Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 3/12/15

NBA! Post trade deadline. This is hard. But fun! Enjoy.

Ready to make the leap and get access to the exclusive projection system that produces these picks? Sign up now and get a free 3 day trial to our lineup construction tool for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster.

Point Guards

Alexey Shved - FD 5600 DK 5000 DFSTR 3000
Our system loved him against the Jazz the other night and I just couldn't pull the trigger. That was a mistake. He went off for one of the best value lines on the whole season, going lights out from three and finishing with a 21/10/7/2 line that I don't expect him to recreate. But that doesn't mean it was luck. It wasn't. He's long been a player that projected well (fantasy-wise) if he could find steady playing time. After last game that has almost certainly happened. He gets to play against the Lakers tonight and should be one of the top value options on this slate.

Tony Parker - FD 6300 DK 5900 DFSTR 5500
Been putting it back together of late as he finally pulls out of the tailspin that summed up much of Parker's season. But he's back to playing at a very high level as the Spurs have been piling on points. They've put up more than 110 points in each of their last five games and are riding a hot streak into what should be an entertaining game against the Cavs. I'm counting on Parker getting the minutes here. That's the key for him.

You can shoot a little upside with Patrick Beverley and Langston Galloway coming cheap. And if you knew George Hill was going to play 30 minutes he'd be a top play.

Update: Beno Udrih starting for Conley is a great play

Shooting Guards

James Harden - FD 11300 DK 10800 DFSTR 9300
You are basically going to end up choosing between Harden or Lebron tonight as there isn't a ton of midrange value to middle a lineup. Speaking well in advance, but that's how I see it playing out. I'll take Harden. Faces a weaker Utah team that doesn't have a solid defensive option to square up with James (few teams do). Harden's been a somewhat forgotten man with the Westbrook Alien invasion but he continues to crush opponents on a nightly basis. I like his floor in this game and will be where I spend the big dough. Oh and shooting guard is kind of a problem tonight.

Wayne Ellington - FD 5400 DK 5000 DFSTR 4000
See what I mean? Dude plays a ton of minutes and needs every single freaking one of them to come close to hitting value. He won't hit the upper tier for you simply because he does so very little with his time out there. But the minutes are enough and if he's standing out there close to 40 minutes in a game then he makes a fine enough cash play against the Knicks.

Manu Ginobili - FD 4800 DK 4000 DFSTR 5200
This is where you can go in GPPs. Manu's price stays low because he will randomly sit/play no minutes and therefore stays in the lower end of salary. But when he puts it together in a game he can really crush it. Big game against the Cavs and I think he sees a few extra minutes.

Forget the salary caps by playing ScoreStreak. Get involved today by clicking the banner below!

Small Forwards

Kawhi Leonard - FD 8300 DK 8100 DFSTR 7100
Will be tasked with guarding Lebron tonight. In some ways that's not a great spot. But on the flip side, it feels like with that assignment he will see the full load of minutes that have been his calling card of late. He's averaged a 23/9 to go with 38 minutes in his last three. Now we know that Pop can do crazy things with his guys at unexpected times. So I wouldn't necessarily pencil Kawhi in for close to 40 minutes, but the narrative around this game seems to make sense and he's been playing out of his mind.

Trevor Ariza - FD 5600 DK 5700 DFSTR
He's 4-23 from three point land (prior to the game against Portland) and it has meant for some rough box scores. This kind of terrible shooting won't continue forever and you have a chance to buy him on the low side. Not to say "he's due" necessarily, but if a price is depressed based on recent performance that is bound to regress at some point.

Wesley Johnson - FD 4100 DK 4500 DFSTR 4100
Falls into the Ellington class for me. Coming cheap. Gets his minutes and needs a lot of them to creep into paying off. He's got to be scoring to be relevant and to do that he needs his shot getting up. The Knicks are brutal on defense so this seems as good a spot as any. His price won't kill you at all and makes for a fine enough cash game play.

This position is a wasteland and I don't think I'm spending up for Lebron. You can consider Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles if Hayward is out again.

Power Forwards

Derrick Favors - FD 7900 DK 7800 DFSTR 7200
Very interesting play today. His minutes have trended in the right direction since Kanter left town and the big man logjam cleared itself up in Utah. Houston's big men are more made for their offense and have allowed worse than league average scoring and rebounding to opposing power forwards. This is good spot to get some upper middle tier money into your lineups in a positive matchup.

Andrea Bargnani - FD 5500 DK 5800 DFSTR 5000
Going to be tough to avoid the Knicks tonight. At the same time, it doesn't feel great rostering a ton of Knicks on any night no matter the opponent. But such is the Lakers' defense that you often have to consider anyone playing minutes against them. Bargs is brutal to watch but he can get the job done if given enough run.

Terrence Jones - FD 6700 DK 6900 DFSTR 5000
He's been so consistent since joining the starting lineup. Jones has averaged a 17/10 over his last eight games and is locked into the minutes at the four. The Jazz allow worse than league average scoring to opposing power forwards. Jones can definitely score and that's basically the hallmark of his game. Really like the price on him and am not worried about the minutes dip last game as it was in a blowout.

Center

Rudy Gobert - FD 7700 DK 7800 DFSTR 5300
Had him as a solid value play against the Knicks the other night and he didn't disappoint putting up a 10/14 line along with 4 blocks and 3 steals. That is the kind of thing Gobert can do against teams with weak interiors. The Rockets aren't the Knicks, but they do lack some size down low since Dwight's been shelved. Still like the price considering the kind of minutes he's getting. And I love that he's a center who can contribute in a variety of ways.

Marc Gasol - FD 7700 DK 7500 DFSTR 8400
Didn't play up to my expectations last night against the Celtics, but I wouldn't mind going back to the well tonight. Price is still solid and though the matchup isn't fantastic, this slate is tough across the board. Lot of good defenses playing and tougher to sniff out some of the points. Gasol isn't crazy expensive and fills a need in terms of minutes and safety. Update: Gasol is out tonight. Koufos makes a great play tonight.

Consider Cole Aldrich if you think those minutes carry over from last game.
Be sure to try out a free 3-day trial to the projection system that helps produce these picks for the NBA! And check out our free NBA ebook below.