NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Friday Playbook

Published: Jan 31, 2025
Happy Friday, January 31st! We have a six-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Unity! Woohoo!
The stars are out as Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are taking the floor. Some names that have already been ruled out is Joel Embiid, Paul George, Mark Williams, and Zach LaVine.
Before actually diving into the meat and potatoes, welcome to the NBA DFS season. If this is your first time reading our column on NBA DFS picks, I just want to welcome you and give you a few tips and tricks on what you should be looking for each night.
- News outlets: reliable sources that give us injury news & starting lineups
- Pace of play: who's playing fast vs. who's playing slow. Which teams get a pace-up spot (more possessions) vs. pace-down (fewer possessions)
- Usage rates: is a percentage of how many plays that player is being used in
- NBA DFS Projections
- Lineup Generator
- NBA Ownership
NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, January 31st
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Pre-Lock Update
This section will be used for anything that changes from the morning until right up to roster lock.
Injury updates, players we’re higher on than we were in the morning and so much more.
6:10 pm ET
- Lonzo Ball has been cleared for 28 minutes nightly. That firmly puts him in play tonight at his price.
6:30 pm ET
- Zion Williamson is OUT. With everyone out/not on the team anymore;
- Dejounte Murray 1.28 FP/min, 28.6% USG
- CJ McCollum 1.07 FP/min, 27.2% USG
- Trey Murphy 1.03 FP/min, 24.8% USG
- Yves Missi .93 FP/min
- Brandon Boston .83 FP/min, 19.7% USG
NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 1/31
- Giannis Antetokounmpo - PROB
- Joel Embiid - OUT
- LaMelo Ball - OUT
- Mark Williams - OUT
- Dejounte Murray - IN
- Zach LaVine - OUT
- Immanuel Quickley - IN
- Bobby Portis - OUT
- Andre Drummond - OUT
- Khris Middleton - PROB
- Caleb Martin - OUT
- Josh Green - IN
- Gradey Dick - IN
- Al Horford - IN
- Sam Hauser - IN
- Jordan Hawkins - OUT
- Talen Horton-Tucker - IN
- Kris Dunn - OUT
- Damian Lillard - PROB
- Isaiah Stewart - OUT
- Kelly Olynyk - IN
- Zion Williamson - OUT
- Daniel Theis - OUT
NBA DFS Slate & Game Overviews
In the section below, I’m listing the most notable things we need to look at in Las Vegas, including notable O/U and spreads. Not every game is listed, but every game listed has the pace and defensive numbers listed.
Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers
- Total: 234
- Spread: DEN -9.5
- Nuggets are 5th in pace, 76ers are 28th in pace
- Nuggets are 18th in DRtg, 76ers are 22nd in DRtg
Milwaukee Bucks vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Total: 234
- Spread: MIL -2.5
- Bucks are 12th in pace, Spurs are 15th in pace
- Bucks are 8th in DRtg, Spurs are 20th in DRtg
Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors
- Total: 232
- Spread: TOR -3.5
- Bulls are 3rd in pace, Raptors are 9th in pace
- Bulls are 25th in DRtg, Raptors are 24th in DRtg
Boston Celtics vs. New Orleans Pelicans
- Total: 232
- Spread: BOS -11
- Celtics are 25th in pace, Pelicans are 14th in pace
- Celtics are 5th in DRtg, Pelicans are 28th in DRtg
Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons
- Total: 229.5
- Spread: DET -1
- Mavericks are 10th in pace, Pistons are 16th in pace
- Mavericks are 12th in DRtg, Pistons are 15th in DRtg
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Charlotte Hornets
- Total: 211.5
- Spread: LAC -13
- Clippers are 19th in pace, Hornets are 22nd in pace
- Clippers are 2nd in DRtg, Hornets are 14th in DRtg
NBA DFS Core Player Pool & Lineup Picks
Here are the core players I’m looking at for my NBA DFS picks tonight. You can see the full analysis of tonight’s NBA DFS projections and player pool below or skip ahead to building the best lineups possible by locking these into the aforementioned lineup generator now.
High
Mid
- Jaylen Brown, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Coby White, Kelly Oubre, Russell Westbrook, Devin Vassell, Dejounte Murray
Value
- Aaron Gordon, Moussa Diabate, Patrick Williams, Jeremy Sochan, Ricky Council IV, Brandon Boston (GPP), Lonzo Ball
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Stacks
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