Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 3/2/15

NBA! Post trade deadline. This is hard. But fun! Enjoy.

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Point Guards

Greivis Vasquez - FD 4100 DK 4200 DFSTR 3800
With Lowry out on Saturday night, Greivous took over the point guard duties, played 34 minutes and put up a 14/6/3 line that was plenty in terms of paying off his price. The salaries haven't crept up too much and he looks to be in line for the same kind of run tonight against the Sixers. Philly is still playing at a high pace with a league average defensive efficiency. Point guards have crushed them in assists (though the scoring is a little down for whatever reason). As long as Lowry is out again, and I think he will be, Greivous is a super solid play.

Chris Paul - FD 10000 DK 9900 DFSTR 8800
I think you are going to be able to save enough money on this slate that playing Paul should be no thing really. And it's worth it because the dude has just gone to a completely other level with Griffin on the shelf. Over his last nine games CP3 is averaging a 21/12/5 and basically dominating every game. He has the Clippers playing well in Blake's absence and has a great matchup tonight against a fast-paced, poor-defending T-Wolves squad. Games and wins are very important for the Clips right now so don't expect them to take anything off the gas. And Minny's been feisty. Could be a huge one for Paul.

Tyreke Evans - FD 8400 DK 7700 DFSTR 6800
Our projection system doesn't mind the price climb because it coincides with his usage rate hike now that Anthony Davis is out of the picture. Evans dominates the ball for the Pelicans and even though most sites (not Draftster) have shifted him over to the position he's actually playing, I still think you can consider him on this slate.

 

Shooting Guards

DeMar DeRozan - FD 6400 DK 7000 DFSTR 6300
The Raptors are kind of a mess right now and have lost five in a row, including the last game to the Knicks who appear to be trying to lose on purpose. Speaking of which, Toronto will get a chance to break out of it against a team contending with the Knicks for the basement. Derozan didn't put up as many shots as I thought he would with Lowry out, but he did play 40 minutes. Expect some more of the same in this one as the Raptors need to break out of it.

Dwyane Wade - FD 7100 DK 6900 DFSTR 6900
He's averaging about 17 shots per game over his last three, coinciding with the entrance of Goran Dragic on the scene and the removal of Bosh. Wade is going to be asked to do a ton on offense right now and he's never shied away from getting his shot. I love him on this slate against the Suns who push the game at a high pace. The Heat's offensive game plan will run through Wade. The shot volume and minutes are the key here.

Our system doesn't mind you taking a stab on some guys like Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams and Klay Thompson in GPPs.

 

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Small Forwards

James Johnson - FD 4000 DK 4700 DFSTR 4400
Don't even think twice about this one. He will be in 100% of my lineups on this slate. First off, his price in my mind, hasn't caught up with his opportunity. As long as Johnson is playing the minutes he can fill it up quickly. With Lowry possibly out, the rotations become a little clearer as the bench gets a little thinner. Johnson played 33 minutes in the last one and I think he sees a similar number in this one. Has huge upside in the right kind of game: quick and sloppy. That's what happens when you play the Sixers.

Chandler Parsons - FD 6200 DK 5700 DFSTR 5100
Al-Farouq Aminu - FD 4700 DK 4800 DFSTR 3000
Richard Jefferson - FD 3500 DK 3300 DFSTR 3000
Basically, our system is begging you to play whichever one of these guys stands to see the most minutes in this one. Of course that will be Parsons if he finally comes back from injury. I don't love buying guys on the way back all the time, but on the shorter slate I'd be willing to make the exception I think. The Pelicans are awful against small forwards and the Mavs will have a distinct advantage in this area. Aminu and Jefferson are both playing steady minutes without Parsons. Aminu has the higher upside (and price tag), but he can bottom out. Jefferson is higher floor, lower ceiling.

If Matt Barnes plays in this one he makes interesting plug and play at a price that won't break you.

Power Forwards

Once again there is a lot to hate about the power forward position tonight. A lot to hate. In fact, there is so much to hate that it was tough even finding some solid value that didn't make me want to puke.

Dirk Nowitzki - FD 6300 DK 6200 DFSTR 7000
System doesn't completely love him, but you are getting mid range value in all over the place on this slate so working his salary in isn't total -EV, though his pts/$ expectation is much lower than I'm typically willing to roll with in the picks. But when you look around at some of the other options you will see what I mean. For starters, he's one of the only power forwards who should see more than 25 minutes in the game. That alone is a scary stat. There are a few others, but they are in very tough matchups. Dirk is facing a New Orleans team without Anthony Davis and he should see his share of usage in this one. Again, I don't love it, but this is about as bad as you'll see a position.

Dante Cunningham - FD 4100 DK 3400 DFSTR 3000
Our system doesn't love him, but I think you can take a shot here. He's been playing bigger minutes of late with the Pelicans really thin in the front court and has been moderately productive. One key for him is that he's been seeing more shots in the starting lineup and its led to a bump in his scoring. He can get to the boards as well, though I wouldn't expect double digits as the norm in that area. Cheap enough that you can take the risk on his minutes without it crushing you too hard if he stinks.

Amir Johnson - FD 4700 DK 4000 DFSTR 4600
Patrick Patterson - FD 4700 DK 3900 DFSTR 4300
Really, really wish they didn't split minutes because I'd snap call whichever guy could just play 30 minutes. Alas, that isn't the case and they are time sharing. Even with the minutes' split you can consider them against the weak Sixers.

 

Center

Hassan Whiteside - FD 7600 DK 8200 DFSTR 5200
Yikes. What do you think we would have been saying if some quack, a few months ago had predicted we'd be starting a upper price tier Hassan Whiteside. After the laughing stopped we would have said, "Hassan who?" and then kept laughing. And yet here we are. Whiteside shows no plans of slowing down on his production. In fact, the minutes are even more secure now that the Heat are dealing with some injuries in the frontcourt. Whiteside ripped down 24 rebounds last game and has a great matchup against the Suns in this one. Though they are a bit better defensively with Alex Len, they still aren't good and Hassan should have another field day on the glass.

Spencer Hawes - FD 3800 DK 3600 DFSTR 3900
If you want to go on the cheaper end, Hawes makes an interesting play. He'd been quietly productive over the short term before finally busting out a bit yesterday against the Bulls. He put together a complete game with a 14/9/3 (blocks) game that had him as a top value play on the whole slate. The minutes are there and if he can turn the scoring on even a little he can crush this price. As it stands I see him as a safer pts/$ play though I will be hard pressed to get away from Whiteside.

You can consider Deandre Jordan as he's clearly a different player with Blake off the court. I just think the price is getting a bit out of hand.
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