Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet 2/23/14

Welcome to Sunday Funday in the NBA. We've got a full day of games which is great for me, bad for the rest of my family. So many great matchups going down today. I'm giddy.

When you're making lineups today be sure to use our FanDuel spreadsheet to see the expectations for players. It'll help building optimal lineups. We also have one for DraftStreet lineups. These are free today. On to the picks!

 

Point Guards

Ricky Rubio - FanDuel $6,900 DraftKings $7,500 DraftStreet $15,585
It sure seems like Rubio has enjoyed Kevin Martin's time away from the team. He's shooting the ball more, scoring more, while still handing out assists and grabbing boards. The key for Rubio is the scoring. If he's putting the ball in the basket his basement is so high. I think the price is getting a little pricey on DK ad DS but he should still be firmly in play against a Blazer team that is 10% worse than league average in allowing points and rebounds to opposing PGs.

Damian Lillard - FanDuel $7,700 DraftKings $8,100 DraftStreet $15,569
Speaking of the Blazers, I think you could profit from starting both Lillard and Rubio and watching them play very suspect defense against each other. Lillard, without Aldridge, is taking tons of shots and playing his already healthy supply of minutes. He should keep that going tonight against the Wolves and be able to score some extra points in transition. This game will be a track meet.

Chris Paul - FanDuel $8,600
There is some injury concern with his thumb, but I think CP3 gets up for this game and crushes this price. His salary is a little too high everywhere else, but here it's right in the sweet spot even with the injury concern. This should be a high scoring, fast paced game. OKC lets up its share of points and extra assists to opposing PGs. Paul is a nice play.

John Wall - FanDuel $9,000 DraftKings $9,000 DraftStreet $17,930
Wall tried very hard to ruin my night last night, taking the first half off in a lackadaisical approach to his profession. He crept toward value in the second half but it wasn't enough. There should be no excuse tonight. Cleveland is one of the worst teams in the league against opposing point guards. I especially like Wall's price on DraftStreet.

Kyrie Irving - DraftStreet $14,558
Speaking of DraftStreet, this could end up being a silly price for Kyrie. In the right situation he can pile on points. Granted, he can also sink your ship with a no show performance. I wouldn't take him for safety, though this salary, sub $15K is creeping into that range.

Isaiah Thomas - DraftKings $7,600 DraftStreet $14,477
I probably won't touch him on FanDuel, but take him into account on these two sites. Thomas doesn't seem to too much care who he's got in the lineup with him. He had a huge game with Boogie back. He's been great without him. Who knows what's happening with Denver's backcourt, but that should spell advantage for IT3.

 

Shooting Guards

DeMar DeRozan - FanDuel $8,500 DraftKings $7,700 DraftStreet $14,037
I'll have Derozan in a lot of lineups today. The price has come down quite a bit, especially on DraftKings and DraftStreet. He's been a bit up and down since the All-Star break but that was against Chicago, Cleveland ad Washington, three teams that actually handle shooting guards pretty well. Orlando does not. I suspect Oladipo will guard him, which could lead to some turnovers but otherwise Derozan could go off in this one.

Wesley Matthews - FanDuel $6,100 DraftKings $6,100 DraftStreet $10,585
Matthews is averaging 17.5 shots per game with Aldridge out of the lineup. That is the kind of volume I love to see from a SG. This position is always difficult to fill, but Matthews and his salary make that somewhat easier today. He offers the kind of safety we need, combined with upside at a price that allows some flexibility through the rest of the lineup.

Gerald Green - FanDuel $5,900 DraftKings $6,000 DraftStreet $10,425
Green's last two games have necessitated a price dip across the board, but take into mind they were against Boston and San Antonio, who both allow about 5% less scoring than league average to opposing SGs. Houston? 6% more. That's the kind of math I get horny for.

Joe Johnson - FanDuel $5,300 DraftKings $5,300
All Star Game selection Joe Johnson is priced below 5.5K. All Star Game selection Joe Johnson either shoots the lights out or bricks everything. All Star Game selection Joe Johnson is worth a look at these prices on minutes and volume alone.

 

Small Forwards

*As a note, I think I'm avoiding both Lebron and Durant today. For different reasons. Lebron has a tough defensive matchup against the Bulls. For Durant, I'm just not sure what his numbers will look like with Westbrook back in the lineup. Russell takes away a bit of KDs production.

Rudy Gay - FanDuel $7,600 DraftKings $7,300 DraftStreet $14,093
Gay is on here because of the matchup and price dipping a bit. Denver has been atrocious against opposing small forwards lately and generally below average over the course of the season. Gay, while pedestrian recently, could see plenty of looks tonight. Cousins didn't look great last night and there's a slight chance he doesn't play tonight (that's complete speculation). Look for Gay to take advantage of a weak Nugget defense.

P.J. Tucker - FanDuel $5,800 DraftKings $5,300 DraftStreet $9,781
One of my favorite plays recently, Tucker (outside of last game) has been seeing big minutes and making the most of them. He does a little bit of everything on the stat sheet. I'm especially a fan of his salary on DraftKings and DraftStreet though I think he's in play on FanDuel as well.

Trevor Ariza - FanDuel $6,700 DraftKings $6,700
Ariza should be on your radar today. Cleveland gets destroyed by opposing small forwards. They allow about 15% more scoring than average to the position. That's such a multiplier that you really need to think strongly about playing Ariza. His minutes are there every single night and I see him as rather safe today.

Luol Deng - FanDuel $5,900
Only considering him on this site because of the price. This price is way too low considering how much he plays. Granted whenever I play him he throws up career worst shooting nights, but he's worth the risk here.

Chandler Parsons - FanDuel $7,200
Harden is a little banged up, though it looks like he'll play. Parsons, with Harden in or out, makes a strong play at this price against the Suns.

Wilson Chandler - DraftStreet $8,685
The other Chandler in my life has a price that is entirely too low. He put up a stinker last game, but the minutes are there and he could crush this tag against the Kings who are below average against small forwards.

 

Power Forwards

Kevin Love - FanDuel $11,500 DraftKings $11,100 DraftStreet $23,970
I'm putting him on here not because he rates out as the highest $/point expectation, but more because if you are considering playing one of the big money guys, Love is your man. Much like Druant had to do when Westbrook went down, Love has taken over every duty for the Wolves since the rest of the team went down to injury and he was forced to play with the JV team. These prices are huge, but he's paid them off recently and gets a Blazer team without Aldridge.

Blake Griffin - FanDuel $9,800 DraftKings $10,200
Another big money guy I'm targeting though likely not on DraftStreet. But the prices here, especially on FanDuel are totally reasonable. He doesn't get the best matchup ever against the Thunder so this pick is more about the price tag. With CP3 back in the lineup, Blake is averaging more than 20 shot attempts per game. We love that kind of volume.

Serge Ibaka - FanDuel $7,400 DraftKings $7,300 DraftStreet $13,001
Great prices across the board, but especially on DraftStreet where he stands to be a heavy play. Ibaka can be a vexing play as he'll come out of the gate strong and then disappear down the stretch. This makes sense to some degree as guys like Durant and Westbrook will take over late game. I still love the matchup he gets against Griffin today as the Clips allow more than league average points and rebounds to opposing power forwards.

Tobias Harris - FanDuel $6,300 DraftKings $6,400 DraftStreet $12,923
The Magic will be without Afflalo today and Glen Davis has exited through a very wide door stage left. That makes Harris a fantastic option today. He's playing the four, though he could shift back to the three tonight depending on how they work the starting lineup. Toronto isn't the best matchup in the world but I think Harris' salary hasn't caught up yet. I'm a bit more hesitant on DraftStreet but not on the first two.

Nene Hilario - DraftStreet $10,782
He was one of our top plays yesterday and that one came through in a big way. He was under-rostered and went off the the tune of 30/7. That off course is more than we thought, but the matchup was there. His matchup is worse today against Cleveland, but the price hasn't climbed at all and he still grabs thirty plus minutes a night. A solid option.

 

Centers

Center is a mess today. A real mess. our system loves Boogie, but I really can't pick him after what he looked like last night. He was slow and clearly not himself. He's a stayaway for me (wish I had this same feeling 24 hours ago). After him it gets a bit murky as the only other legit option is pretty expensive. Let's wade through it.

Dwight Howard - FanDuel $9,300 DraftKings $10,000 DraftStreet $19,418
Dwight is a top play with a big salary. Phoenix will have real issues with him as they don't have anyone to body him up at all inside. They allow more than 5% scoring to opposing centers. My problem with starting Dwight today is that the tag is so high without complete safety. That's a difficult proposition and gives the rest of the roster some issues with flexibility. I would have a real tough time building something completely solid around him. That might more of a personal problem. It is just to say that I don't feel over the moon about this pick even though the numbers completely support it.

Quick Addition and hat tip to CasCarruthers
Robin Lopez - FanDuel $6,400 DraftKings $6,200 DraftStreet $14,448
I probably should have included Lopez in the original picks under the same premise as Lillard and Matthews. His production is up with Aldridge out of the lineup. These prices are completely reasonable and offer a fair amount of flexibility. He probably gets downgraded some if Pekovic makes his way back into lineup.

After this, going to go site-specific.

Nikola Vucevic - FanDuel $7,100
A little more palatable for me, at least on FanDuel but still think he's overpriced on the other sites. This is where things get tough because you need to start a center obviously, but I don't want to downgrade other parts of the lineup just to fit someone in.

Marcin Gortat - DraftKings $6,200 DraftStreet $12,546
Has a decent matchup against Cleveland though it's a little difficult to judge their defensive efficiency against centers with so much shuffling on the backline lately. Varejao has been in and out of the lineup and they just added Hawes. I'm willing to risk it with Gortat as these prices are midrange solid.

Jonas Valanciunas - DraftStreet $9,691
A totally reasonable price as long as he gets his minutes (never a guarantee). He will face a tougher matchup against Vucevic, but this pick is more about price.