Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 1/5/17

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Point Guard

Russell Westbrook FD - $12400 DK - $12300
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 54.89 DK - 58.66

Russ Westbrook isn't coming in as one of our top PG's of the day, but I still felt obligated to talk about him. He is going to be highly owned, and is definitely a good subject of discussion. I will definitely have exposure in tournaments, but the price is just too high in cash games, and I prefer Harden. Westbrook is just consistently great. He came through with 65 fantasy points, and almost another triple double. Patrick Beverley will return tonight, which does hamper it quite a bit. There is also not too much value on this slate yet, so it won't be easy to pay up in more than 1 spot, unless a bunch of value comes out as the day goes on. All in all, if you want exposure to Russell Westbrook, get it in tournaments.

Kemba Walker FD - $8100 DK - $7900
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 39.82 DK - 42.15

Kemba has been a different player this year, and doesn't even look like the same player from other years. He has the vibe of a floor leader, and now has the skills to back it up. The Pistons have been league average against PG's, and Reggie Jackson has never been known for his defense. Walker should be able to get open easily, and he can score from anywhere on the court. Andre Drummond is a good center, but Walker will run circles around him in the lane. He is more of a cash game play for me, as I don't think the upside is there against the slow paced Hornets teams.

Jeff Teague FD - $7800 DK - $7400
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 39 DK - 41.5

We are going to be targeting a lot of Indiana Pacers tonight. They take on the Nets, who have by far the worst defense en the league and run at an incredibly fast pace. The Pacers have a lot of talent,and a lot of guys who can score the ball. Teague stands at the top of the list, and has definitely  been the best player on the team so far. Sean Kilpatrick will be tasked with guarding Teague, and he is way too slow to do so. Teague will get in the lane and make things happen with ease against this defense. He is my favorite play with price considered at PG and you can play him in both cash games and tournaments.

Shooting Guard

James Harden FD - $12000 DK - $12100
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 54.03 DK - 58.35

James Harden comes in as my top superstar on this slate, and I am going to have him everywhere. He struggled against the Wizards all game, and still finished with 50. That's his floor here, with a ceiling topping 100. It may sound crazy, but we saw it just 2 games. With Beverley back, Oladipo will likely cover Harden. He is a good man to man defender, but is undersized and can be taken advantage of physically. No matter how good the defender, James Harden is a special character and is going to utterly dominate in most situations. This game figures to be high scoring, copetitve and full of fantasy goodness. Make sure you consider a game stack in tournaments of this one.

Victor Oladipo FD - $5900 DK - $6000
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 28.13 DK - 30.32

Oladipo has now had 3 good games in a row coming off of injury. Dipo has been running the point when Westbrook is off the court, and has been doing very well. He will get the defense of James Harden, who has not been a good man to man defender. He is sitting right around 6k, and only needs about 32 to hit value. He should be able to do that rather easily against a defense that has given up the 3rd most FP to SG's. You can play him in both cash games and tournaments, as I don't see many paths to failure tonight.

C.J. McCollum FD - $8000 DK - $9000
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 35.79 DK - 38.27
Allen Crabbe FD - $3800 DK - $4400
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 19.87 DK - 21.37

The Blazers played an emotional game last  night against the Warriors, and both of these guys played heavy minutes, which is concerning. However, if Damian Lillard is out, they will be forced into those minutes. The Lakers are still bad against guards, and this one should certainly stay close. McCollum is the way to go if you ant to spend up, and I like him in both cash games and tournaments. He is the guy without Lillard, and could easily hit 60 points again. Crabbe has been somewhat underwhelming with Lillard out, but you have to think the production will start to come with the consistent minutes. They are both in play, and you could pair them with Randle and Russell for a really good tournament game stack.

Small Forward

Paul George FD - $7900 DK - $8700
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 42.08 DK - 45.57

Small forward is ugly, and that is going to result in a few guys being insanely highly owned. One of those will be Paul George. I think he ends up being around 8% owned tonight, but I will probably just eat the chalk and take the point at SF. The Nets are horrible, and it's hard not to see Paul George get some production. Ronda-Hollis Jefferson is a great individual defender, but the Nets switch and have a horrid team defense. He should be able to get into the lane, and once he gets there, the Nets  have nobody to stop him. He is going to have his way tonight, and could see a big perofrmance. George is a safe bet for 35 fantasy points, and his ceiling is over 50 against this team.

Gordon Hayward FD - $7700 DK - $7800
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 36.24 DK - 38.8

Hayward and the Jazz will face off with the Raptors here, in what should be a really fun game to watch. The Raptors don't play much defense, so i think the Jazz are in play. Hayward has the best match up on the team, as DeMarre Carroll ha snot looked the same since returning from injury. Hayward should be able to contorl the offense and run it how he wants. That usually involves some PnR's with Derrick Favors, and a few open 3's for himself. In order to stay with Lowry and DeRozan, the Jazz are going to have to score. Hayward is fairly priced, and doesn't have to do anything crazy to pay off his salary. You may have the urge to pay down, but I would just go with the safe production at SF.
Note on everyone else

Like I said, this position is really ugly. Outside of the above players, I think you can target Kawhi Leonard, Trevor Ariza and Kent Bazemore. They are all good price plays, and should be able to hit value. Leonard is expensive, but he plays the Nuggets, and they don't love to play defense. Ariza is just a solid SF who gets it done and will usually hit value. Bazemore is cheap, has the upside and will play the minutes. The match up is also there for him against the lowly Pelicans team. Outside of those guys, just look for someone who is going to get minutes and they are worth a flier in tournaments. I would advise to not get cute here, and just plug in the guys who are going to have a good game and be different elsewhere.

Power Forward

Paul Millsap FD - $8200 DK - $7400
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 41.14 DK - 43.45

Anthony Davis is a superb defender, but I don't mind targeting the Pelican interior. He can only cover 1 player, and the other one will be in a good spot. That might not start off being Paul Millsap, but he will be in that situation a few times over the course of the game. Millsap is a really consistent option, and with the rumors of a possible trade, they will want to the shake there bait out there. This usually means he will get a bunch of minutes, but those things are hard to predict. Power forward is another spot with not too many options, and his safet yat the top is unmatched. He may not have the regular floor that he has, but the ceiling is higher. This could be a big game for either Millsap or Howard, or maybe both.

Julius Randle FD - $7100 DK - $7100
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 36.3 DK - 38.24

Moving onto one of my favorite plays on the slate, we have Julius Randle. This guy is something else. He is like a mix between Draymond Green and Zach Randolph, with a little bit of point guard. HE hit a triple double last time out, finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. It wasn't a crazy game either, as he has been really good lately. This guy is going to be  a star, and he has started showing us that. The Blazers are known to sport one of the worst defensive interiors, and Randle will take advantage. You can expect another big game out of Randle, and you can deploy him in all formats.

Thaddeus Young FD - $5200 DK - $5600
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 28.48 DK - 30.11

I think you have to play Thad Young tonight. I will be, and i'll have him everywhere. He is way too cheap, and this match up is way too good. Trevor Booker is one of the better Nets defender, but that is not saying much. He's too slow, and Young should be able to to dominate him off the dribble and on the perimeter. He will also get some defense from Bojan Bogdanovic, and that's when Young will be able to get his inside numbers. The rebounds will come out, as Brook Lopez is scared of them and Booker is going to be on the perimeter a lot with Young. Young still has his price way too low at 5.2 and 5.6, which means he only needs 27 to hit value. Young can be played in all formats, and I will have a lot of exposure.

Center

Dwight Howard FD - $7700 DK - $7500
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 38.99 DK - 41.42

Howard comes in as my number 1 center, sitting around 7.5k on both sites. He should be able to have a big game tonight, and will be matched up with the likes of Alexis Ajinca and Omer Asik. He is an athletic beast, and will destroy those guys in all facets. The Hawks have also made sure that Howard stays happy, and it has turned into some really impressive play. The Pelicans have ranked 27th against centers, and have given up the 2nd most rebounds. Howard could have a huge game tonight, and I think he is safe as well. This is a different Dwight Howard than we have seen over the last few seasons. You can feel comfortable with him in all formats.

Myles Turner FD - $6700 DK - $6800
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 33.27 DK - 34.41

Myles Turner was amazing last year, and flashed some crazy upside earlier this year. Since then, he has been consistent, but we haven't seen the crazy performances like we used to see. This could be one of those games, though. Turner has a huge athletic advantage over Brook Lopez, and he surely cares a lot more too. Turner is a great rebound when putting his mind to it, and that could come into play. With Booker out of the paint and Brook Lopez covering him, Turner could be in for a bunch of rebounds. The price is fair, the match up safe and the upside surely there. However you go at center, none of these 3 guys are the wrong answer.

Montrezl Harrell FD - $4700 DK - $5500
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 28.06 DK - 29.23

Montrezl Harrell was also super disappointing for the first half of last game, but came out on fire and ended up having a pretty mice game. He will face off with Steven Adams tonight, who is a tough opponent. I think Harrell will get his though, as James Harden has been getting him involved in a bunch of PnR's. As long as that's the case, I will keep targeting him. He almost makes a great combo with Harden, as they can have correlating fantasy points when running the high PnR. Harrell has seen a price increase, but not enough of one to consider fading.

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