Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 12/4/14

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Short Slate = Short picks.
 

Point Guard

Kyrie Irving - FD 8300 DK 9300 DFSTR 7200
If you are going to pay for a point guard he is probably the guy. As you will see tonight, the decisions are less than clear when it comes to the top value plays. It isn't an easy slate by any means. And while I'm usually pretty excited at the prospect of less options because they decisions made by your opponents tend to cascade if even off by one guy, this one has me hesitant. And after all of that I give you Kyrie. His value is wrapped up a little too much in his scoring which I don't love from a point guard. He's kind of the anti-Rondo in this way. When you do too much of one thing your floor is much lower. That's the case with Kyrie and if this thing gets blow out-y then he is in trouble. I'll risk it though against a bad Knicks team.

Jose Calderon - FD 5800 DK 5600 DFSTR 4300
If he can get a decent amount of minutes I think he'll be fine at this price. When he gets thirty or more minutes, paying this price is no problem at all. The issue becomes if the Cavs crush the Knicks and he doesn't see the fourth. I'm fine with risking it (a theme as you'll see). He's averaging a 10/4/4 which is the mean of his production, but the fluctuations are high. I'm betting he gets the minutes and pays easily.

Consider Donald Sloan

Shooting Guard

Rodney Stuckey - FD 4800 DK 4500 DFSTR 4500
Oof. It doesn't feel good. And you are really begging for the minutes here. But when Stuckey gets the run, the fantasy production (relative to these prices) is there. It's just the run. Will it be there on a given night? Considering his salaries and the lack of any real SG options that don't make you want to puke, I think you can pull the trigger here. If it were a full slate of games, I wouldn't even be thinking about the guy. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Tyreke Evans - FD 7500 DK 7300 DFSTR 7200
If spending, I suppose he is the way to go. The choice is of course, Evans or Klay as they are in and around the same price. I'm going with 'Reke. His minutes are secure, Golden State is actually getting kind of burned by starting shooting guards and Tyreke has a few more tools in his chest. Our system doesn't think the decision is that close. I'm not so bullish, but I will be playing Evans over Klay.

Small Forward

LeBron James - FD 10700 DK 11700 DFSTR 9700
As far as I'm concerned, he's the top big money play on the board tonight. I know the Knicks are slower than molasses, but none of the other big salary guys offer the floor at the price (*note on Brow later). The Knicks gets crushed by opposing small forwards in both rebounding and assists. Of course, Lebron does everything very well. And he's adept at taking advantage of other team's weaknesses. The Knicks have plenty of them. Of course, what you need to worry about here is the blowout. That concern is very real. But on a short slate you need to put in your best chances to win. I think folks will allocate bad dollars toward Davis (I might look bad for that statement later). Roll Lebron.

Nicolas Batum - FD 6600 DK 6500 DFSTR 5800
Makes the perfect mid-tier guy to play today. He gets his full run, does a little of everything averaging a 8.5/6/5/1/1 that pays the day in cash games, especially with this few options. Indiana's been fine enough against small forwards this season, mostly thanks to their pace of play. But I don't see how you get too far away from Batum's price and floor.

Consider Carmelo Anthony if you also happen to hate yourself but think that every once in a while things work out for you.

Power Forward

Amar'e Stoudemire - FD 5500 DK 5500 DFSTR 5100
If the minute persist, and they should even with JR Smith coming back, then he is the easy value play of the day. With Smith sitting the effect trickled down to Stat's minutes increasing and he's played fantastically. He's averaged an 18/10 over the last two and it's the minutes, minutes, minutes. On a short slate, I'm willing to gamble the run is there again for the guy, though I do think JR coming back with cause some flux in their rotations. Even so, he'll be a big play.

The second PF slot is incredibly tough. Our system has a tight grouping of guys all at the same multiplier. Though if you think his minutes increase:
David West - FD 6700 DK 6600 DFSTR 5000
Becomes the clear play. The only thing he is missing is the run. As he's come back from injury Frank Vogel's limited his minutes. This surely won't continue the whole season (unless the Pacers are tanking) and when he gets up and over 30 he will crush this price.

Note on Anthony Davis: He's the best of course. Fading him on a short slate is tough. But the Warriors really shut down opposing PF scoring and are so efficient on the offensive end that it limits some of the other components of Brow's game. This combined with what will probably be a lack of cheaper options and I think you can steer clear, and then pray.
 

Center

Anderson Varejao - FD 5100 DK 5500 DFSTR 5600
Tough night all around of course, but Varejao offers some nice stability out of the five at a reduced cost. He doesn't play a ton of minutes, but he's crazy productive in his time on the court. As long as he's playing tonight I'll (and many others) will be playing him exclusively. The center pool is very thin and getting consistent production here will be tough. I suspect he'll be a very high percentage start and with good reason. He's consistently paying this price. You won't get crazy upside just because the minutes aren't always there. But he's the cash game play for sure.

Consider Roy Hibbert

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