Mitchell Thoennes 
Bombcarlo’s NBA GPP Picks 2/20
Last night, we saw Embiid erupt for over 90 fantasy points to break the slate. For tonight’s edition of NBA GPP Picks 2/20, we have a nice five-game slate to sort through. We enter this slate with some massive totals as Portland vs Washington has opened with a total of 242 points in Vegas. Our highest-priced player on DraftKings will come from that game in Damian Lillard at $10,600. The injury news today will consist of Harrison Barnes, Richuan Holmes, and Devonte Graham who all come in with questionable tags.
For today’s article I will look to break down at least two players at each position although if a position does look week, I won’t force anything. This article will be using DraftKings pricing for all picks and will consist of only GPP/Tournament plays for this slate. This is an interesting five-game slate where you can still be different, so let’s jump into it!
Point Guard
Damian Lillard – ($10,600)
Dame just got snubbed from being an All-Star game starter and that will piss him off. If we look at his matchup it is amazing as Washington has played at the fastest pace and ranks fifth-worst in defensive rating. His usage in the last three games has been 42%, 33.5%, and 42%, which is almost impossible to avoid. Portland starters almost always play massive minutes as Lillard’s lowest minute total in the last three is 36. It will be tough to avoid Lillard for me I have his floor in this matchup at 50 which is solid for a five games slate.
De’Aaron Fox – ($8,000)
We have seen Fox’s price drop back to 8k for the first time in over a month. This price is low to me for a point guard facing the Bulls. The Bulls enter this game playing at the third-fastest pace and have sacrificed the fifth-most fantasy points to point guards this year. His high usage rate of 30.3% should allow him to pay off this reduced-price tag in a great matchup. We have seen 50 plus and 60 plus fantasy point outputs from Fox recently and I think this is another prime opportunity for one of those games.
Shooting Guard
Zach Lavine – ($9,200)
A fantastic matchup awaits Lavine tonight facing Sacramento who ranks fifth fastest in the past five games while ranking fourth-worst in defensive efficiency. For me, this is about as safe a play as it gets with Lavine playing at least 38 minutes in four of his last six games. If we want to see the last time Zach scored less than 45 fantasy points, we would be looking nine games back where he saw an awful matchup with the Knicks. A usage rate of at least 38% in three straight games stands out to me and I want to jump on Lavine at this price still.
Desmond Bane – ($3,800)
Returning from a personal matter last night Bane played 25 minutes while posting 21.75 fantasy points. If Brooks is ruled out again Bane will see at least 25 minutes for a second consecutive game. He has been consistently shooting at least eight times per game and has shot 11 times in two of his last three. Bane has recorded over 20 fantasy points in five of his last six games now. Pending on the Brooks news, Bane could be in line for another 25 minutes, which will be enough to pay off this salary even with a difficult matchup.
Small Forward
Jimmy Butler – ($8,900)
This matchup isn’t spectacular for Jimmy but that hasn’t mattered for him lately. Twelve of Butler’s last thirteen games have seen him rack up at least 44.5 fantasy points. Jimmy has recorded at least 50 fantasy points in five out of his last six games without Dragic as well. Three straight triple-doubles for Butler shows he is getting the ball more in the team’s point guard role. This matchup doesn’t scare me either as Butler went for 56 fantasy points against the Knicks not long ago.
Talen Horton-Tucker – ($3,600)
With Schroder missing last game, Lebron started at point guard and Tucker saw a minutes bump to 28 minutes which I believe was his season-high. Schroder and Davis have both already been ruled out for this game we will have tons of minutes needing to be absorbed again. With those two out, Tucker accumulates .8 fantasy points per minute which should allow him to pay this price tag. To put the cherry on top, Miami has given up the fifth-most fantasy points to Small forwards this season.
Power Forward
Marvin Bagley – ($5,400)
For Bagley to be in play for me either one of Holmes or Barnes would have to be ruled out but I think that happens. Bagley has recorded over 30 fantasy points in two straight games although his highest minute total was 24. His minutes limit should increase to 28-30 here unless we hear otherwise. If either one of those two or both miss this game Bagley sees at least a 2% usage rate regardless of the scenario. His usage in the past two games has been 27% and 30%, which is something to keep an eye on. Chicago represents a great matchup allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to power forwards and plays at the third-fastest pace.
Derrick Jones Jr – ($4,400)
I don’t like power forward tonight, but I will give out another play. Jones jr should thrive in this pace-up matchup against Washington. His usage will never be anything flashy, but the matchup is great. He is a grinder who has seen 30 minutes in three straight games now, if the minutes are there against Washington count me in.
Center
Enes Kanter – ($6,900)
If you haven’t noticed yet one of the themes here is picking on Washington. They are the fastest team in the NBA and rank fifth-worst in defensive efficiency. Looking at rebounding stats they also are the sixth-worst overall rebounding team so far this season. Kanter just went for over 40 fantasy points against Washington earlier this month and recorded his highest minute total in that game. His price has dropped below 7K, which is tied for his lowest in just under a month. A great matchup awaits Kanter and it will be tough to look at him again if he can’t pay off this salary in a juicy matchup.
Wendell Carter Jr. – ($5,100)
The Kings have given up the most fantasy points to centers over the past ten games and we see Carter at a reduced price. He is working his way back from an absence but saw 27 minutes two games ago and 25 minutes last night. His restriction should be lifted if not very light. Carter saw a 23.6% usage rate which ranked second for Chicago players that saw more than 18 minutes. Carter is around the same price as Bagley and could be a nice pivot if the ownership on Bagley gets crazy.
Closing Bombcarlo’s NBA GPP Picks 2/20
That will wrap it up for today’s five-game NBA GPP Picks 2/20 slate. We do have news to keep tabs on entering the day mostly in Sacramento. Join the WinDaily staff and me in the Discord Chat rooms where we keep you updated on all our favorite plays. This should be an awesome five games slate with high totals in several games. The large focus will be on Portland vs Washington and Sacramento vs Chicago. I mentioned the Portland game has opened at a massive total of 242. Remember to check out the other writer’s articles along with our Projection Models to help your screens light up.
If you’re interested in UFC head over to the UFC tab and check out my article for this week there. Thanks for reading and I hope you turn your screens green this weekend!
