Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet 3/5/14

A huge Wednesday going across the NBA DFS landscape and we want you entering your Thursday with a bit more cash in those accounts. Most assuredly things will change over the course of the day as we hear about some injury updates and spot starts. But let's start things off here with some solid values.

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Point Guards

Ty Lawson - FanDuel $8,200 DraftKings $7,200 DraftStreet $15,670
Well it looks like he is back from injury. He posted a monster against the T-Wolves, and while that opponent is well-below average against opposing point guards, Dallas doesn't exactly lock down the position. For me this pick is as much about price as it about opponent and Ty is significantly underpriced across the industry. Take advantage, especially on DraftKings.

John Wall - FanDuel $9,000 DraftKings $9,500 DraftStreet $18,035
I'm a big fan of Wall tonight as a complete safety play. There isn't a ton of upside built into this price, but man he just goes out and does his thing every night independent of opponent. The Jazz are league average against PGs, mostly because of their slow pace, but that doesn't seem to effect JW. He does his thing versus the turtles and the hares.

Jeff Teague - FanDuel $6,700 DraftKings $7,200
Loved him the other night against the Suns as one of our top picks and that paid off nicely. Teague is clearly the man now that Millsap and Horford are sidelined. The biggest difference is his shot attempts have dramatically increased, by about 50%. That's an insane spike in production. On non-efficiency sites this is exactly the kind of thing to target.

 

Shooting Guards

James Harden - FanDuel $9,500 DraftKings $10,000 DraftStreet $18,323
Harden has a nice matchup against an Orlando squad that'll have difficulty with his creativity. Mostly because a majority of the Magic squad are a bit stiff-ish. They aren't bad mind you. Just not the caliber of defender that will handle him. Maybe it's the ugly uniforms.

Jimmy Butler - FanDuel $6,600 DraftKings $5,900
Oh man do I love Butler on these sites. This guy never sits. Thibs just keeps running him, and running him and running him. It's amazing. He'll play 40+ minutes in a close games. And 40+ minutes in a blowout. What else can you ask for? How about a team in Detroit that is about league average across the board defending shooting guards? Yup.

Kevin Martin - FanDuel $5,800 DraftKings $5,500 DraftStreet $11,817
System loves him. I don't. I have a few negative associations with Martin. Between the too late announcement of his latet injury. To his inconsistency. To his funky shot that rubs me the wrong way. It's all just off-putting. But the Knicks just suck so bad against shooting guards. So, so bad.

Kyle Korver - FanDuel $4,900 or Louis Williams - DraftKings $4,500
I put them together because they are each a deal on the other site and this game should be high scoring. With Millsap out there are more shots to go around. Some are going to Elton Brand and Mike Scott. But Korver still gets his and Williams has for sure seen a boost in production. This game should be high scoring and I think each gets his run even in a blowout.

Joe Johnson - DraftStreet $7,507
Sucks but is so cheap.

Giannis Antetokounmpo - FanDuel $4,300 DraftKings $4,000 DraftStreet $7,877
Put him down here because our system loves him when factoring for just about every scenario. Like, loves him to the point of him being the top SG on every site. Can you stomach it?

 

Small Forwards

This position is pretty deep today which is a rarity. And it's populated with midrange value that has some upside. For the first time the decision here will be tough and not in the horrible, stars and scrubs kind of way.

Nicolas Batum - FanDuel $6,900 DraftKings $7,600 DraftStreet $14,431
Fully back from the hand injury and back to being Batum-y. That's an industry term for having his name show up in seemingly every part of the game log. Scoring. Assists. Steals. Boards. It's awesome to watch in real time when it's happening. Oh, and Atlanta stinks against small forwards. Will be in all of my FanDuel lineups.

Rudy Gay - FanDuel $8,400 DraftKings $8,100 DraftStreet $16,954
I really like Gay for a bounce back game tonight against the Bucks, a bad defensive team that Gay can exploit. His last game against the Pelicans was a rough one, but it seems like an outlier as he had been playing at a high level for a streak before that. I think this game has him back on track. Much better prices on FanDuel and DraftKings.

Wilson Chandler - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,500 DraftStreet $8,296
Like him across the board but love him on DraftStreet. Chandler is more of a cash game play as his performance against the T-Wolves is a bit of an mirage, but he'd been playing much worse than expectation for a while. Here's to hoping it all evens out tonight and he because a nice value play again.

Shawn Marion - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,300 DraftStreet $9,889
Marion has a fantastic opportunity against the Nuggets tonight who are sweet combination of PACE (4th in the league) and defensive efficiency (21st). On the graph, that's an advantageous spot to take the opposing team. They are below league average against SFs and I think the uptempo nature of this game benefits Marion the most of all the Mavs.

Mike Dunleavy - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,400 DraftStreet $11,759
Like Butler, he just goes out and gets his minutes. He doesn't play as many as Jimmy Buckets but he's well over 30 a night. Love that kind of volume, especially on FanDuel and DraftKings. Can probably stay away on DraftStreet though by and large Detroit has stunk all year against small forwards.

Jeff Green - DraftStreet $11,416
Green is in that same DraftStreet range as Dunleavy and makes an interesting option against Golden State tonight. He could see some extra looks in a quicker game. Upside play only.

Kyle Singler - DraftStreet $7,859
The matchup is tough but the price is right. I would consider Singler in cash games if I was looking for a fairly safe, cheap option that I didn't want to sink me.

DeMarre Carroll - DraftKings $5,000
He always seems underpriced here.

 

Power Forwards

Carmelo Anthony - FanDuel $10,200 DraftKings $10,000 DraftStreet $19,789
Melo is one of my top plays tonight. Though the Knicks are a travesty, this game against the T-Wolves should be one of the higher scoring affairs of the night. Plus, Kevin Love, while an offensive superstar, doesn't lock it down on the defensive end. The Wolves are below league average against power forwards. Melo already takes most of the Knick's shots and I think he could stand to see a few more tonight. This is where my big money will most likely go tonight.

Dirk Nowitzki - FanDuel $7,400 DraftKings $7,200 DraftStreet $14,961
I would love to have Melo and Dirk in lineups together tonight. Targeting the high scoring games is the way to go tonight and Dirk's price is depressed across the board. This partly because his recent matchups have included the Knicks (slow), the Pelicans (slow), the Spurs (great defense) and Chicago (great defense and slow). Tonight he gets Denver (bad defense and quick). Take advantage of Dirk's salary tonight. I don't think it will last. (Should be said that he had a shoulder tweak last game but came back in a played.)

Kenneth Faried - FanDuel $5,600 DraftKings $5,800 DraftStreet $10,939
We recommended him the other night. He was a low percentage play and had a big night. The matchup tonight isn't as good, but if he can stay out of foul trouble, Faried still faces a Dallas team that's about 5% worse than league average against power forwards scoring and assisting.

Ersan Ilyasova - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,500 DraftStreet $10,268
When the minutes are there, Ilyasova crushes these prices. The problem, as is always the case with coach Larry Drew, is whether the minutes will come. If you think he gets a full run, this is a great play against a below average Kings team.

Amar'e Stoudemire - FanDuel $3,800 DraftKings $3,300 DraftStreet $6,530
The Knicks started a big lineup the other night against Detroit in an effort to matchup up with their frontline. Amar'e was the beneficiary as he had a solid game at minimum prices. This pick is contingent on Stat starting again. If he is, I think you slot him in based on price alone.

Trevor Booker - FanDuel $3,500 DraftKings $3,400
Playing starter minutes at complete minimum prices. That's all you can ask for in a punt situation. Utah isn't exactly a defensive juggernaut either.

Tobias Harris - DraftKings $6,600
Only really considering him on price here.

 

Centers

Robin Lopez - FanDuel $6,100 DraftKings $6,000 DraftStreet $13,232
My top center play of the day. Lopez has been playing at a high level that continued when Aldridge returned to the lineup. Granted his last game was against the Lakers, but it just confirmed that he is playing a bigger role in the Blazer scheme. Tonight he gets the Hawks who have no center. They've been getting destroyed on the glass recently by opposing centers who are averaging about 25% more rebounds than league average. Big men are also handing out a ton of assists and blocking the shit out of Atlanta players. Lopez could post another big line.

Marcin Gortat - FanDuel $7,200 DraftKings $6,800 DraftStreet $14,459
Gortat is right behind Lopez. It will be interesting to see what the Jazz do tonight against the Wizards. Favors, who's been starting at center, was atrocious last game while Kanter came off the bench and crushed. I like the matchup either way for Gortat really, but think I would prefer it even more against the smaller Favors. Utah, like Atlanta has been getting blitzed by opposing centers. Gortat could be looking at an easy double double.

DeMarcus Cousins - FanDuel $9,300
Such a low price for the Boogie-man against a weak Buck team. He's a little risky for me on the other sites as the price is much higher, but here is kind of seems like a bargain against a Milwaukee team that really has an issue with keeping centers from scoring.

Joakim Noah - DraftKings $8,600 DraftStreet $17,743
Instead of Boogie I'll be playing Noah on the other two sites if I'm spending the money at center. Though it should be said, Lopez and Gortat are still better bangs for the bucks.

Al Jefferson - DraftStreet $15,782
Just wanted to mention him because man this price seems too low even against the Pacers.