John Wall, Klay Thompson and Marc Gasol are just three studs to play in Daily Fantasy Basketball on February 8, 2017.

There is a juicy 12 game NBA slate on February 8.

Twelve games are a lot to process, but the first thing to do is get rid of a couple of the games. The reason for this is to make the player pool smaller. The bigger the player pool the more information and that will lead to overthinking and it can and WILL stress you out.

By making the player pool smaller it will help you concentrate on the players and games that can give you the best outcomes on your teams. Here are the games I am getting rid of right from the start:

Philadelphia 76ers vs San Antonio Spurs:

I will not be playing any 76er in this game. The Spurs are too good on defense and this game has the making of a blowout. The Spurs will sit some of their regulars and if they do that it will open up some value but if they don’t, the starters won’t get their regular amount of minutes. This is an early game so the injury report should be out early and if there are starters on the Spurs who are sitting out, I will have some interest from their normal bench players because of the uptick in minutes (Patty Mills, Dewayne Dedmon, Kyle Anderson and Jonathan Simmons will be the benefactors of the starters sitting). On a big slate you don’t need to take unnecessary risk. Avoid this game and move on.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Detroit Pistons:

This game has ugly written all over it. Neither team have fantasy studs on them but rather a bunch of up and down players. Instead of guessing which players will go off, I am going to get rid of this game from my player pool and move on.

Utah Jazz vs New Orleans Pelicans:

I like some of the players in this game (Gordon Hayward, Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis) but the biggest problem in this game is the Jazz defense. You don’t want to attack the Jazz on Defense. They have an elite rim protector in Rudy Gobert and their team defense is one of the best in the league. Instead of paying up for Anthony Davis, this might be the night you completely fade him and look in a different direction.

The rest of the games have some good potential.

The key to daily fantasy is paying attention to the injury report. An hour before the first tip off at 7 p.m. ET is the time to check the injury reports. Unfortunately for those teams playing later in the night, the injury reports don’t come out in time to make adjustments to your rosters. You can’t do a late swap like last year to your lineups, so after the 7 p.m. ET slate, you are stuck with your players. If you have a player that is listed as questionable or gets sat out the last minute, there is nothing you can do about it.

Check the injury reports, Twitter or any other site that has information on the players that might sit. Look for games that have high over/under and attack them. Let me know who I missed, who I got wrong and the players you guys are going to be targeting on this night.

Here are the plays for February 8, 2017:

Point Guard:

John Wall, Washington Wizards:

Wall has been on every DFS article that I have written and there is a reason for that. Wall gets one of the best matchups in the league, against the Brooklyn Nets. The biggest problem with this pick is that this game can be a blowout by halftime. That doesn’t bother me at all and it shouldn’t for you guys. This might drive down his owner percentage which is key in taking down a big tournament. If you can get a stud player in a good matchup with low ownership, that is critical. The Wizards run through John Wall, if they are up big it is because of him scoring the ball or getting the assists. Build around John Wall tomorrow night. The matchup is too good and John Wall is continuing his breakout season.

Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzles:

The suns are bad on defense and they play at one of the league’s fastest pace. That equals fantasy gold. Conley is in an elite play and I will be inserting him in many of my lineups. Any time a team gets a massive uptick in pace that means more possessions which lead to more fantasy points. Throw in the fact that the Suns have been horrible on defense recently, makes Conley a cheaper priced point guard who can be the highest scoring guard of the night.

Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics:

One of the smallest guys in the NBA gets a revenge game going against his former team, the Sacramento Kings. A couple of years ago the Kings didn’t want to give Thomas a 4-year 28-million-dollar deal because they didn’t think he was worth it. He has shown that he is worth every dollar this year and the Kings could have had one of the best duos in the league with Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins. Anytime a player can have a revenge game, I am all over that and it doesn’t get any better than this situation with Isiah Thomas. He’s in Sacramento, he wants to show the front office that they were wrong for not signing him and nobody in the league has a bigger green light to shoot then Thomas. Get him in your lineups.

Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings:

There are two reasons why he is on this list: no DeMarcus Cousins and Isiah Thomas defense is very bad. Somebody needs to score the ball for the Kings and Collinson is going to have to be the guy if Cousins is suspended for this game. He can see up to 40 minutes and he might get every shot that he can handle in this game. He has a good price tag and has a great matchup. Both are why he should be rostered on this slate.

Shooting Guard:

Gary Harris/Will Barton, Denver Nuggets:

It depends on who is starting for the Nuggets tonight and whoever gets the start is the play. The Atlanta Hawks do not defend well at the guard position and since shooting guard is shallow tonight this seems to be the play. They both have a good salary and can give you 30+ points on the night. Harris is more consistent when given the minutes but Will “the thrill” Barton has the better upside. If you take the chance on Barton then he can win you the tournament or you will finish in last because he can put up a dud. When playing in DFS you need to have one motto in mind, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors:

I think Klay Thompson is one of the most over-rated players in the NBA but on this slate, you have to play him. Klay will be getting some old man Dwyane Wade defense, which isn’t very good. The Warriors can blow out the bulls tonight especially if Jimmy Butler doesn’t play and if that’s the case, this game can get ugly. Thompson might be the highest priced player at shooting guard on the night, but he also has the highest upside. This could be one of those nights where Klay goes off for 40 and he can be at a low ownership percentage. Insert Klay in your lineups.

Small Forward:

Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves:

This game will have a good pace and high projected total. Two keys ingredients to daily fantasy success. With Zach LaVine out, Wiggins receives almost a 6% usage bump. That is a big number and this is what makes him a very intriguing tournament option on this slate. There are only two players on the T-Wolves now who can score the ball regularly, Wiggins and Towns. Both are great plays and both have tremendous upside. With the up and down pace of this game, it feeds right into Wiggins biggest strength of scoring on fast breaks and getting quick buckets. Wiggins is a guy you need in your lineup tomorrow, so do it.

Matt Barnes, Sacramento Kings:

With the injury to Rudy Gay, Matt Barnes has seen a big uptick in minutes and his production. His price is starting to rise but it is still at a good price to roster him in your lineups. I personally don’t think he is a very good basketball player at this point in his career but it is hard to ignore someone who is getting the minutes that Barnes is. The matchup isn’t great and that will drive his owner percentage down and that is another reason why I’ll be rostering him. With DeMarcus Cousins out, he and Darren Collinson will be relayed on more to score the ball. Sometimes you have to go with the average player in a great situation, in this case, Barnes is a good play at small forward.

Power Forward:

Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks:

The Denver Nuggets play at a fast pace and are a bad defensive team. Are you starting to pick up on what I like to attack every night in daily fantasy? Bad defenses in fast paced games. Nobody on the Nuggets can guard Millsap and he is an elite player on this slate. He contributes in every category and that means if his shot is off on this night, he can still give you good fantasy numbers. Millsap is who the Hawks offense revolves around and he will be a player I’ll have in most of my lineups on this night.

Markieff Morris, Washington Wizards:

Morris has been on a tear lately and he is someone who can get overlooked on this slate. Again, the Nets are horrible defensively at every position and Morris will dominate whoever they try to throw at him. He has been rebounding the ball a lot better as of late and that will help his production. The Nets will miss a bunch of shot and along with Gortat, Morris should see close to double-digit rebounds. If this game stays close, Morris can give you close to 40 fantasy points and with his price tag, that is a great investment.

Center:

Willie Cauley-Stein, Sacramento Kings:

This play is along the same lines of Matt Barnes. Both are average players at best but with Cousins out, someone has to play Center for the Kings. He has been productive recently when given some extra minutes and he has a good matchup against Al Horford. The Celtics struggle against centers and Cauley-Stein should get the start if Cousins is suspended. His price tag is very low on both sites (Draft Kings and FanDuel) so he is a good play because he will open up money to help you fit in other players. He was a high draft pick but hasn’t shown the upside that most scouts thought he had, but for one night, he can be a valuable fantasy option.

Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzles:

He is in the same boat as Mike Conley, going against a bad defense in a fast paced game. Tyson Chandler is not an elite defender like he once was and he can’t guard Gasol if he were to go out on the perimeter. Gasol doesn’t get you the great rebounding numbers like other centers but he will get you some steals, blocks and is a good bet to lead all centers in assists on any night. Gasol has been very consistent this year and this has the potential to be his highest scoring night of the year.