The NBA world has begun to settle down after one of the wildest trade deadlines in history. With stars being flipped all across the league, each organization is now buckled up for the home stretch of the season.
The action will return to the floor tonight with seven games taking place. De’Aaron Fox made his Spurs debut already, dropping 24 points and 13 assists. He will return for his second game against the Charlotte Hornets tonight. At the same time, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards will face off against each of these teams with some notable roster shakeups as well.
A half-hour later, three games will be taking place as the Bucks play the Hawks, the Heat face the Nets, and the Pistons play the Sixers. It is a quieter late slate with the Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder facing off at 8:00 p.m. ET, before the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz conclude the night at 10:00 p.m. ET.
There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the action this evening. One of the more unique features on DraftKings this year is Pick6 Fantasy Basketball!
This article will look at my top Pick6 plays for Feb. 7. We simply choose whether a player will record more or less of the set statistic. Here are my six favorite plays for Friday night’s action.
De’Aaron Fox More Than 6.5 Assists
The San Antonio Spurs have catapulted into contention following their massive trade to pair De’Aaron Fox with Victor Wembanyama. The All-Star guard has made clear his desire to fit into what the Spurs are already building and will do so while prioritizing his playmaking first. To further add to this, this is an incredibly favorable matchup for Victor Wembanyama as they face the Charlotte Hornets who traded both Mark Williams and Nick Richards leading up to the deadline.
Fox is averaging 6.3 assists per game this year but has averaged as many as 7.2 over a season. He has recorded more than 6.5 assists in 22 of the 46 games he has played this year without playing next to a player of Wembanyama’s talent. Expect the Spurs to be focused on putting their two stars in plenty of two-man actions allowing Fox to flourish in the pick-and-roll and utilizing Wembanyama as a lob threat. Even with their top two center options available for the start of the season, the Hornets rank 12th in opponents points allowed, 17th in opponents’ rebounds allowed, and 12th in opponents’ points in the paint conceded. Expect these metrics to drop as the season progresses without their top two big-man options.
The Spurs will be looking to accelerate their growth as a team and flip into contention as soon as possible. They need to do this by raking up wins and taking every opportunity for Fox and Wembanyama to get on the same page. This is an excellent matchup for both of these things to occur. Count on Fox to be comfortable serving in a playmaking-first role and record more than 6.5 assists as he makes Wembanyama’s life on the basketball court easier than ever.
Isaiah Joe More Than 10.5 Points
The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Toronto Raptors tonight in the matchup that holds the greatest blowout potential. Beyond the Thunder holding the best record in the NBA and the Raptors being 16-35, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl are set to miss this matchup. Even without this in mind, Isaiah Joe should be in line for a boost in minutes with Cason Wallace set to miss the game with a shoulder injury on the Thunder’s end.
Looking at his production thus far, Isaiah Joe is averaging 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across his 21.0 minutes per game. The Arkansas product is connecting on 39.9% of his three-point attempts and has recorded more than 10.5 points in 18 games already this season. This includes dropping as many as 31 points in a game already this year.
While Toronto’s overall outlook improved at the deadline, Brandon Ingram will not step on the floor yet. The Raptors rank 25th in opponents’ points per game and 22nd in opponents field goal percentage. With injuries to both sides and Joe not cracking the list of players that will see his opportunity reduced if the game does approach blowout territory, expect a strong performance tonight. The 25-year-old is one of the best shooters in the NBA and expect him to make the most of an expanded opportunity by recording more than 10.5 points tonight.
Cam Johnson Less Than 18.5 Points
The Brooklyn Nets remain early in their rebuilding process and it is a bit of a surprise Cam Johnson on the roster following the trade deadline. He was one of the hottest names on the trade market, but ultimately survived the deadline and will remain with the Nets. The North Carolina product will continue to be the epicenter of everything they do offensively and will prepare to match up with the Miami Heat tonight.
Johnson is averaging 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game this season. Despite this, he has been held to less than 18.5 points in 19 of the 36 games he has played this season. Brooklyn will be facing off with a Miami team that is happy to turn the page on the Jimmy Butler saga and embrace their identity as a defensive-minded team. So far this season, the Heat rank seventh in opponents’ points allowed and are ninth in defensive rating. In addition, Brooklyn ranks dead last in pace while the Heat play at the fourth-slowest pace in the league so don’t expect an abundance of shot opportunities.
Expect the Heat to be heavily focused on slowing down Cam Johnson and for them to force other members of the Nets to beat them. Cam Thomas remains out with injury and Johnson will be responsible for the vast majority of the offense. The 28-year-old returned from a six-game absence on Wednesday but has not recorded more than 18.5 points in his past three games played. Expect him to continue kicking off the rust and for Miami to make life difficult on Johnson from start to finish as he is ultimately held to less than 18.5 points.
Tyrese Maxey More Than 3.5 Made Three-Pointers
Just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the Philadelphia 76ers this season but Tyrese Maxey has once again emerged as a bright spot. After a disappointing start to the season, Maxey has turned a corner and is playing like one of the best guards in the league. Across his past 16 games, Maxey is averaging 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 3.4 rebounds.
The Kentucky product has struggled from the perimeter this season, shooting just 34.5% from beyond the arc on 9.7 perimeter shots per game. This number is improving as he was held to less than 30% from the arc for most of the start of the season and is well below the 38.4% rate he has shot from the perimeter in his career. There have been just 10 games that the trio of Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George have been active for and only seven games that the three stars have started and finished. This is expected to be the case tonight and expect Maxey to benefit from the gravity of the other two All-Stars.
Even while struggling to shoot the ball, Maxey has made more than 3.5 three-pointers in 17 games this season. The two-man action between Maxey and Embiid remains the foundation of the Sixers’ offense and the guard will benefit greatly from the gravity commanded by the former MVP. Maxey has made more than 3.5 three-pointers in five of his past eight games. Count on him to maximize his chances of playing next to Embiid tonight.
Paul George Less Than 2.5 Made Three-Pointers
The outlook is not as optimistic for the third part of the Sixers trio. While most of the Sixers’ issues have been far deeper than Paul George, the prized offseason addition has been unable to raise the floor of the team in the way it was hoped. The nine-time All-Star is averaging 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists across the 31 games he has played. George is shooting just 36.9% from beyond the three-point arc on 6.6 perimeter shots per game. This marks his fewest three-point attempts per game since the 2016-17 season when he was still with the Indiana Pacers.
Even more concerning, George is dealing with a ligament issue on the pinky finger on his non-shooting hand that has been bothersome to him. George missed five games with the injury and made his return on Wednesday while playing with a splint. He was seen grabbing at the finger throughout and opened up after the game discussing how it was impacting him. While he did make three three-pointers in the loss, he was held to 3-for-11 shooting from the field overall and tallied just nine total points. The 35-year-old has been held to less than 2.5 made three-pointers in 18 of the 31 games this season.
Looking at tonight’s matchup, expect George to take a further backseat playing next to Embiid and Maxey. The Sixers are still built around their duo with George being looked at as the third piece of the puzzle. With Embiid and Maxey set to lead the charge, and George already seemed bothered by his finger injury, expect a mild output from the small forward tonight. Look for him to be held to less than 2.5 made three-pointers as the Sixers take on the Pistons who rank 12th in three-point attempts allowed this season.
Isaiah Collier More Than 23.5 Points, Rebounds & Assists
The Utah Jazz have plenty of young talent that are competing for minutes as they sit in the early stages of their organizational rebuild. Isaiah Collier is growing into a key part of this puzzle after being selected with the 29th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Collier slid further in the draft than most expected and is showing why this was such a shock in recent games. The USC product plays with high IQ and impressive composure for his age with this skillset making him rapidly climb the Utah pecking order.
So far this season, Collier is averaging just 6.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds across his 22.7 minutes per game. However, he has been given more freedom of late. Collier has started 14 of the past 16 games and logged 30+ minutes of play in seven of the past 10 games. He is averaging 13.0 points, 8.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds across his 31.4 minutes per game.
Look for him to stay on this path and expect Collier to continue making the most of his expanded opportunity. The Phoenix Suns have issues to address on both sides of the ball and enter this matchup ranking 20th in opponents’ points per game, 21st in opponents’ rebounds per game, and 17th in opponents’ three-point attempts allowed. Collier has opened eyes with his play of late and is proving capable of running the Jazz offense. Count on him to continue being at the epicenter of things and find different ways to impact the game. Look for him to log more than 22.5 combined points, rebounds, and assists against a struggling defense as Collier continues to make his case for being one of the best rookies in this class.
What is DraftKings Pick6?
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of at least two players and select whether you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
How to Play DraftKings Pick6
Create a Pick Set
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you cannot pick the same player twice and you must select players from at least two different teams.
Enter an Amount
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
Sweat Your Picks
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Compete for Prizes
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
Play at DraftKings Pick6 or by downloading the DraftKings Pick6 app on Apple or Google!
