Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 2/3/15

The NBA is in full swing and you’re here to get the best value plays in the industry. Enjoy!

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Point Guards

Stephen Curry - FD 10000 DK 10300 DFSTR 8700
He needs to get a full run in this game to truly pay off which is never a sure thing considering the Warriors have a propensity for pulverizing their competition. That could be the case with Curry and company tonight against the Kings. It helps some that the game is in Sacramento, but the Warriors are still favorites here. But if Curry can creep into the mid 30’s form minutes then he is the top big money value play. (Boogie is close, but I’d take Steph). The Kings are about league average in allowing opposing point guards to score but are worse in allowing assists mostly because they are defensively deficient in a couple of other areas. I don’t put him here often, but this is spot to play Steph.

Mario Chalmers - FD 5100 DK 5500 DFSTR 4900
I think we expected a bit more from Mario when Wade went down, but the last couple of games have been rough. I’m here to tell you it’s going to be okay. He’s shot horrible over the last two games some of that from having to deal with Avery Bradley last game. I think he bounces back tonight against Detroit. The Heat are still very much in need of scoring with Wade out and Chalmers stands to get in double digit shots. I’m buying low on him as the usage rates for Chalmers do spike when Wade isn’t around.

Langston Galloway - FD 5300 DK 5300 DFSTR
Outside of a rough outing against the slow Pacers, Galloway has been a major contributor for the Knicks. One of the few bright spots for them this season. He’ll have to deal with the aforementioned Avery Bradley tonight (I’m assuming) which could cut down on his looks. But dude is a scrapper and I’m encouraged by his rebounding especially. It keeps his floor a bit higher. Also, he finds ways to get his shots even when Melo is in full “I don’t pass” mode. The volume should be there for Galloway tonight.

Strongly consider Ty Lawson against Philly

 

Shooting Guards

Arron Afflalo - FD 5500 DK 5500 DFSTR 5100
Afflalo is coming off facing two of the slower teams in the league in Memphis and Charlotte which helps to explain (to some degree) his poor showings. He is a guy who relies almost completely on his scoring and when he’s locked down and the game is slow, he’s dust. That shouldn’t be the case tonight. The Sixers are sixth in PACE this season and have particular issues with the shooting guard. They allow 15% more than league average scoring the position. Afflalo should have plenty of looks. He’ll chuck some rebounds in here or there (another thing the Sixers allow to SGs) but you need him to hit his shots. I think he’ll at least be chucking it in this one.

Wesley Matthews - FD 5800 DK 5800 DFSTR 5200
Much like Afflalo (and many other shooting guards) Matthews has to be scoring to hit value on a given night. The good news for him is that he’s been getting up more than 14 shots a game over his last five but shooting well below his season average which has kept his price down. Time to buy. On this slate he’s a stone cold value play against a Jazz team allowing about 11% more scoring than league average to the shooting guard position.

Klay Thompson - FD 8200 DK 8500 DFSTR 6900
If you are in a number crunch and need to spend up a little bit, Klay is coming in on a solid points per dollar basis even at the elevated tag. I much prefer the two guys above and think there are some ohter ways to spend your dough tonight, but Klay is definitely in consideration.

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Small Forwards

Robert Covington - FD 5700 DK 5000 DFSTR 5000
He’s been a steady contributor to the Sixers and his minutes aren’t in total jeopardy when/ if the blowout is imminent. The steady diet of steals (roughly a million last night) and rebounds keeps his floor a little higher when the scoring isn’t completely there and Covington’s price is still in the value zone considering what he’s been doing on the court. We’ve been consistently starting him in this salary range as long as he’s been in the starting lineup and will again tonight against the Nuggets.

Wilson Chandler - FD 5700 DK 5700 DFSTR 5000
We’ve been imploring you to play this guy. Begging almost. And from a points per minutes standpoint he’s been a beast. The problem has been (and this is a Nuggets’ theme) is his run has dropped over the last three games as Gallinari has taken a bit of the small forward minutes. I still like Chandler even at reduced minutes mostly because the rest of this position has very little to get excited about. There are some cheap ways to go who pose some risk, but in terms of solid minutes, Chandler is one of the few guys you can roll.

Consider Draymond Green if you have the money while guys like Danilo Gallinari and James Ennis make somewhat intriguing punt options.

Punt options Danillo JAmes Ennis

 

Power Forwards

Chris Bosh - FD 7800 DK 7800 DFSTR 7600
When Dwayne Wade is on the court Bosh has a usage rate of 24.6. No Wade? It jumps to 33.3 pretty quickly. No of course some of that accounts for games in which they don’t overlap rotations, but it speaks to how much the Heat need Bosh to score when D-Wade is out. Bosh is a top play tonight against a Detroit teams that gets run over by opposing power forwards. Of course Bosh is more of the stretch variety, but he’ll cause matchup problems with Monroe and company. He will be a staple in all of my lineups tonight where he represents safety along with hints of upside if he can really get the scoring going.

Jason Smith - FD 4600 DK 4700 DFSTR 3600
Louis Amundson - FD 4300 DK 3700 DFSTR 3000
These are your cheap options for the night and I’ll have exposure to both of them for sure. They are playing huge minutes in the Knicks frontcourt that’s really banged up right now. The minutes are the key her for these guys. Neither is particularly great at their craft, but they really don’t need to be. The Celtics play at a fast pace and have a weak defensive frontcourt that allows worse than league average production from opposing bigs. Again, these guys are simply about the price and run but our system loves them tonight.

Consider Brandon Bass

 

Center

Hassan Whiteside - FD 7000 DK 7700 DFSTR 4000
Every year (multiple times a year it seems like) dudes emerge who you try like hell to figure how they weren’t part of the collective NBA consciousness before. Because they come on the scene and instantly appear as it they are future Hall of Famers. These guys tend to also fade away over time, but not after making a crazy impression. Whiteside is one of these dudes. He is absolutely crushing on a per minute basis (and really just a per game basis and his price hasn’t come close to clearing the value threshold yet. Let others be dissuaded by the “he’s too expensive now” idea that drifts in with guys like this. He’s in another great matchup tonight and will be a staple of cash games and GPPs for me. He’s just getting too much done to ignore.

DeMarcus Cousins - FD 10900 DK 10500 DFSTR 9200
To be honest, it kind of starts and stops with Whiteside at center for me. But I think there is somewhat of a case for Boogie simply because he plays tons and tons of minutes for a superstar and also, well, awesome. The matchup against Bogut is not ideal, but Cousins keeps his floor high if he can stay out of foul trouble. That’s really his only weakness as they Kings run their offense through him which means even his assist numbers look strong for a center. I much prefer Whiteside dollar for dollar but on DraftKings it’s a little closer.

There is a cheap center poo-poo platter tonight with a bunch of dudes who would be awesome if they could only get in the high twenties in minutes. Tyler Zeller and Jusuf Nurkic are examples.

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