Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 2/19/15

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And we are finally back from the All-Star Break. I don't know about you, but I was going a little stir-crazy. I even started following hockey Pete's sake. It's been a tough run, but we are geared up for a solid second half of the season. Let's get it on.

Point Guards

Chris Paul - FD 10000 DK 9800 DFSTR 8500
Since Blake went down Paul has been one of the Clippers needing to pick up the slack. He hasn't seen the shot increase I thought would come with Blake off the court, but he is dominating the ball even more and it's translating to fantasy success. He's expensive in this spot, and you'll need to choose between him and some of the other high-priced superstars on this slate. But he has the highest points/$ expectation of the upper tier and he's the guy I'll be working salary around to fit.

Tony Parker - FD 5400 DK 4900 DFSTR 5400
I had been all set to write about J.J. Barea as the value play at point, but the All-Star Break allowed Rondo enough time to get back and that was out the window. So Parker will have to pick up the value slack. He's coming very cheap across the board thanks to some inconsistent performances, injury and minutes getting jacked around. The last part is the Spurs' way so nothing new there. But on such a short slate I don't really see many ways to avoid him in this spot. Has a high floor thanks to the salary and you won't be able to play both Westbrook and Paul together. Plus the Maverick PG slot is too dicey.

Shooting Guards

Jamal Crawford - FD 5400 DK 5400 DFSTR 7500
J.J. Redick - FD 4500 DK 3300 DFSTR 5900
Where have many of Blake's extra shots gone? These are a couple of the places. Crawford is averaging 20 shots a game over his last three, up from about 17 a game before that. That's a nice 15% jump and it's translating to him scoring about 20 points a game over that stretch. He's a chucker by nature so I don't expect these numbers to decrease over the short term. Redick, having come back from injury put up 16 shots in the last game before the break. I like the former much more than the latter but would consider putting them both in cash games on two shooting guard sites.

Manu Ginobili - FD 5100 DK 4600 DFSTR 5300
More of a GPP play as he can put up some stinkers on this tag. Coming off the bench means his production will come in fits and spurts. I'd target him for the upside though because when he gets it going in a contest he can shoot the moon.

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Small Forwards

Kawhi Leonard - FD 7700 DK 7500 DFSTR 7300
The biggest problem with playing Kawhi (or any Spur) on any given night is you can just never totally depend on the minutes. He can range from the high twenties to the high thirties in terms of run and from a prognostication perspective that makes it awfully tough to ever feel safe throwing him out there. But we are coming off a long break and the Spurs are facing up against another Western Conference playoff team. If there was going to a midseason game that would see him getting full run, this is it. And if that's the case then you are catching him in a good spot. The Clippers are one of the worst teams in the league at defending opposing small forwards.

Chandler Parsons - FD 6400 DK 6600 DFSTR 5800
He'll be tasked with guarding Durant which is no great shakes. But on the offensive end I like the upside for Parsons here in what should be a real high-scoring game. He's been averaging more shots of late and taking advantage with Rondo out of the lineup. I like him in the mid tier for sure and he and Kawhi offer nice options without breaking the bank with Durant at this position. (Which I wouldn't blame you for doing.)

Matt Barnes - FD 5000 DK 4300 DFSTR 4100
Another fantasy beneficiary of Blake's absence is Barnes who's been averaging about 11 shots a game (up from 9) in the times since Griffin went down. The Clippers are going to need all of the offense they can get in the next couple of weeks and Barnes is one of those dudes. Not a good "real basketball" option but fine enough in fantasy especially at these prices.

Strongly consider Kevin Durant of course

Power Forwards

Dirk Nowitzki - FD 6500 DK 6700 DFSTR 7000
I suspect he will be in all of my lineups tonight. First of all, power forward is a near barren wasteland making it easy to get Dirk in there. What scares me on him a little is when he shows up for around 27 minutes. That's a death knell as he needs to push into the low 30's in order to really hit. The Thunder have had their troubles with opposing power forwards allowing about 7% more scoring and 4% more rebounding than league average on the season. Ibaka is athletic enough to follow Dirk out past the arc but I still think Dirk is able to score in this one. The big draw from Dirk though is just how few other options there are on this slate.

Tim Duncan - FD 7700 DK 7400 DFSTR 7900
He falls much into that Kawhi realm in that he needs to play all of his minutes. Before the All-Star break Timmy went out and played 18 total minutes. That's a disaster. We are coming off the extended break and the nature of the matchup should mean the Spurs play their big guns enough to pay. But man, the Pop thing is real and you need to keep it in the back of your mind. Otherwise, he has a sick matchup against the Blake-less Spurs with Hawes guarding him.

Consider Mitch McGary as a cheap roster filler.

Center

Spencer Hawes - FD 3800 DK 3900 DFSTR 3900
Let me start by saying that I hate center on this slate. It is super tough sledding with basically DeAndre Jordan as the only true center who doesn't have an injury question mark or minutes issues. That leave going cheap with a guy like Hawes. It's worth it to note that our system is a fan of Hawes' salary at only about 20 total minutes so take that for what it's worth. His last game in the starting slot was just about adequate and the one before that was a true disaster. He's far from a sure thing. But there are issues all over this position so I'm fine spending almost nothing and moving on.

Tyson Chandler - FD 6500 DK 6700 DFSTR 7100
He's probably to play on Thursday and I suspect this is the steady option most will turn to. It's a fine cash game play though worth mentioning that OKC keeps opposing centers under wraps and allows less than league average scoring nearly across the board. I don't think he has much upside, but you are much less likely to get dusted with a no-show as could happen with Hawes.
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