Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings Sunday 11/4/14

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Point Guard

Kyrie Irving - FD 7800 DK 7300
I'm still not exactly sure how it all fits together for the Cavs. I mean this mostly from a fantasy perspective though it's also clear they're finding their legs a big. Irving is coming at nice prices in what should be a high-scoring affair with the Blazers. Lillard isn't on the floor to defend as his focus is on scoring. I think the Cavs will be smart about identifying and exploiting the weaknesses of other teams. This is one of them for the Blazers as Portland gave up more than 8% more scoring to opposing PGs last season.

Goran Dragic - FD 7400 DK 5900
Should be able to exploit Lin all day long. Also should be at an advantage against a Laker team that still can't play any defense. Especially on FanDuel you can get both Kyrie and Goran into lineups together and give yourself a pretty high floor at the position tonight. I know Goran's struggled in his last two, but he went 18/5/2 in only 25 minutes last week when they played the Lakers. Could be more of the same tonight.

Donald Sloan - FD 5600 DK 6000
His price still isn't where it should be considering his role and how productive he's been filling in for George Hill. The Pacers are bereft of offensive options and Sloan's been pretty damn good. I'm a big fan of him in cash games as he is able to contribute across the stat line. Allows flexibility elsewhere.

Jeremy Lin - FD 5500 DK 4700
Your guess is as good as mine with this guy. He isn't a safe play at all, and he's shown in his career the innate ability to either go off or completely no-show a game. He's a GPP play if one ever existed. He should see some volume against a fast-paced Suns squad and he can put up big numbers in the right situation. At this price I definitely want to have exposure to him in GPPs, as he went 17/9/4 in their last meeting. But if I need secure points I can look elsewhere.

If Rose doesn't play again you can consider Kirk Hinrich or Aaron Brooks, though the minutes-sharing is less than ideal.

 

Shooting Guard

Eric Bledsoe - FD 7700 DK 7200
Get used to seeing whoever plays the Lakers at or near the top of our picks article on a weekly (season-long) basis. The Lakers are playing at a fast pace again this year and are in last play in Defensive Efficiency (120.2) by a considerable margin (next closest is Brooklyn at 110). You need to have exposure to their opponents simply because they are so bad. You then need to hope that the Lakers can hang just enough to keep the opposing starters in the game. This sums up Bledsoe's appeal tonight. Bledsoe did a healthy 16/6/9 a few days ago.

Jimmy Butler - FD 6000 DK 5000
He's back and playing those minutes we came to expect from Jimmy Buckets. Butler isn't the world's best two guard from minute-to-minute fantasy perspective. But man those minutes. His first game back and Thibs ran him out there for 39. Few other guys are getting that kind of run on a nightly basis. Makes for a nice cash game play for a reasonable tag considering he'll just be running around on the court long enough to pay it off.

Dwyane Wade - FD 8200 DK 7500
Without Lebron the Heat need the leftovers to pick up a decent amount of scoring. Wade won't do it every night. But I also think people will often be scared off by his higher price tag. He can hit value on this number on the right night. This game should be high scoring and I can see him wanting to get into the scoring act early. He needs to put the ball in the basket to really hit his number. But he does pitch in across other areas. I don't like him as much as the two guys above, but there's a case.

 

Small Forward

Nicolas Batum - FD 7000 DK 6900
If you look at Batum's game log you might be scared off a bit because he appears to be greatly underperforming to start the season. And on this you'd be correct. But do we really expect the guy to continue shooting 34.5% from the field. He's a 44.5% shooter for his career. Throw in some extra points to his logs and all of a sudden he is looking like the same old Batum. I'm buying him in the hope that he is rather safe considering how many ways he effects the game and others will be off him because they think he is going to struggle like this forever. Which he won't.

Shawne Williams - FD 4200 DK 3000
In daily fantasy we are often looking for players whose prices haven't quite caught up to the minutes they are playing. This concept is so important on a nightly basis because finding a guy like Williams who is playing major minutes even with McRoberts back in the fold. I'm not saying this will last forever and their PT might even out sooner than later. But if I am getting a guy at borderline punt prices who is going to score and pitch in some rebounds here there then I don't mind taking on a little risk to get some bigger money in elsewhere.

C.J. Miles - FD 4300 DK 4100
A boom or bust guy and nothing more. Small forward is always tough to figure out. In a GPP I think you can throw him in there on the hopes he has one of his hot shooting chucker nights.

LeBron James - FD 10600 DK 10700
Look, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. From a raw point perspective, he and ANthony Davis are your top choices tonight. The question becomes whether you can afford them. There are some cheaper and mid-tier options out there coming at solid points/$ value so fitting Lebron in there won't be the biggest stretch in the world.

Consider Khris Middleton

 

Power Forward

Notes on a couple of guys. Look, there are going to be nights where Anthony Davis pays this ridic tag. I just don't think tonight is one of them. Charlotte is one of the slowest teams in the league and has one of the best Defensive Efficiency's. I'm looking elsewhere.

Also, our system really likes Carmelo Anthony relative to his tag. But I'm concerned about how many shots he's seeing so far this season. He's averaging about 5 less shots per game. That's a ton. Teams really only need to guard him as the rest of the Knick team is heaping garbage and retreads.

Markieff Morris - FD 6300 DK 5900
He was a moderate disappointment the first time the Suns played the Lakers, but Markieff, when given the minutes, can put up stud-ly numbers. He needs to keep that run in the 32-33 range. And if that happens I really like his chances here tonight.

Kevin Love - FD 9400 DK 9200
Pau Gasol - FD 8000 DK 7400
These two guys are about the same from a Pts/$ perspective for me tonight. Obviously they are coming at different price points, but I think you are getting the same expectation relative price on both sites. Gasols' been playing big minutes since moving over to Chicago and basically averaging 19/9 on the season. His prices are pushing it for value here, but there aren't many solid options at PF for the bucks. Love meanwhile probably has the top end upside on the right night, but there are a lot of mouths to feed in Cleveland. It's not like Minnesota.

Ed Davis - FD 4300 DK 4600
He is like this year's James Johnson. Guy just comes in off the bench and plays 20 minutes of fantasy goodness. It's pretty amazing.

 

Center

There are some real interesting options here tonight.

Dwight Howard - FD 9100 DK 8400
He was a game-time decision last night. But he played and put up an 11/14/3/3/5 line. He was solid and though that was against the Sixers I think you can count on him for another nice one tonight against the Heat. Miami has and will continue to struggle with opposing centers. The Jonas Valanciunas's and Marcin Gortat's of the world have given them trouble. Dwight is a step or many above those guys.

Jordan Hill - FD 5800 DK 5700
His prices just refuse to catch up to what he's doing for the Lakers. He's going to be getting tons of minutes out of the five. There is no one competing with him there unlike last year where their rotations were a mess. He's averaging a 15/8/2 which is plenty to pay off these salaries.

Roy Hibbert - FD 6200 DK 6900
With so many injuries befalling the Pacers someone has to step up. Last season, or at least the second half was a mess for Hibbert. But he's getting his groove back some this season as he becomes a bigger part of the offense and has been rebounding more. Not a safe play, but our system likes him at these prices against a weaker Milwaukee frontcourt.

Strongly consider Al Jefferson and Omar Asik