Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 2/14/17

It's Valentines day in the NBA and while love may be in the air, Kevin Love will not be on the court in Minnesota. Meanwhile on a condensed three game slate all eyes are on Chicago, as news on their big guns will impact how all of our lineups shake out. Given what we know right now, let's see what the system likes for our top plays...
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Point Guard

Darren Collison FD - $5700 DK - $7100
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 29.65 DK - 31.79
Darren Collison had one of his best all around games of the season on Sunday against the Pelicans. For the second game in a row with Ty Lawson out, Collison ran the boards for over 40 minutes and finished the night with a 20/6/8 line with 3 steals. The price has seen a bit of an uptick recently, but still is too low to pass on. Even at this salary hes paid an average of over 6X fantasy points per dollar in his last 3 games. Its a prime match up with the Lakers tonight, and with Lawson currently a GTD Collison is a great play across all formats.

Kyle Lowry FD - $8500 DK - $8100
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 39.32 DK - 42.39
Lowry would normally be a guy to headline the point guard position, but along with the Raptors as a whole, he has struggled a bit recently. Over his last 5 games, he's shot 27 of 76 from the field and 15 of 43 from beyond the arc. He did flash some signs of life his last time out against the Pistons, and with the price dropping a thousand dollars from where it was nearly two weeks ago, along with a match up with a Bulls team that is just hurting, this could be the night for it all to turn around for Lowry. These two teams play at a similar albeit sluggish pace, but the Bulls are poor on defense and could be even worse off, if their studs miss out tonight. Definitely worth a look in cash.

Ricky Rubio FD - $6800 DK - $6900
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 32.94 DK - 35.13
Speaking of the Bulls and their injury woes, Ricky Rubio torched them on Sunday picking up his second straight double double, and his third in four games. With Zach LaVine out for the season, Rubio has seen increased run and taken full advantage of the added minutes. Over the last 4 games hes averaging over 32 minutes and paying 5X points per dollar. The Cavs are the most generous team to opposing point guards and Rubio could be looking at another strong outing.

If Wade and Butler sit again tonight, Rajon Rondo makes for an interesting tournament only punt play.

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan FD - $8700 DK - $8000
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 40.07 DK - 41.82
Three games back from that extended absence due to an ankle injury, DeMar seems to be locked in. He's putting in 38 minutes a game, and has scored at least 26 points in all three. In Sundays loss to the Pistons, he went 10-21 from the field and 6-7 from the line. Like Kyle Lowry above, Double D is staring down a juicy opportunity with a Bulls team that is hurting. Wade and Butler are up in the air, and even if they play, they could be restricted. The Raptors are in need of a morale booster, and tonight could be the night for DeRozan to help them there.

Nick Young FD - $4600 DK - $4300
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 22.39 DK - 24.01
The Lakers unleashed the beast on the Bucks Friday night, and Swaggy P led the charge. He finished the night with 26 points, going 8 of 11 from the field, 5-8 beyond, and a perfect 5 of 5 at the line. He rounded out with 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Over his last 4 games he's averaged 17.3 points and paid nearly 6X points per dollar. Tonight the Kings come in to the Staples Center and they've allowed the most fantasy points over the last 5 games to opposing SGs. While it's no secret Young can be a little streaky at times, his recent game logs coupled with the match up have me loving him for tournaments, and strongly considering him for cash games as well.

Michael Carter-Williams FD - $4600 DK - $5200
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 27 DK - 28.99
This play is clearly predicated on Wade and Butler sitting out another game. If they do in fact miss, MCW shoots to the top of the pack even in a tough match with DeMar and the Raptors. While the Raptors are the stingiest defense at the position this season, they've been a little more giving over the last 5 games. With the studs out on Sunday against the Timberwolves, a tough defensive match up in their own right, he put out a performance that wasn't pretty (6 turnovers 4-12 fro mthe field) but the end result was worth 6X points per dollar. Keep your eye on the update article for news on Wade and Butler, but if word comes down that they're not yet set to return, then give strong consideration to MCW.

Small Forward

Matt Barnes FD - $5100 DK - $5100
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 24.61 DK - 26.88
With the Kings suffering a trio of injuries Matt Barnes has been thrust in to the rotation and the result has been straight production. Since the start of February he has seen over 30 minutes in all but 1 game, in that time averaging 10 points, 9 boards, and 3 dimes. The price has been on a slow rise, but still about $400 shy of where it probably should be. The Lakers can't defend the three, giving up 11% more points, 7% more rebounds and 19 % more assists at the position. Barnes could be in line for his third double double in six games and is playable in all formats.

DeMarre Carroll FD - $4200 DK - $4200
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 23.53 DK - 25.25
DeMarre Carroll has been painful to roster through most of the season, but it seems over the course of his last few games something has clicked. In three of his last 4, he has managed double digit points in at least 32 minutes of play. Wednesday against Minnesota he was just a board shy of his second double double of the season. Over the last 5 games, only one of which Jimmy Butler played in, Chicago's given up the third most fantasy points in the league to opposing threes. If Buckets is out tonight, Carroll could be in for a big night.

Doug McDermott FD - $3800 DK - $3800
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 19.31 DK - 21.07
If Carroll does have that big night, it will be mostly due to the fact that Doug McDermott is starting once again in place of Jimmy Butler. Even at his bargain basement pricing, if McDermott does draw another start, he's really only playable in cash games, since all he really does is shoot and the upside is nonexistent. On Sunday, with no Butler and no Wade, McDermott picked up 16 points, going 4 of 7 from three in 29 minutes. Outside of that, all he contributed was a rebound and 2 assists. If you're looking for salary relief and it's confirmed he's starting then McDermott is fine for cash games but don't expect him to help you bring down any large tournaments.

Power Forward

Channing Frye FD - $4600 DK - $4900
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 26.5 DK - 28.88
What is Valentines day without Love? Well for Channing Frye, its starting for the Cavs against the Timberwolves. Frye will likely draw the start for Kevin Love who stayed in Cleveland to get a second opinion on his sore left knee. We don't have a lot to go on with Frye. He has only had 3 starts this season in which he averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds and .7 blocks. In the 5 games since the first of January that he has seen 20 minutes or more of action he averaged 26 fantasy points per game, good for 5.6X at this salary, so if you think the minutes are there against a league average Timberwolves defense, then Frye is definitely in the conversation.

Taj Gibson FD - $4600 DK - $5000
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 25.12 DK - 26.16
Ouch! If you're like me, you got burnt bad on Sunday. With so many bulls out, Gibson looked like a clear play to go off and instead managed only 2 points in 17 minutes, to go along with 5 rebounds and an assist. So, why is he even being discussed here? Well, primarily because there are only 6 teams playing tonight, no Kevin Love makes for a really shallow PF pool and we have to talk about someone. But if we look a little further in to it, here are a few more things to consider. First off, the Raptors are bad at power forward. Like bottom ten in the league bad. Second, Gibson was about 66% owned in cash games on FanDuel Sunday. So two thirds of the DFS community has recency bias against the dude, meaning even on this short slate with limited options he could go low owned. Third, There's still the injury factor, if Wade, Butler, and the others sit yet another game, the opportunity is there and we are more likely to see the Gibson that put up 10 or more points in 4 of his last 5 contests. I wouldn't blame you if you fade him but the projection system likes Gibson, and unlike McDermott, if all the elements come together, he could be the guy to help take down a large tournament.

Gorgui Dieng FD - $5600 DK - $5300
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 26.56 DK - 27.87
I did warn you that no Kevin Love had us looking rough at power forward right? Okay, just making sure. Gorgui Dieng is playing 32 minutes per game this season and while the performance has been a little unsteady, recently he's been on a bit of an upswing. He picked up his eighth double double of the season against the Bulls on Sunday, and double digit baskets for the third time in his last 4 games. Cleveland is the eighth worse defense in the league at the four, and that is with Kevin Love. Tonight Dieng will get the added benefit of dealing with Channing Frye. I'm not sure that provides much in the way of upside, but should definitely pad the safety for solid cash game option.

Center

DeMarcus Cousins FD - $11400 DK - $12100
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 56.26 DK - 59.35
Boogie is clear and away the play at center. He's one of the most dominant forces in the NBA and even at these prices it's hard to argue with all he brings to the game. He notched his 32nd double double of the season against the Pelicans on Sunday, and flirted with triple double territory in his last 2 outings. The concern with rostering Cousins lies in the discipline. he easily finds himself in foul trouble, and picked up his 17th techinical of the season Sunday, he also has a hard time protecting the ball averaging 5 turnovers in his past 5 games. With all that though the production can't be matched. The Lakers have nobody that they can throw out there with any hope of containing Boogie, and he should have his way with their bottom of the league defense against opposing 5's. I'm going to give another play at center because that's just how we do here at DFSR, but personally, I'm looking at Boogie everywhere.

Jonas Valanciunas FD - $5900 DK - $5400
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 30.98 DK - 32.35
If you're one of those people that just has to go against the grain, and want an option at center besides Cousins, then give a good look to Jonas Valanciunas. JV has seen his minutes all over the place recently, going as low as 26 and as high as 35 in his last 5 turns. When the minutes are there so is the production. Dating back to January 18th, he has had 6 games of 30+ minutes and double doubled in all but the most recent. In that game, Sunday against the Pistons, he came just one board shy of another double double. Robin Lopez is a league average defender and if you think the minutes are there, then there's definitely a case to be made for JV. I'll personally be going all in with Cousins, but if you want to try something different, Valanciunas could make for a nice contrarian play.

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