NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Thursday, January 25
There will be seven games played across the NBA on Thursday, which doesn't leave the busiest of slates. There are still some good matchups, though, including the Heat hosting the Celtics. Let's dive into all of the games and highlight some of the top players to consider on Yahoo, as well as a few to potentially avoid.
GUARD
Collin Sexton, UTA at WAS ($22): This is going to be a popular game to attack. The Jazz and Wizards both rank inside the top-10 in the league in pace of play and inside the bottom-10 in defensive rating. One of the hottest players on the Jazz has been Sexton, who has averaged 25.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists over his last seven games. While he has only averaged 24 minutes per game for the season, him shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 88.5 percent from the charity stripe has allowed him to remain valuable.
Kevin Huerter, SAC at GS ($15): Huerter is a streaky shooter. While that can lead to some muted stat lines on off nights, he also has shown excellent upside when he is dialed in. Over his last four games, he scored at least 43.4 Yahoo points two times. The Warriors have the seventh-worst defensive rating in the league, leaving Huerter with the potential to have one of his better performances.
Guard to Avoid
Cam Thomas, BKN vs. MIN ($24): Thomas is a scoring-dependent player, given that he has only averaged 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. When he took on a good Knicks defense Tuesday, he scored just 20.2 Yahoo points. This is an even worse matchup for him with the Timberwolves having the best defensive rating in the league.
FORWARD
Lauri Markkanen, UTA at WAS ($38): The Jazz scored 124 points in a lopsided loss to the Pelicans on Tuesday, but Markkanen emerged from the matchup with just 11 points. He shot 4-for-15 from the field, which is rare because he is shooting 49.0 percent for the season. Before that dud, he had put up 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.1 three-pointers over his previous eight games. Given this matchup, expect Markkanen to get back on track with a juicy stat line.
Jonathan Kuminga, GS vs. SAC ($13): The return of Draymond Green isn't exactly great news for Kuminga. However, he played well with Green was serving his suspension, and the Warriors don't exactly have a ton of depth. That should mean that he remains in an important role moving forward. He has scored 30.2 and 49.8 Yahoo points, respectively, over the two games since Green has returned, so he's worth targeting at his cheap salary.
Forward to Avoid
Al Horford, BOS at MIA ($21): The Celtics enter this matchup with a clean injury report. While that helps their chances of emerging with a victory, it's not good news for Horford in DFS. The Celtics have been trying to limit his minutes this season, only pushing him to play more when they are shorthanded because of injuries. Overall, he has averaged only 7.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists over 27 minutes per game.
CENTER
Joel Embiid, PHI at IND ($60): Embiid's 70-point performance against the Spurs on Monday set a new franchise record for the 76ers. He was 24-for-41 from the field and 21-for-23 from the charity stripe. In addition to his scoring output, he chipped in 18 rebounds and five assists. The Pacers have played at the second-fastest pace and have the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league, so don't expect them to slow Embiid down.
Rudy Gobert, MIN at BKN ($29): Gobert has the Timberwolves off to one of the best starts in the league. He has returned to his shot-blocking ways, providing 2.1 rejections per game to go along with his averages of 13.3 points and 12.5 rebounds. The Nets don't have a ton of size outside of Nicolas Claxton, which has contributed to them allowing the 10th-most rebounds per game in the league. For those who can't squeeze Embiid and his hefty salary into their budget, Gobert is a viable mid-tier option.
Center to Avoid
Andre Drummond, CHI at LAL ($26): This salary doesn't reflect Drummond's current role on the Bulls. When Nikola Vucevic was injured, he was churning out massive rebounding numbers. However, since Vucevic has returned to the starting lineup, Drummond has only averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds across seven games. Gobert has a much larger role for the Timberwolves and a similar salary, so there's no reason to consider Drummond.
