Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 1/22/15

The NBA is in full swing and you’re here to get the best value plays in the industry. Enjoy!

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Point Guards

Damian Lillard - FD 9000 DK 9400 DFSTR 7500
He’s the big money play of the day and for me it isn’t really that close as long as Aldridge is still out. They were almost run out of the gym early last night, but crawled back into it against Phoenix. And the Celtics aren’t the Suns. Lillard’s usage rate is off the charts when the big guy sits and Lillard is pretty much options 1 and 1A in terms of the Blazers scoring. They have other guys you can play of course, but Lillard should be a staple in your games. The Celtics play at a fast pace and will allow a fair amount of volume to opposing point guards who score about 6% more than league average against them. This is an easy one.

Derrick Rose - FD 7200 DK 7300 DFSTR 6200
He’s been picking up his game of late and went through a nice stretch where it really looked like he was finding his groove in the offense. The price has come up a bit of late and the matchup against the Spurs isn’t exactly ideal, but on this slate there aren’t many other point guard values (relative to price) that I’m in love with.

Tony Parker - FD 5700 DK 5800 DFSTR 5500
I suspect he will be a big start because the price is cheap and he had a huge game on Tuesday. I’m a little worried about the minutes getting jacked around as the 32 he saw the other night are the exception not the norm for him. But there’s no denying the price is enticing here.

Shooting Guards

Wesley Matthews - FD 5700 DK 5700 DFSTR 5000
As it was last night, this pick looks a hell of a lot better if Aldridge sits again (as I suspect he will). I’d be fine playing Matthews even if Aldridge were in there, but dude looks even better if a bunch of Blazer shots are suddenly gone from the lineup. Boston has been solid this season against shooting guards thanks in part to Avery Bradley, but on the short slate I still think you are getting money in good with Matthews.

Giannis Antetokounmpo - FD 6000 DK 5200 DFSTR 4800
I really hate considering Bucks for cash games because their minutes are so freaking variable that you can never trust what’s going to happen from one game to the next. It’s maddening and I wouldn’t mind petitioning the league to just make it stop. Especially when there are guys like Giannis who seem super productive with the minutes he does get. On the short slate tonight I think you can throw him out there and hope the minutes are there as his skill set presents a high floor when he gets the run.

Consider JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford

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Small Forwards

Nicolas Batum - FD 5300 DK 5300 DFSTR 5100
Wright
At the risk of recommending every single Blazer tonight, screw it, I’m going to do it anyway. Batum has been a little bit of awful for quite some time now because of his wrist injury but broke out of the funk last night in a big way with a crazy 27/10/5 line. He was far and away the best points per dollar multiplier at SF in our system yesterday but I was a little scared off by the wrist issues. With Aldridge out of the lineup he’s being called on to be more a part of the offense whether his wrist can handle it or not. He shot a little better last night which is good to see. Wright on the other hand is another value play as he started last night in place of Aldridge going 15/5/3 and more than paying. At the minimum he’s an insane play at the minimums if they run him out for 30+ minutes again.

Gordon Hayward - FD 7400 DK 7800 DFSTR 6900
A nice piece to use tonight against a Milwaukee team average against opposing small forwards. While the Bucks may give Hayward some issues with their length, he’s serviceable at the price point. Because he can keep his floor a bit higher because he doesn’t rely completely on his scoring, he can fit your needs in a cash game.

Khris Middleton - FD 5300 DK 5100 DFSTR 4100
I have many of the same problems with him that I have with Giannis in that I just never trust the Bucks at all and their minutes. He’s had the run of late to moderate success. But it’s a scary thought to have him just all of a sudden playing in the mid twenties, which is totally possible.

Power Forwards

Taj Gibson - FD 5500 DK 6100 DFSTR 5300
It doesn’t look like Noah is going to play again and you know what that means. Taj Time! Gibson’s price has barely budged which is nuts considering his last three games with Joakim out he’s averaged right around 40 minutes per night. 40 minutes! That’s two exclamation points just in this write up. That kind of run, combined with his skill set is enough for me to overlook the tougher matchup with the Spurs. Taj just stands to be out on the court too long. He’s the top points per dollar player on the slate and it isn’t really close.

Pau Gasol - FD 9100 DK 9300 DFSTR 7800
Like Taj, Pau is playing huge minutes with Noah out and actually has an ok matchup against the Spurs who have been below average against opposing centers this season. I’m in love with how long Gasol will be on the court in this one and with a lot of savings at other positions going on today, I don’t think fitting hit salary with a couple of other bigger pieces will be any issue at all.

To be honest, it’s going to be almost all Pau and Taj for me but you can consider

Center

This is a very thin position tonight.
Chris Kaman - FD 4600 DK 4400 DFSTR 5500
We had Kaman as a top center play last night thanks to him possibly seeing more minutes and usage with Aldridge out. This bore out as he turned in a solid game though the tempo of the affair left him on the bench late. I think he gets back into the 25-27 minute range tonight and has his way with the Boston interior.

Tiago Splitter - FD 4400 DK 4000 DFSTR 4600
Mostly a cost thing. The Bulls take a hit defensively when Gasol is playing the five rather than Noah and Splitter is coming very cheap. He doesn’t play huge minutes which is a problem, but that’s basically the issue across the center position on this slate.

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