Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet 3/20/14

I love me some short slates of games. Some people see them as complete luckbox dicerolls, but I'm not convinced. They are opportunities to manage each and every dollar wisely by narrowing down the field considerably and then working the best value. This is the same for every night, but especially stringent on these nights. With four games tonight is practically jam-packed compared to other Thursdays. Lets' take a look and remember that on Thursdays we keep it short and sweet.

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Point Guards

Russell Westbrook - FanDuel $8,900 DraftKings $9,000 DraftStreet $18,999
The top big money point guard play on the board. I don't know if I like starting both he and Durant together against a crappy Cleveland team (though they were scrappy against the Heat the other night). But with so many cheap options on the board tonight, you can probably do it.

Jarrett Jack - FanDuel $4,400 DraftKings $4,700 DraftStreet $11,993
Price has corrected on DS a bit, but on the other two sites he is a downright steal. Will play the bulk of the minutes at the point and was effective even against a Heat D that's tough against PGs.

Patrick Beverley - FanDuel $5,400 DraftKings $4,700 DraftStreet $9,882
If I don't run Westbrook I'm looking for Beverly's to mix it up against Rubio tonight. Beverley's been awesome lately and I think he'll continue to see offensive opportunity with Howard sidelined again.

Shooting Guards

Dion Waiters - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,400 DraftStreet $11,848
I was really hoping we'd see a full on chuck session against the Heat but we didn't get it. I mean he still put up 19 shots, but I was expecting closer to like 27. Instead he pitched in 11 assists, spreading the wealth a bit. Encouraging sign and needs to be in lineups at these prices.

Bradley Beal - FanDuel $6,300 DraftKings $6,300 DraftStreet $10,545
Was bailed out by OT the other nightand even then it wasn't great. He went 7/23 from the field which is an absolute killer on efficiency sites like DraftStreet. It's bad, but rare for a 40% FG shooter. He should see plenty of looks tonight against a Portland team that allows 4% more scoring than league average to opposing SGs.

Small Forwards

Kevin Durant - FanDuel $11,700 DraftKings $11,500 DraftStreet $22,913
Durant is the top option on the board tonight and someone I probably won't be fading on such a short slate. It's real tough to hedge away from blowouts on such small nights so I typically don't even bother, going with the best values on the board. Tonight that's Durant. Cleveland gets crushed by good players.* Durant is good.
*Advanced stat

Nicolas Batum - FanDuel $7,800 DraftKings $8,100 DraftStreet $17,642
Um, what is going on with this guy? What are the chances he has someone go Jeff Gillooly all over Aldridge before the big guy is set to come back? Why would Batum want LA near the court again? Batum is averaging a measly 22/14/6 with Aldridge out. There's some run-hotti-ness* as he's shooting better than 50% from the field in that stretch. But man.
*Another advanced stat

Draymond Green - FanDuel $4,600 DraftKings $4,400
Should see some more run with Iguodala out of the lineup and is a nice, cheap option if that's the case. When he plays more minutes, he pays off.

Power Forwards

Terrence Jones - FanDuel $5,800 DraftKings $4,800 DraftStreet $12,803
No Dwight tonight means Jones should see big minutes with the Rockets short on available bigs. His DraftKings price is almost a complete joke.

David Lee - FanDuel $7,400 DraftKings $7,300 DraftStreet $14,607
If Bogut doesn't play I like Lee even more.

Drew Gooden - FanDuel $3,500 DraftKings $3,700
Looking to fit in some of those more expensive guys? Tough to ignore what he's been doing lately. Granted the 75% shooting from the field will regress significantly, but with close to 30 minutes a night he can easily pay these prices.

Centers

Omer Asik - FanDuel $3,700 DraftKings $3,500 DraftStreet $6,066 or Gorgui Dieng - FanDuel $3,900 DraftKings $3,100 DraftStreet $6,918
Ooh baby. Look at these prices on two starting centers. Tough to beat it. I'll most likely be playing both on DraftStreet and DraftKings and essentially flipping a coin on FanDuel.