Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 2/28/17

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Point Guard

Kemba Walker FD - $8200 DK - $8300
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 41.31 DK - 44.19
The Hornets are 2-8 in their last ten games and are currently 2.5 games out of the 8 spot in the east. Tonight they stay out in La La Land to take on the Lakers, a team they should, and must beat. It's been a dismal month and Kemba Walker will look to turn things around tonight in a fast paced shoot out against a defense that is overly generous to point guards. The Lakers are allowing 3% more points and 9% more assists to the position this season and Walker's been shooting exceptionally well lately scoring 34 points in 2 of his last 3 and paying 5X value in 3 of his last 5. An excellent play in all formats.

Damian Lillard FD - $8400 DK - $8400
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 41.36 DK - 44.38
Another guy who has been finding the net easily recently is Damian Lillard. He's scored at least 20 points in 7 of his last 8 games, and has sunk at least one trey in 38 straight. While the Pistons are not the Lakers, they are a bottom ten defense at the position, they do however play at a much slower pace. This could limit Lillards upside some. There is little blowout risk here so Lillard should see his usual allotment of minutes in the mid thirties. I like Lillard just fine for cash but feel he lacks the upside needed for a big tournament.

George Hill FD - $6000 DK - $6400
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 32.47 DK - 34.27
Stepping out of the shadows of Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert is George Hill. The Jazz have gone 7-3 this month, due in part to Hill stepping up his game. In the month, he's averaging 19.1 points per game, 2.9 from beyond, along with 3.6 assists, 2.4 boards and 1.3 steals. All the while the price has hovered right around the 6k mark. Tonight he'll contend with the Thunder and Russell Westbrook, but while Russ may be a triple double threat, OKC is a bottom ten defense at the one and allows 7% more rebounds, 5% more assists and 8% more steals per game. If you can't fit the two guys above Hill provides needed salary relief with just as much safety.

Shooting Guard

Nicolas Batum FD - $7500 DK - $7500
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 35.4 DK - 38.3
Nicolas Batum was locked in the zone on Sunday against the Clippers. He finished the night with 31 points, connecting from beyond the arc a season high 8 times in 13 tries, while also picking up 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a block. He ran the boards a total of 43 minutes in the overtime loss and averaged a fantasy point per minute. Coming in to Sunday night Batum had been in a bit of a slump coming in below 4X fantasy points per dollar in 4 straight games. Sunday presented a return to form for the player we were used to seeing earlier this month averaging 35 fantasy points per game over the first 5 games this month. It really doesn't matter the position, the Lakers are just bad at defense. When the Nets aren't playing, all eyes turn to the Lakers opponent. Just like his back court teammate Walker above, Batum should make for a fine option across all formats tonight.

C.J. McCollum FD - $7400 DK - $7100
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 36.21 DK - 38.86
C.J. McCollum has finished the month out on kind of a rocky road after riding a strong January in to the start of the month. With the decreased production the price has taken a dip as well down about $700 from where it was earlier this month. Detroit is tougher at the two than they are at the point, but I can see KCP having a tough time keeping pace with McCollum and if he is able to break away and make his shots he could be in for a big night.

Small Forward

Jimmy Butler FD - $9300 DK - $9300
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 45.39 DK - 47.19
It seems that heel is doing just fine, since missing several games just before the All Star break, Jimmy Butler has averaged 40 minutes per game and put up his first triple double of the season against a Cleveland team missing LeBron. He finished out Sunday with an 18/10/10 line, plus a steal. In those 4 games back he has paid at least 4.75X, up to 5X value. Tonight Chicago welcomes the Denver Nuggets to town and their league average defense. Danilo Gallinari is a serviceable player, but he really is out classed and trying to keep pace with Jimmy Buckets may prove too much for him. The price is just a little steep to really anticipate much up side, but the safety can not be denied. A cash game must.

Wilson Chandler FD - $6600 DK - $6600
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 29.84 DK - 31.98
Kenneth Faried has already been ruled out for tonight's game with the Bulls so look for Wilson Chandler to draw another start at power forward for the Nuggets. Chandler was a little off Sunday against the Grizzlies, going only 5 for 15 from the field, but still filled out a nifty little stat sheet with 14 total points, 9 boards and 6 assists. Overall it was enough for him to just barely squeak by paying value. Now that he has had a chance to familiarize himself once again to running with the starters, he should give a better showing this time around. Vegas has this as one of the higher scoring games of the night and only a 3.5 differential so the minutes should be there for Chandler in a great spot. Love him in all formats.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist FD - $5700 DK - $5400
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 27.5 DK - 28.61
Another Hornet. Are you seeing the theme? The Lakers are the Nets of the west. Fast paced and defensively challenged. At the three, they are giving 7% more boards than league average, and that is MKG's bread and butter. Sunday night at the Clippers, he fouled out early and finished the night with only 2 points, six boards and two assists, Tonight he is in a much better spot and should bounce back nicely against the Lakers. Before Sunday night MKG had three straight games paying over 5X points per dollar and tonight I see that as his floor with a 6X ceiling. Across the board an excellent option.

Power Forward

Frank Kaminsky FD - $5900 DK - $6900
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 33.5 DK - 35.3
One more Hornet. I promise, this will be the last. Frank the Tank has taken control of the Charlotte front court with Miles Plumlee and Cody Zeller both missing several games apiece. While Zeller is yet again listed as a GTD we know Plumlee will be out yet again, so Kaminsky is a good value with potential to be a great value if Zeller indeed misses yet another game. Kaminsky fouled out after only 28 minutes Sunday against the Clippers, but was seeing a steady run in the upper thirties leading up to that. Like MKG above, this is a much better spot tonight and the Lakers present a dream match up. Even with the early departure he managed to drop 16 points while snagging 5 boards and handing out 4 assists, nearly paying value. Until the sites adjust their pricing to match the opportunity, and while it's close, it's still not quite there yet, I'll continue to roll out the tank on a nightly basis.

Jon Leuer FD - $4600 DK - $5000
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 27.04 DK - 28.43
Jon Leuer finds himself in a nice spot tonight after a forgettable outing against the Celtics where he scored 10 points, and did little else in only 25 minutes. Tonight Detroit is hosting the TrailBlazers giving Leuer a combo of Vonleh and Aminu to have his way with. The Blazers are the third most generous team in the league to opposing power forwards, allowing a staggering 14% more points and assists and 10% more rebounds. The price on Leur has come down a bit and with the match up he should easily pay value. A cheap way to escape the position with even the potential for a little upside.

Nikola Mirotic FD - $4400 DK - $5000
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 24.67 DK - 26.83
Yeah, When I first looked at the picks my inital thought was how do I sell Nikola Mirotic, but have you seen what he has done in his last few games with Taj Gibson traded off to OKC? In the first game back from the break he ran for 37 minutes and put up 20(!) points, snagging 8 rebounds and had 2 assists. Then next game out against the Loveless Cavs on Sunday he puts up a double double in 29 minutes with 14 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, and two steals. What I'm saying here is since the All Star break Nikola Mirotic has paid 6.7 and 7.1X per dollar at this salary, which for the record shot up on both sites since Sunday. I mean, I suppose there is always the chance we can see the Mirotic that put up over 15 fantasy points just once in 5 February games prior to the break, but as a gpp play, the argument is there and if I'm being honest, I can't say I would leave him out of my cash games.

Center

Jusuf Nurkic FD - $5300 DK - $5800
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 30.69 DK - 32.71
So far, life as a Blazer is going much better for Jusuf Nurkic's fantasy performance than it has for his teeth. He had 2 crowns knocked out in Sundays game against the Raptors. He played through it and was limited only by foul trouble. He ended the night with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in just 21 minutes. In the prior game against the Magic he exploded for a double double, 12 each, points and boards, along with 5 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals in 34 minutes. The teeth have been repaired and while Detroit presents a tough match up with Andre Drummond, look for Nurkic to go all out to show his new team they made the right move bringing him in.

Alex Len FD - $4800 DK - $4000
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 25.25 DK - 26.67
Coach Watson has shelved Tyson Chandler for the first two games back from the all star break, giving the start to Alex Len and splitting time with Alan Williams. In the first game Len ran the boards for 35 minutes against the Bulls but only managed 4 points and 7 rebounds paired with an assist and two blocks. The next game against the Bucks, he only saw 14 minutes but actually performed slightly better with 6 points 9 boards and 2 steals. Memphis is tough on opposing centers, but if you think the minutes are there, then Len makes for an intriguing tournament play. for cash games however, I'll stay with Nurkic.

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