NBA DFS Picks: Wednesday 1/8/25

If you're looking to have some fun this basketball season, NBA DFS on FanDuel has you covered.

With NBA DFS, you can put your hoops knowledge to the test and ride with players you think will go off in a given night.

To help you along the way, we've got a bunch of tools here at FanDuel Research. Specifically, our NBA DFS projections, powered by numberFire, update throughout the day to reflect current news.

On top of all that, here at FanDuel Research, we'll come at you each day with this NBA DFS primer, which breaks down some of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's dive into today's main slate on FanDuel.

Betting lines via the NBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Projections and betting odds may change after this article is published.

NBA DFS Picks for Today

Guards

Top Priorities

Tyrese Maxey ($8,900) -- Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers will be without Joel Embiid and Paul George tonight, and that'll open up a lot of usage for everyone, specifically Maxey.

With Embiid and George off the floor, Maxey has a usage rate of 32.1%.

Not only that, but also the Sixers are facing the Washington Wizards' 29th-ranked defense by defensive rating. They also let up the most points per game in the league, as they're fourth in pace.

In nine games without Embiid and George, Maxey has averaged 38.3 minutes and 45.5 FanDuel points on a robust 23.7 field goal attempts per game. He's averaged 48.2 FanDuel points in three matchups in this split against bottom-10 defenses.

Andrew Nembhard ($5,200) -- The Indiana Pacers are in a great DFS spot against the Chicago Bulls tonight, as Chicago is 3rd in pace plus 29th in points and 30th in field goal attempts per game allowed to opponents.

Tyrese Haliburton is questionable, and his absence would pave the way for usage bumps for the whole team.

Even with Haliburton active, Nembhard projects out well enough in this spot. He has averaged 31.1 minutes per game over his last five contests, recording 25.5 FanDuel points per game in that split.

Josh Giddey ($7,000) and Lonzo Ball ($4,700) -- On the other side of that game, we can look to the Bulls' guards.

Giddey and Ball are facing a Pacers defense that is 21st in defensive rating.

In five games since returning, Giddey has averaged 29.6 minutes and 36.7 FanDuel points per game (1.24 per minute) with three games of at least 37.4 FanDuel points.

Ball also returned five games ago and is averaging 23.4 FanDuel points per contest with four straight games of at least 22.5.

Others to Consider

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,300) -- We have value to get to studs tonight, and there are some bigs certainly worth targeting. More on them later.
• Immanuel Quickley ($6,700)

Wings

Top Priorities

Kelly Oubre ($5,900) and Caleb Martin ($5,100) -- Let's get right back to the 76ers without Embiid and George.

Oubre holds a 21.7% usage rate without them on the floor with Martin at 19.1%.

In nine games without Embiid and George but Maxey active, Oubre has an average line of 33.6 minutes, 13.7 field goal attempts, 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks for 28.8 FanDuel points per game and 0.86 FanDuel points per minute. His fantasy outputs go up to 33.1 per game and 0.97 per minute in three games against bottom-10 defenses in this split.

Martin's averaging 29.3 minutes and 20.3 FanDuel points while starting six of these nine games. He's averaging 23.6 FanDuel points per game against bottom-10 defenses in this split, as well.

Keon Johnson ($5,500) and Jalen Wilson ($4,100) -- Johnson and Wilson are again in for big roles for the shorthanded Brooklyn Nets, who face the Detroit Pistons' mid-level defense. Brooklyn is without D'Angelo Russell, Cameron Johnson, and Cameron Thomas.

Last game without those three, Johnson led the Nets with 31.7 minutes played. He got up 10 field goal attempts and scored 12 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals for 31.3 FanDuel points.

Wilson played 31.0 minutes (second-most on the team) and had 11 field goal attempts for 8 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Others to Consider

• Tobias Harris ($6,100)
• Shaedon Sharpe ($6,100) and Deni Avdija ($6,600)

Bigs

Top Priorities

Andre Drummond ($5,600) and Guerschon Yabusele ($5,300) -- Yep. Right back to the 76ers.

Drummond -- in three games with Maxey but without George and Embiid and against bottom-10 defenses -- has averaged 25.5 minutes and 32.8 FanDuel points per game for 1.29 per minute.

Yabusele, in that same split, has averaged 21.9 minutes per game but 20.7 FanDuel points per game for 0.94 FanDuel points per minute.

Nicolas Claxton ($6,200) and Noah Clowney ($4,300) -- Back to the Nets, now.

Last game with Russell, Johnson, and Thomas absent for Brooklyn, Claxton played 25.6 minutes but still got up 10 shot attempts. He didn't score well (4 points) but did contribute elsewhere: 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block for 24.9 FanDuel points. He's a 1.02-FanDuel-point-per-minute producer on the year.

Clowney played 28.8 minutes and took 15 shots. He scored 14 points to go along with 4 rebounds and an assist for 19.3 FanDuel points.

Patrick Williams ($4,500) -- Another option in that Pacers/Bulls game, Williams has seen a role increase in his last six games.

He's averaged 30.0 minutes per game in this split (up from 26.8 per game prior). He's averaged only 21.4 FanDuel points per game in that split (0.71 per minute) but is a 0.78-per-minute producer on the full year.

Others to Consider

• Nikola Jokic ($12,800), Victor Wembanyama ($12,200), and Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,900) -- Between these three and Gilgeous-Alexander, there are big ceiling options at the stud level. We've got plenty of value to get to them, so using the savings to get to the studs is the goal tonight.
• Myles Turner ($6,800)

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.