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FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Sunday, 2/23/20
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Point Guard
Lonzo Ball FD - $6200 DK - $7300
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 37.49 DK - 38.65
Ball has been the absolute vision of consistency recently, going for 30+ fantasy points in 10 straight games and 22 of his last 23. Ridiculous. DraftKings has caught up with the price, but FanDuel is characteristically falling behind, and he could be unanimously owned there against a terrible Golden State team that has allowed the fourth most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.
Malcolm Brogdon FD - $6100 DK - $7000
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 36.3 DK - 37.45
Oladipo has been listed as doubtful for this game, and taking his time on ball away directly feeds Malcolm Brogdon. The Pacers' point guard had 34.2 and 35.2 FanDuel points in back to back games against the Raptors right before the All-Star break, and taking Oladipo out of the picture only sweetens the deal. I don't know that Brogdon has big tournament upside in a tough match-up here, but he should be a rock solid cash game inclusion.
If you believe in the minutes, Dejounte Murray is a great value today.
Shooting Guard
C.J. McCollum FD - $7000 DK - $8400
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 39.44 DK - 40.66
With Lillard already ruled out of this game, it's shaping up to be another 90%+ ownership CJ night. I'm not sure who is asleep at the wheel over at FanDuel where this price is truly comical, but I think you can easily justify it on DraftKings as well. The Trail Blazers went into the fourth quarter down 19 to the Pelicans and McCollum still managed 37 minutes and 44 fantasy points. Going up against the G-League Pistons should mean McCollum's minutes are nearly guaranteed, and he should also be guaranteed to be in your cash game lineups.
Malik Beasley FD - $5200 DK - $5800
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 26.94 DK - 27.59
The new look Wolves might not be great, but they are at least playing consistent minutes. Beasley has averaged 27.5 points on 36 minutes in his last two games, and has launched 22 three pointers into the air in those contests. He's also averaged 36.5 FanDuel points - truly excellent production on these prices. Heading into Denver is no easy task normally, but keep in mind that Beasley has done almost all his conditioning there this season, so any altitude issues should be mitigated. I love Beasley as a cheap way to get value from a tough position.
With the Pistons continuing to be immensely short handed, Bruce Brown could be a great cash game play as well.
Small Forward
Carmelo Anthony FD - $5000 DK - $5600
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 29.98 DK - 30.52
Trevor Ariza FD - $5000 DK - $5000
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 26.69 DK - 26.51
No Lillard means we're distributing his minutes and usage largely to the other starters, and there were no greater beneficiaries than Melo and Ariza. Our system leans toward Melo and his scoring-based contributions, but Ariza was nearly his equal against the Pels with a 13/8/2 line with 3 defensive stats to boot. These two have a huge floor in almost any game script, as like McCollum, they both nearly saw their full rotation in spite of getting blown out by the Pelicans. I'd still prefer Melo, but I'd be happy with both.
OG Anunoby FD - $4600 DK - $4800
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 25.52 DK - 25.22
OG has had an odd 3 game stretch, straddling a terrible performance against the Nets with two monsters against Minnesota and Phoenix. He top 30 fantasy points against Phoenix on the back of 5 defensive stats, and while you can't rely on that as a matter of course you have to love the 38 minutes of run he got. I think I'd prefer the Portland duo, but don't sleep on OG as a big tournament sleeper.
Power Forward
Naz Reid FD - $4500 DK - $5500
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 40.74 DK - 41.34
With Towns out indefinitely with a fractured risk, we're looking at Naz Reid's world. He was only ~%50 owned after drawing the start for Towns last time, and I'm happy to say DFSR was on the right side of history. Reid has been a two-way points per minute beast all season, and flexing into the starting role seemed to suit him. He scored 40.3 FanDuel points in a tough match-up with Boston, and while this Denver match-up is no cakewalk, the price is still a bit silly. Buy low and don't think twice about it.
Zion Williamson FD - $7700 DK - $8500
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 42.08 DK - 42.79
Zion is a funny guy, because while the eye test and actual basketball production has absolutely lived up to the hype, the DFS production really hasn't been anything special. He has basically two good games on these prices this season, and the rest have been pretty mediocre. So why include him here? Well, I think there is context around him being relatively slow to break out. First of all, there really haven't been that many games that Zion has played his full rotation. We know that the Pels will play him 32 (and maybe more) minutes, but they've been involved in a number of odd game scripts that have sidelined him early. There's a risk that they blow the Dubs out here, but with Draymond Green out the Warriors just don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell of covering him. I'm ready to go back to the Zion well tonight.
Also considered: Eric Paschall with Draymond Green already ruled out for the Dubs.
Center
Hassan Whiteside FD - $9000 DK - $9700
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 46.36 DK - 45.77
Whiteside rounds out our Portland stack nicely. He was a chalk option against New Orleans, and in arguably an even better match-up with Thon Maker and a worse night for the position you have to believe people will roll this back on FanDuel. DraftKings is a different story, where the price looks prohibitive, but this looks for all the world like a game where Whiteside will be bum hunting.
Discussing the rest:
Center gets pretty difficulty after Whiteside. Jokic looks too expensive. Chriss could get there, but Golden State is such a mess without Draymond that I don't know that you can trust the game to stay close enough for him to get there. The same goes for Thon Maker.
If you can't afford Whiteside, I could see rolling Steven Adams out there again. He's been cranking recently, and is fresh off a game where he utterly dominated a better Denver front court. Still, I think I'd like to stick with Whiteside on FanDuel.
