Daily Fantasy NBA Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 11/17/15

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Our projection system handles the little bits of pricing and projecting differences. That being said, for this opening slate I think you are very much going to be taking a stars and punts approach.

POINT GUARD

Dennis Schroder - FD 4800 DK 4600
Opponent - BKN FD Proj. Pts - 28.75 DK Proj. Pts - 29.97
He's a must start in cash games tomorrow. Don't know any more clear way to put that. With Teague out, Schroder becomes the de facto point guard and his price is nowhere near where it should be considering the opportunity he'll see for the Hawks tonight. He played 33 minutes against Utah the other night and put up an 11/9/6 line which more than pays these salaries. He won't be sneaking up on anyone here considering Teague is out tonight and there's been plenty of lead time. Put him in cash games without hesitation.

Michael Carter-Williams - FD 7000 DK 6000
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 33.05 DK Proj. Pts - 33.72
He came back from an extended injury layoff last game and Jason Kidd promptly played him 40 minutes. Expect some similar run tonight against the Wizards. Carter-Williams can't shoot from the the outside, but his length and some quickness helps him contribute in multiple areas on the stat sheet. The Wizards are playing at the fastest pace in the league this season, while the Bucks are the slowest. I love when slower teams get into these kinds of matchups because the volume goes way up. That should be the case for MCW tonight.

Mo Williams - FD 6100 DK 6200
Opponent - DET FD Proj. Pts - 28.26 DK Proj. Pts - 30.82
He's really more of a tournament play because he's so scoring dependent, but Williams has really taken over some of Kyrie's role as a ball-dominant point guard. I wouldn't consider him real safe, but the system likes the shot volume he's seeing in the right matchup. Granted, JR Smith saw a ton of minutes in the double overtime against the Bucks, but I'd still take a shot on Mo in tournaments today.

Consider Garrett Temple as a min-priced punt if he got the start again for Beal. I'm also contractually obligated to mention Steph Curry here because well, he's the best. Very expensive and Toronto is a slower squad who defends PGs well enough. Though Steph is Steph and is really always in play.

SHOOTING GUARD

Will Barton - FD 5000 DK 4700
Opponent - NOP FD Proj. Pts - 21.72 DK Proj. Pts - 22.62
Count me in the camp of never truly trusting the minutes for Nuggets' guys. Dudes will get full run one game and then be relegated to the bench and never heard from again. (see: Faried, Kenneth) That being said, Barton has been playing so well and so many minutes in the short term that I sincerely doubt he's buzzed completely off in this game. I suspect Barton is one of the more popular plays on the day considering his recent performance and the projected flow of this game. He's averaged 22/8/2 since joining the starting unit and this is a good matchup tonight.

Eric Gordon - FD 6000 DK 6300
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 28.1 DK Proj. Pts - 30.85
He just plays so many damn minutes for the Pelicans. That kind of safety is tough to come by and though his shot attempts drop when Brow is around in the lineup, the team does rely on Gordon as an outside scoring threat. The Nuggets are getting shredded by shooting guards this season and rank among the worst in the league at defending against that position. I'll take Gordon in the mid tier.

SMALL FORWARD

Andrew Wiggins - FD 7000 DK 6600
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 30.95 DK Proj. Pts - 31.78
The shot attempts are there and so are the minutes. What hasn't been around for Wiggins are any of the other stats. His rebounding is way down from last season and so are the steals. The latter may just be bad luck, but the former could be an issue with his shift to the two instead of Kevin Martin. I'm willing to keep playing Wiggins because of the run and the rest of the position is rather weak, but he's so scoring dependent that he can hurt you if the shot isn't falling.

Khris Middleton - FD 5700 DK 5800
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 28.07 DK Proj. Pts - 30.04
Like I said with MCW, I'm a fan of targeting the slow team playing against the fast one because the former is priced into a snail's pace. But much like Wiggins above, Middleton does need things to go right for him to pay off. Namely: he needs the three to fall. The Wiz are getting trucked by small forwards this season, so there's reason to suspect he puts up a solid line, but he's always a guy who leaves me queasy heading into lineup lock.

Marcus Morris - FD 6100 DK 6500
Opponent - CLE FD Proj. Pts - 28.05 DK Proj. Pts - 30.17
He'll most likely be tasked with guarding Lebron in this one, which is always an issue for anyone. But I can take a shot on him especially if you think this game stays close throughout.

Consider Justice Winslow as a low-ceiling cheap guy

POWER FORWARD

Anthony Davis - FD 10900 DK 10800
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 52.86 DK Proj. Pts - 53.62
The price is simply too low and he should be a 100% start on this slate. If he's not, then you can at least feel good about your chances going in. Davis is under-priced for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me except some early season struggles. If games stay close he sees close to 40 minutes, has as high a fantasy ceiling as any player in basketball and is going one of the worst teams in the league at defending the interior. The Nuggets get shredded down low and seeing as how PF is always a little thin, you can safely roll him out in cash games.

Kris Humphries - FD 4000 DK 3900
Opponent - MIL FD Proj. Pts - 21.31 DK Proj. Pts - 22.25
If he gets another start at power forward for the Wizards then you can really feel great about playing him at these prices. Humphries is a classic example of the old NBA minutes piece. There are many, many players with similar skill sets and talent. What separates them for DFS is how much they can get in the game. Humphries, as a rebounding and scoring four covers these salaries if the minutes are in the 30's.

Thaddeus Young - FD 5800 DK 5900
Opponent - ATL FD Proj. Pts - 28.31 DK Proj. Pts - 29.16
Atlanta is playing real short-handed tonight without Teague and Bazemore which could help Brooklyn stay in this game. Don't let that game against the Warriors the other night fool you, the Nets stink. But Thad, when he sees minutes is some fantasy goodness. Rebounds and scores plenty enough to cover these salaries and he's a guy our system typically loves if you assume he sees a little north of 30 minutes.

CENTER

Greg Monroe - FD 8200 DK 8100
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 34.66 DK Proj. Pts - 35.2O
I really think you are going to be spending some money at this position tonight unless some kind of safer punt opens up during the day. But I don't really see that kind of thing happening which will probably leave you having to kick up some dollars at center. Monroe has to be enjoying his time in Milwaukee (assuming he drafted himself in fantasy) as he's playing big minutes and averaging an 18/10 on the season. Washington's been middle of the pack against centers this season and the game projects as one of the highest overs on the day and should stay closer. Monroe might not have enormous upside, but I think his floor is higher than the two guys below.

Hassan Whiteside - FD 8300 DK 8100
Opponent - MIN FD Proj. Pts - 38.76 DK Proj. Pts - 39.41
Karl-Anthony Towns - FD 6800 DK 7500
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 33.86 DK Proj. Pts - 34.39
I'm grouping these guys together for a couple of reasons. First off, in a somewhat similar price range, Monroe is safer than these two as the minutes are there more on the average and the matchup is better. Towns and Whiteside will face each other and are both big reasons their respective teams are among the best in the league against starting centers. But both can really fill it up in the right game and have very high ceilings if everything breaks right.

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