Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 12/2/14

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Point Guard

Greivis Vasquez - FD 3900 DK 4300 DFSTR 3900
Price and opportunity. Price and opportunity. That's the name of the game here and Vasquez has both working for him. He drew the start in place of Derozan last game and responded with a 19/5 game. Granted that was against the Lakers and the game went to overtime. But he was set to pay before the extra run. And I think he is the best value guard on board by a long shot. I will have him in all cash games. The one concern here is you are playing a two guard in the point guard slot, but Lowry and Vasquez weren't on the court together the whole time last game. He will handle the ball plenty.

Brandon Jennings - FD 7200 DK 7600 DFSTR 6300
Lakers. Lakers. Lakers. Jennings is back from the hand injury and really didn't miss a beat in his first game. He went 22/6/5 against Golden State, one of the better defensive teams in the league. The Lakers are at the opposite end of the spectrum. They are allowing a whopping 30% more scoring that league average to the opposing point guard. That number is appalling. How can we not play opposing point guards against Jeremy Lin and company? The answer is: we can't (Too many negative in those clauses? It's simple, Jennings is a great play.)

Jeff Teague - FD 7100 DK 7700 DFSTR 6400
Getting point guards against the Celtics is a winning formula. Boston plays at the highest pace in the league (tied with Golden State) but unlike that squad has one of the worst Defensive Efficiencies around. That’s a fantastic spot for the opposing PG who can push the pace and make up tons of ground in volume. Teague’s been playing real well of late, and while I don’t tend to overweight recent performance if all other metrics remain the same, there is reason to suspect he continues a level of performance in such a great matchup.

Consider Russell Westbrook if there's no KD and you get word he won't have a minutes restriction. And even then he's probably a GPP play only.
 

Shooting Guard

Lou Williams - FD 4900 DK 5200 DFSTR 3800
He didn't see the minutes jump we thought when Derozan went down, but the usage is still there and he becomes chucker numero uno when he's on the court. He can light it up in a hurry and his price is still in that Danny Green-esque shooting guard range that gets about 30 minutes and can catch fire. The Kings are below average against opposing shooting guards and Williams won't break the bank on you.

Kobe Bryant - FD 9200 DK 9400 DFSTR 7900
He remains a pretty safe option on a nightly basis simply because his usage rate (34.5) is the highest in the league and it isn't particularly close. Kobe isn't a favorite for the triple double he put up the other night (he really isn't even a double double guy) but the scoring should be there almost every night. The game against the Pistons should stay close and they are about average defending the two. I want to be on Kobe in games the Lakers can stay in (something they've been good at this season). Will be weird paying his tag considering some of the other names on the board, but I think the value is there.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - FD 4700 DK 4400 DFSTR 3700
He's seen his scoring peak the last couple of games thanks in large part to a spike in his field goal attempts. If this is a direct result of Monroe getting rotated to the bench then it may not be an anomaly. It's tough to say. Regardless, I love the matchup and if he can get the ball in the air 10-12 times a game (totally plausible in this game) then these are great prices.

Austin Rivers - FD 3500 DK 3600 DFSTR 3900
He's responded to being put in the starting lineup by shooting a dreadful 1-13. That isn't sustainable and one of these games he's going to get starter minutes with his normal shooting (closer to 40%) and you'll have a great GPP play on your hands.
 

Small Forward

Josh Smith - FD 7600 DK 7300 DFSTR 7300
Obviously this is a Pistons-themed writeup and why not? They are playing the worst defense of the night. When Monroe went to the bench, Smith slid back into his natural position at the four. He doesn't stick there the whole game, but it's tough to argue with the results. He's been hitting value or higher on these prices for a while now and there's some reason to believe that his lines might have leveled out in this kind of production. I know that right when you get comfortable with this guy you are bound to get Smoove'd. But I'm rolling with it especially in this matchup.

Kyle Singler - FD 3700 DK 3500 DFSTR 3000
He's starting now, playing close to thirty minutes a night and easily paying these salaries. Again, it's going to be tough having this much exposure, on such a short slate, to all of the Pistons. But they are almost to a man coming at crazy discounts considering their roles and minutes. Singler is about as unsexy as it gets, but hey, it's the Lakers.

LeBron James - FD 10800 DK 11600 DFSTR 9700
If enough punts show up in the ranks today I think the value is there on James, though I'd be hesitant about getting too far away from the guys above strictly speaking about multipliers. But James has been a force in two of his last three games. I'm not over the moon about playing him at these price points, but hey, it's Lebron.

Consider Kevin Durant if he comes back tonight which I don't think he will.

 

Power Forward

LaMarcus Aldridge - FD 9500 DK 9300 DFSTR 8500
There are a few great matchups today with some quick and defensively-challenged teams going. Aldridge could be set to abuse the Denver frontcourt today. We see that in games where he faces squads without an adequate four, Aldridge will put up a ton of shots. That’s the case with Denver who are well below average defending the power forward position. I don’t love that the game is Denver as the altitude definitely affects opposing squads. That being said, they don’t have anyone who can matchup him up inside and out in this game.

Paul Millsap - FD 8300 DK 8900 DFSTR 7700
Speaking of a guy who could see a lot of possessions tonight, Millsap faces off against a Boston team allowing 17% more scoring than league average to the power forward position. His price has stagnated in the short term thanks to a blowout against Charlotte and some tougher matchups against Toronto and NEw Orleans. That should be a problem tonight and I really like his floor in this game.

Jared Sullinger - FD 7000 DK 7100 DFSTR 7300
Outside of getting drubbed by the Spurs last game, Sullinger has been Mr. Consistent. He's like the opposite of a Greg Monroe/Derrick Favors-type whose price steadies because the game logs are up and down Sullinger is even Steven. I don't love him in GPPs because of this, as he never seems to truly go off. But for cash games he's nearly the perfect guy.

Nikola Mirotic - FD 4800 DK 6300 DFSTR 3000
His minutes have been steady with Taj Gibson out (he's out again today) and even with Nikola coming off the bench, the production's been steady. This isn't the best matchup in the world against the Mavs, but he's a sweet price considering the minutes.

Consider Greg Monroe if you think he can get enough run off the bench.
 

Center

Anderson Varejao - FD 5100 DK 5400 DFSTR 5600
Outside of a real tough matchup against Gortat and Washington, Anderson has routinely hit value or above on these prices. He's been kind of a beast. Though he's dealing with a rib injury, I'm still fine rolling him out there if he's on the court and playing. The price is just too good to pass up considering how much he's been doing on the court. Milwaukee is about league average in opponents' centers scoring and rebounding. That probably limits his upside some, but in terms of safety he's a great play.

Jordan Hill - FD 6700 DK 6600 DFSTR 6400
As long as he's seeing more than thirty minutes a night, and there's no reason to suggest it will stop anytime soon, then this guy can deliver solid value at his prices. A few rough games kept his tag from climbing too high, but he's been a veritable double/double machine on the season. Detroit is about league average against centers with Drummond. But Hill should be able to hit his rebounding numbers in this one.

Andre Drummond - FD 7200 DK 7900 DFSTR 7100
Didn't want to let a whole position go by without mentioning a Piston.

Consider Roy Hibbert as a GPP play if he's back.

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