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

Welcome to our daily fantasy basketball column - where we provide the best daily plays on a points per dollar basis.

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Point Guard

Russell Westbrook - FD 9900 DK 10600 DFSTR 8200
DFSR editor in chief Doug Norrie and I were embarrassingly giddy when we talked about how Westbrook has looked since returning from injury. "He's just so much faster than everyone else!" Doug gushed. "I know! And he's just bouncing off people again," I raved in response. In the 7 games he's played since his return, he has more games over 50 fantasy points (2) than under 4 (1 - he scored 34.7 in his second game back). The minutes have been ticking upward, and Phoenix has been below league average against opposing PGs this season. On a night where it's pretty easy to save elsewhere, I'm firing up Westbrook in all formats.

Zach LaVine - FD 4900 DK 5300 DFSTR 3700
So, LaVine has hardly been a sure thing this season - even on some really high minutes numbers - but this one basically comes down to match-up. If he's going to play 36 minutes against the Lakers' 3rd worst PG defense, the upside is tremendous. An added bonus is that the Lakers are one of the few teams unlikely to destroy the Wolves, so LaVine is less likely to be pulled here than he would be on a normal night.

Norris Cole - FD 4400 DK 3500 DFSTR
Let me start by saying that I'll likely play the above guys in basically every squad, but if I do get away, I suppose I'll consider Cole. Cole hasn't been dominant or anything, but he's handling the ball more than many expected, and he's averaging about 19 fantasy points per game in December, which pays these prices off pretty safely. You don't love the match-up, of course, which limits Cole's upside to some degree - but if he gets his minutes, he should get his production.

Keep an eye on Tony Parker. If he sits, Cory Joseph becomes a very attractive play once again.

 

Shooting Guard

Tim Hardaway Jr. - FD 3900 DK 4400 DFSTR 3000
Punt plays are always tricky, because it's tough to know if you're going to get a frog (Festus Ezeli, Alexis Ajinca) or a prince (Robert Covington). The best advice we can give is to prorate what a player has done in more limited minutes and estimate how many minutes they'll have in the starting lineup. With Hardaway? It's not that tricky. In increased minutes the last two nights he's put up 23.9 and 29.6 fantasy points. If he's going to do that, he's an easy play against anyone at these ridiculously low prices.

Tyreke Evans - FD 7100 DK 7600 DFSTR
Our projection system is very happy to recommend Tyreke at these prices already. And it doesn't even know how Davis being out should affect Tyreke's usage. Well, we saw what happened last game. With Davis sidelined, Evans got the green light, and put up a 31/10 on 40 minutes on the floor. Now, I'd caution you against plugging him in for 50 fantasy points in this one. The Warriors are a lot better against the SG position than the Cavs. But I think the minutes and usage are legit, and that he'll be in line for another terrific game on Sunday.

Kobe Bryant - FD 9300 DK 9600 DFSTR 7700
At this point in his career, you're basically investing on the minutes with Kobe. And it doesn't hurt that he'll be going for "night to remember" status as he will inevitably pass Jordan on the all-time scorers list. But what we really like here is the match-up. Minnesota has allowed the 6th most points to opposing SGs this season, and for Kobe that means he won't have to settle for as many bad looks. It made a lot less of a different to him early in his career, but this late-career version needs that extra step desperately. I like him for cash games, but wouldn't play him in GPPs.

 

Small Forward

Corey Brewer - FD 5300 DK 6000 DFSTR 5200
The last 5 games have been a renaissance for the Wolves' small forward. He's been playing a ton of minutes, tearing it up on the defensive end (14 steals in his last 3 games!), and providing both solid and well distributed production in the main offensive categories. And the best news of all? He's gets his best match-up of the season - the Los Angeles Lakers. Watching the Lakers defensively utterly blows my mind. No one knows where to be, or what they should do when they get there. This is great for a guy like Brewer who rarely creates his own shot. He'll do terrifically against their 2nd to last ranked SF defense.

Draymond Green - FD 7200 DK 6400 DFSTR
If you're piecing together a cash game lineup tonight, I love what Green could do against the depleted front court of the Pels. In all likelihood he'll draw defensive attention from Ryan Anderson, who, while a fine offensive player, isn't known for his defensive prowess. For Green, it's instructive to draw his numbers from how PFs have done against the Pelicans. It ain't pretty. They've already been the 5th most generous team to opposing PFs, and now they're missing their best defensive player.

Kawhi Leonard - FD 7300 DK 7800 DFSTR 5900
Kyle Anderson - FD 3700 DK 3400 DFSTR 3000
Keep an eye as it gets closer to tip off, but I love picking either of the Spurs SF options against the Nuggets. They've allowed the 6th most fantasy points to opposing SFs this season, and either of these guys should handily pay their price if activated. Now, we normally caution against playing guys coming back from an injury, but I think Kawhi's injury is a little bit special in that a hand bruise really shouldn't impact him once he's cleared the way a soft tissue injury would. I'll happily deploy him if the Spurs will. As for Anderson - 20 minutes in the Spurs offense should be enough for him to piece together enough to warrant saving here and spending elsewhere.

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Power Forward

Ryan Anderson - FD 5300 DK 6000 DFSTR
Our projection system often likes Anderson at these prices in spite of the fact that he's a back-up. When he moves into the starting lineup? It LOVES him. Especially because Davis is such a high usage player. Now, he won't get all of Davis' leftover looks, but the Pels offense needs to do a lot of re-shuffling without the big man out there, and Anderson will find the ball in his hands quite a bit.

Kris Humphries - FD 4900 DK 5300 DFSTR
I get such a perverse kick out of playing Humphries at prices like these. The reason? The damn rebounds. I'm not altogether sure why Humphries hasn't been as consistent on the boards in Washington as he's been elsewhere, but the upside when he's tearing them down on a given night is through the roof. Utah has been tough against opposing power forwards this year, but these are still punt level prices for Humphries. Even if they depress his production by 5%, Humphries is a favorite to put up 5x his FanDuel price.

Tim Duncan - FD 8400 DK 8900 DFSTR 7500
With Parker hobbled, Duncan has been playing more minutes and doing more in the minutes he's playing. Sweetening the deal even further is Denver's absolutely atrocious interior defense - they've allowed the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this year. I'm not sure what else you need to know? Play Duncan if you can find the savings elsewhere.

Our projection system also likes Ed Davis and Thaddeus Young.

 

Center

Gorgui Dieng - FD 6400 DK 7000 DFSTR 5300
So, Dieng isn't exactly the safest play in the game. I know. But after a weird block drought, Dieng is back patrolling the paint like a puma - swatting shots and pulling down rebounds. When he's right and the Wolves are deploying him properly, he can absolutely kill it on these prices. And, like Brewer, he's a lot less of a minutes risk in a relatively even match-up like this. It doesn't hurt that Lakers are dead last in the league against opposing centers, either.

Chris Bosh - FD 8500 DK 8100 DFSTR
This one is dependent on whether or not Noah is out there. When he is, Chicago is something like impenetrable against opposing centers. When he's out? It's left to the undersized (Taj) or the under-speedy (Gasol). It's a pretty rough night for center - so I'm hesitant to spend all the way up - but as I'm making my lineups for tomorrow a lot of them have a few bucks to spend on Bosh.

Jordan Hill - FD 6500 DK 6200 DFSTR 6200
Jordan Hill is actually the top guy in our projection system tonight, but I like Dieng better for the price and wanted to include Bosh in case you had the money left over. Here's the case for Hill - his minutes are erratic due to the Lakers' propensity to get blown out. Like the Minny guys I listed earlier, Hill's minutes should be a lot more secure against such a terrible opponent. And when he does play his full allotment of minutes, paying 5x on this FanDuel price is routine, and 6x+ is absolutely in play.

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