Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 1/13/16

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POINT GUARD

Rajon Rondo - FD 8000 DK 8600
Opponent - NOP
FD Proj. Pts - 39.48 DK Proj. Pts - 40.22
Ooh what a matchup for Rondo tonight. Only the Lakers and the Bucks are worse than the Pelicans in terms of defensive efficiency this season and are allowing 8% more scoring and 2% more assists than league average to opposing point guards. I think you see Rondo playa minutes in the mid-to-high thirties tonight and get back to some of his higher fantasy scoring ways. One of the more fantasy-friendly matchups on the slate.

Tyreke Evans - FD 7800 DK 8200
Opponent - SAC
FD Proj. Pts - 37.44 DK Proj. Pts - 38.73
Jrue Holiday - FD 6200 DK 6400
Opponent - SAC
FD Proj. Pts - 30.52 DK Proj. Pts - 32.06
These two are good plays with all things being equal, but really get ramped up if Brow can't go again. They get big time usage bumps when Davis is off the court and would be in line for increased volume if the Pelican star couldn't play again tonight. Going to be tough to get this news prior to the early lineup lock, but something to keep in mind.

Russell Westbrook - FD 10900 DK 10700
Opponent - DAL
FD Proj. Pts - 49.17 DK Proj. Pts - 50.92
He certainly feels like one of the safest plays in the league right now. Even with Durant around, Westbrook is a force in and of himself doing just about everything on the basketball court. And because the Thunder second unit is so trashy, Westbrook and Durant both have to play big minutes in games like this. They need to keep OKC in it. Dallas is below average defending opposing point guards this season and I think Westbrook makes a ton of sense even at these prices.

SHOOTING GUARD

Avery Bradley - FD 5000 DK 5000
Opponent - IND
FD Proj. Pts - 24.25 DK Proj. Pts - 26.21
He came back from injury and just started playing those minutes again. Bradley ran 38 in his first game though he struggled from the field. Scoring is where Bradley's bread is buttered in the Celtics' offense as he won't add too many other points around the margins. Indiana is a worse defensive team than the Grizzlies against shooting guards this season and I like Bradley's chances of hitting value at these prices. The minutes are the key as I think the shots will be there for him.

Arron Afflalo - FD 4700 DK 4900
Opponent - BKN
FD Proj. Pts - 24.15 DK Proj. Pts - 26.2
I'm ok with Afflalo either way, but I'm much more interested in him if Melo were to sit tonight. Anthony came out of last night's game in the 3rd with a bum ankle. That leaves a lot of shot attempts for the Knicks and Afflalo's primary threat is with scoring. He'd be in line for a ton of minutes because the Knicks will need points and the usage rate stands to see a bump.

Wayne Ellington - FD 3500 DK 3700
Opponent - NYK
FD Proj. Pts - 18.19 DK Proj. Pts - 19.81
Is he good at NBA basketball? Not particularly. And while that isn't the most rousing of endorsements, I do think there are some reasons to consider Ellington on this slate if he's drawing the start again for the Nets. Shooting guard is a weaker position and I don't advocate paying much, if anything here if you can avoid it. He got shots up last game but couldn't hit the three. Knock just one of them down and you were looking at a 5x performance from the guy. This is a good matchup against the Knicks and if he's pushing 30 minutes again then I don't mind punting with Ellington.

SMALL FORWARD

Otto Porter - FD 6100 DK 6700
Opponent - MIL
FD Proj. Pts - 28.55 DK Proj. Pts - 29.63
Porter is existing in the DFS landscape right now even without the absurd minutes he was playing not too long ago. But even without the insane run, Porter's getting up double digit shots in the right matchup. And Milwaukee is that kind of matchup. Only the Lakers have been worse in terms of defensive efficiency this season and the Bucks are particularly bad against small forwards. They allow 11% more scoring than league average to the position. Porter feels very safe on this slate.

Andrew Wiggins - FD 6500 DK 6500
Opponent - HOU
FD Proj. Pts - 30.25 DK Proj. Pts - 31.09
Wiggins has been playing at a high level lately, taking over more of the scoring load in the right matchups. Houston's getting shredded by shooting guard/ small forward types this season especially in the scoring department. And that's great news for Wiggins considering scoring is his game. Wiggins will sink you if he isn't finding the scoring tough which makes him a little tougher to stomach in cash games. But I think this matchup and price is almost too good to pass up.

Nicolas Batum - FD 7300 DK 7400
Opponent - ATL
FD Proj. Pts - 33.81 DK Proj. Pts - 36.01
After sitting out a few games, Batum was back to his big minute ways against Denver. The only issue with that game was the shot volume which has been down in his last couple (pre and post injury). He really needs to be in the double digits in terms of shot attempts at these prices. He keeps his floor higher because he will contribute in other area, but the scoring is key for Batum, especially from three.

POWER FORWARD

Kristaps Porzingis - FD 6300 DK 7000
Opponent - BKN
FD Proj. Pts - 29.87 DK Proj. Pts - 30.88
We saw the other night what decent power forwards can do to the Nets. Lamarcus Aldridge just had his way with Thad Young and whatever other body the Nets through his way. Brooklyn is just garbage and Porzingis could be an equal kind of problem down low if the Knicks feed him the ball. As it stands, he's a solid play at these price (better deal on FD) and the minutes seem to have leveled off at around 30 per game. After being a popular play last night and more than paying, you'll see some high ownership percentages tonight.

Drew Gooden - FD 3800 DK 3800
Opponent - MIL
FD Proj. Pts - 23.41 DK Proj. Pts - 24.35
Look, I'm a humanist so I am always rooting for speedy recoveries to my fellow man. No one likes someone being hurt. That being said, things sure would be a lot easier on the DFS front if Marcin Gortat's knee infection kept him out another game. Good tore it up in 27 minutes against the Bulls, putting up 10/12/3 line that crushed his min-prices. He'd be a near must-play if Gortat sat. Nene got the start, but Gooden played the minutes.

Ryan Anderson - FD 5500 DK 6500
Opponent - SAC
FD Proj. Pts - 27.75 DK Proj. Pts - 30.64
Anthony Davis was ruled out 90 minutes before game time yesterday which means he wasn't all that close to playing. If he were to sit again tonight then I Anderson becomes an almost auto-start who's only not because the other two guys on this list are fantastic points/$ plays as well. There are a bunch of great options on this slate at every position and Anderson sans Brow is another one of those guys.

CENTER

DeMarcus Cousins - FD 10600 DK 10500
Opponent - NOP
FD Proj. Pts - 48.38 DK Proj. Pts - 48.97
Potentially, there will be a bunch of ways to save on such a big slate. I've outlined a few of them above. And will savings comes the ability to spend in other places. That's where Boogie comes in. He's been on a crushing tour of late, averaging 32/13 in his last five. Those numbers are just nuts and could continue tonight against a Pelican team getting trounced by opposing centers and well below average against power forwards (depending on where Boogie falls in the rotation). Center is a tough position, making Cousins an obvious and safe play.

Karl-Anthony Towns - FD 7400 DK 6600
Opponent - HOU
FD Proj. Pts - 34.35 DK Proj. Pts - 34.96
He's a fantastic play on DraftKings where Cousins qualifies as a power forward. Towns will get jerked around with minutes, but that's a little easier to take with his lower DraftKings' tag. Houston is about league average against opposing centers on the season and I think Minny will be able to hang in this one. Towns is a double-double threat especially if the pace is getting pushed.

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