DFS NBA Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - Thursday 2/9

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Guards

Trae Young FD - $9400 DK - $9100
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 45.06 DK - 48.84

The system has a few of those players that it just loves no matter what and Trae is one of them that I agree with almost 100% of the time. It comes down to consistency and he has provided just that averaging a double-double on the season(26.8 points, 10.0 assists) and has provided us 40 or more DraftKings points in 42 of 48 games and 23 of his last 25 games. He now faces a Suns team that does rank 8th in defensive efficiency but has struggled against guards giving ranking 25th in fantasy points against the position. The price has poked its head above $10K but for the most part, it has remained in the low to mid $9K range leading to one of the safest PTS/$ floors in the league.

Chris Paul FD - $8100 DK - $7300
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 42.79 DK - 44.75

The Suns got Booker back on Tuesday as he played limited minutes and will now miss tonight's game to manage the injury. That is music to my ears as Chris Paul checks all the boxes and it starts with a price that has dropped off the table on DraftKings back into the low $7K range. He has been terrific with Booker out averaging 15.7 points, 8.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks+steals. Even with three duds where he scored under 20 fantasy points, he still averaged over 37 during that stretch with Booker out and now gets a below-average Hawks defence (19th) that runs at a top-10 pace. Fire up Paul in all formats.

**Update - The Suns have traded Bridges, Crowder, and Cam Johnson for Kevin Durant who is not likely to make his debut tonight. More bump to Paul here**

Cam Thomas FD - $7300 DK - $7800
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 36.26 DK - 39.38
Spencer Dinwiddie FD - $7900 DK - $8100
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 0

The trade deadline is coming to a close today but not before the Nets make another monster move shipping Kevin Durant to Phoenix. This puts newcomer Spencer Dinwiddie back in the spotlight in Brooklyn and the crazy part is that he is just making his debut tonight after being traded for Kyrie earlier in the week. Dinwiddie played behind arguably the best guard in the league in Luka Doncic so it's tough to gauge the overall form but when Luka was out/off the floor, Dinwiddie was nearly a 30% usage player and was tallying 1.23 DraftKings points per minute.

As for Thomas, he appeared on the scene out of nowhere recently to post three straight games with 40+ points, seven combined rebounds+assists, and 57+ fantasy points. The volume is there as he has taken 23 or more shots in each of those games and even with Dinwiddie cutting into that, there should be plenty of shots for the two guards. Both of these guys have their risks with Diniwiddie's first game and Thomas running hot with a price on the rise like a firework. On this smaller slate, both are in play for me in all formats.

Small Forward

Torrey Craig FD - $4500 DK - $4100
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 26.14 DK - 28.05

With the Suns already down players due to injury and now three more being shipped out via trade last night, they are going to be short bodies on Thursday bringing us to the question "how many Suns is too many?". On a four-game slate, my guess is three to four and Craig is likely one of them as he was already starting but was buried in terms of usage and opportunity. He should get that tonight and the good news is that when he sees double-digit shots(6 times this season) he averages nearly 30 fantasy points per game. All things considered, Craig is one of my favorite PTS/$ values and helps us load up in a stars and scrubs build.

Power Forward/Center

Nikola Jokic FD - $11700 DK - $11000
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 62.08 DK - 64.28

With the Suns' injuries and latest trade opening up a ton of value on this slate a stars and scrubs lineup is almost a lock and that brings us to our top projected player the slate. He is coming off yet another monster game in which he tallied a triple-double in the first half. It was also his fourth straight and league-leading 19th of the season which is nice clear of Luka in second. The best part of it all is that his DraftKings price has dropped to its lowest point since October despite averaging over 64 fantasy points per game in his last 12 games. Jokic is where I will be starting almost all of my lineups tonight.

Dario Saric FD - $4200 DK - $3500
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 27.86 DK - 31.12

Back to the Suns' value as Dario Saric should get another start and has filled in nicely throughout the season. He last started Friday playing 30 minutes and posting one of his best games of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 38 fantasy points. Take out the two games he has started and played just eight minutes and he is averaging over 24 fantasy points per game in his last seven starts and should easily get back up to that 28-30 minutes with the team so short-handed on Thursday. If starting, I will have exposure in all formats.

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