - $9600 DK - $10600
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 59.8 DK - 61.77
Historically Embiid has gotten the biggest bump of any 76er with Simmons off the floor. The duo have notoriously had bad spacing since they both want to operate in the paint, and the absence of Simmons usually makes room for another shooter to draw defenders away from Embiid. That being said, it didn't exactly play out that way against the Magic in spite of his decent 23/13 line. I did find it encouraging that Embiid picked it up after scoring just 6 points in the first half, though, and I think we see him put Philly on his shoulders against the Blazers here.

Jonas Valanciunas FD - $7600 DK - $7200
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 41.12 DK - 42.93

I've said it before and I'll say it again: when things get crazy, I'm in the market for players from teams with something to play for. Valanciunas certainly qualifies there, as Memphis has seemed highly motivated during their bubble games so far. Losing Jaren Jackson Jr. means that the Grizzlies will depend on Valanciunas' size even more than usual, and he should be poised for 32+ minutes against his former team here. He's topped 5x points per dollar in each of his last three games in spite of two very tough match-ups with the Jazz and Thunder, and I think he's got a 37 FanDuel point floor here.

GRAB A FREE TRIAL OF OUR PROJECTION SYSTEM, AND CHECK OUT DFSR PRO!