Who cares about playoff football? We've got a Sunday of NBA going here and it's time to get some lineups set. Remember that DraftStreet has the 1PM Lakers/ Raptors game, but it isn't available on FanDuel. That makes for a few different lineup considerations. Let's take a look.
Quick reminder about these picks. At DFSR we employ a system that seeks to gain the most points-per-dollar. When we give a recommendation, it’s because we believe that player has the best chance to meet or exceed his price. On any given the night the highest dollar player can be expected to score the most points, but that doesn’t always make him the best play for the money. Just something to keep in mind. On to the picks.
As always, PG is a tough group to choose from (Good in a good way, not like in a SF way):
Ty Lawson DS $17139 FD $8800 - Lawson will be finding his way into almost all of my lineups because on a small slate, he's about as safe as it gets. He just seems to go out there every night, score 20 points, hand out 10-11 assists, grab a few rebounds and throw in a steal or two. He's like clockwork and Phoenix hasn't been great of late against point guards. This is a great matchup.
Brandon Knight DS $11920 FD $6500 - Problem here is that the Bucks may get slaughtered. They're +16 against the Spurs which is nuts. But if you have any hope of them staying in the game, Knight is probably the reason. The Spurs have had big time trouble guarding the point and Knight has been pouring on the scoring.
Isaiah Thomas DS $15309 FD $7900 - Oklahoma City isn't great against opposing point guards and I like Thomas's chances of putting up a nice line. By our system, he is right behind Lawson and Knight in terms of expectation.
Goran Dragic DS $15837 FD$5800 - Been tearing it up lately and this game against the Nuggets has an o/u of almost 220. That should mean plenty of opportunities. Honestly our system doesn't love Dragic today, but I just think he deserves a look because of the recent play.
Kyle Lowry DS $15921 - You know the story here. He gets the Lakers. I am hesitant about picking his counterpart Marshall only because Toronto buries opposing PGs.
Victor Oladipo DS $12498 FD $6500 - Oladipo is going to be a really good player. Right now he's a really good, frighteningly inconsistent player who has huge games and then enormous stinkers. His success of late is buoyed to some degree because of the triple OT game versus Chicago the other night. But he's in the starting lineup for the Magic and getting tons of minutes. That's almost enough at these salaries. But buyer beware.
Randy Foye DS $11155 FD $5400 - Speaking of opportunity, since Foye rejoined the starting lineup he's been, mostly, a strong play. Against Cleveland he got bit by a bad shooting night and still almost paid these prices. Expect him to get plenty of looks against a league-average Phoenix squad against shooting guards.
Demar Derozan DS $15659 - He's a value because he's in the early games and he gets the Lakers. There's no doubt since Rudy Gay left, Derozan has become the man. And you know the Lakers and their "D". Derozan's volume translates a little better to FanDuel where misses don't count against you, but the Lakers are so bad, this is still a value play.
Manu Ginobili FD $5400 - The good: Manu's been in the starting lineup the last few games. The bad: his minutes are only around 23/ game. The good: When he's been in there, he's been crazy efficient. The bad: the Spurs are favored by 16 over the Bucks today.
Kevin Durant DS $23928 FD $11800 - Man, this is getting steep, but how do I not recommend him? Not sure if you watched the other night, but Durant basically did his Rucker Park video impression all over the Warriors. It was amazing. The prices are super steep and I'm more inclined to wiggle things around on FD than DS to get him in. But when Durant goes heat check, well you saw what happens.
Jeff Green DS $10422 FD $5500 - In a one game sample, it's obvious Jeff Green likes having Rondo back for the Celts. Green's an all or nothing kind of guy. He seems to either crush it, or take the night off. But against Orlando, I think his chances of having a big line are much increased. The Magic particularly struggle against opposing SF rebounding. Green could see an uptick in that area, and if he adds his scoring this is a nice salary.
Wilson Chandler DS $11823 FD $6100 - Here's another guy who is back, firmly entrenched in the starting lineup and playing well. It's not like Phoenix is terrible against small forwards, but more that Chandler is getting tons of looks and capitalizing on them.
Terrence Ross DS $7793 - He's a sub 8k starter who's going against the Lakers which is pretty much all you need to know about him.
This position is where to grab the most value today. Going to recommend a bunch of mid tier guys who have some upside.
Markieff Morris DS $11822 FD $4800 - Playing straight up out of his mind the last two games. Beware though of rotating minutes in the Phoenix front court. This has been a season-long trend and is likely to continue staying fluctuating. I'm much more inclined to run him out there in FD as the price hasn't caught up there at all. That being said, if Morris continues this production and getting these minutes he's a great play.
Glen Davis DS $12916 FD $6300 - Been seeing a big boost in production since Vucevic left the lineup and the latter is out again today. Look for Big Baby to handle much of the interior duties. Bit of a hiccup last time, but I expect him to bounce back.
Jared Sullinger DS $12285 FD $6100 - Speaking of Vucevic, with his absence the Magic instantly became one of the worst interior defenses in basketball. Sullinger probably won't put up a 20/20 like he did the other night, but he's a candidate to pay these prices at least.
Tobias Harris DS $12064 FD $6100 - Speaking of poor interior D's, Boston is right there with Orlando. this could be a shitty grudge match in which both teams just allow the other guys' big men to score uncontested.
Boris Diaw DS $7931 FD $3800 - Even with the blowout risk, these are pretty great prices if Diaw sees significant minutes today.
Serge Ibaka FD $7100 - Pretty great mid-tier price for a guy playing in the upper levels.
It's a shit show at center today. Just terrible, especially on FanDuel as many of the decent options on DraftStreet are listed as PF on FanDuel. Going to split the two sites up for ease of use. but one diceroll you can try is:
Larry Sanders DS $10036 FD $5400 - But I don't feel great about. His minutes have been there and the price is just low enough that he kind of only needs to jog around the court for 30 minutes to pay. But oof.
Jonas Valanciunas DS $10017 - Even against the Lakers this scares me because he's only playing slightly above twenty minutes a game. That being said, the Lakers are just that bad.
JJ Hickson DS $13617 - I really like Hickson's price here today as the Suns let up above league average points and rebounds to opposing centers. Hickson seems relatively safe at this price. (He's not a bad play on FD at PF either)
This is where is gets really tough. I think you might just need to punt it with a Kelly Olynyk/ Kendrick Perkins or even Jeff Ayres poo-poo platter if you don't go Sanders. I don't love paying for Boogie here.
Who'd I miss? What did I get totally wrong? Leave a comment down below or hit us up on Twitter @dailyfantasysr
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