Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Draftster 3/4/15

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

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Point Guards

Russell Westbrook - FD 12000 DK 11500 DFSTR 8800
The big question here is how much you are willing to pay. I am sure that will be a question asked across every lineup tonight. Do I want to break the bank for a guy who has been playing at an insanely high level? It will somewhat depend on how the rest of the slate shakes out. It's a huge one so there stands a good chance you will find enough value in other spots to get him in rather easily. Have to worry about a blowout too, which makes the price even that much less appealing. I putting him here because he's Westbrook and he is playing some different game than everyone else.

Greivis Vasquez - FD 4200 DK 4600 DFSTR 3800
With Lowry still sitting I'm looking for Vasquez to get similar run from the point. He sat a little last game because Lou Williams got hot down the stretch, but I think Greivis is in line for plenty of minutes tonight. Has a decent, not great matchup against the Cavaliers, but I'm looking more at the price and opportunity here than anything else.

Heat Point Guards
I'm willing to start whoever is dribbling the ball over halfcourt for the Heat tonight. The Lakers are that bad against the point guard. Dragic is obviously the top target, but he is dealing with some injuries. Chalmers or Napier would come very cheap in a tasty matchup if Goran were to sit. Keep an eye on this closer to gametime.

George Hill - FD 6300 DK 6000 DFSTR 4800
Now that the minutes restriction is off the guy, he's really starting to contribute across the statline. Hill is at a solid price against a Knick team that is all over the map in terms of their rotations and personnel. Hill's floor is a bit higher than some other PGs relative to price because he can get to the boards as well as score and dish.

Chris Paul - FD 10300 DK 10200 DFSTR 8800
Our system doesn't completely love him against the Blazers and I'm a bit confused. Not that it hates him, but I expected him to be near the top of the pts/$ list. All things considered, still a great play in what should be a high-scoring, close game.

It's a big slate, but our system also really likes Mo Williams. I think there is a GPP play in Reggie Jackson. And Deron Williams continues a mini-resurgence.

 

Shooting Guards

Dwyane Wade - FD 7200 DK 7100 DFSTR 6900
Has a great matchup with the Lakers and if Dragic is out, he really stands to have a higher usage rate than normal (which is already high with Bosh off the court). With the Lakers' pace and poor defensive efficiency, it's conceivable that Wade puts up more than 20 shots in this game and that kind of volume is exactly what you are looking for considering his prices. Great matchup and could be a last man standing situation in terms of the Heat scoring.

Dion Waiters - FD 4400 DK 4100 DFSTR 3900
The shots have been there for him with Durant out of the picture. Problem is that said shots aren't going in. He's in a mini-slump over the short term which has kept his price down. I still like buying him here. If he can get even a little bit of hot with his current usage and minutes then he crushes this price. Philly is just the team to allow this.

DeMar DeRozan - FD 7200 DK 7200 DFSTR
We've seen what happens to Derozan with Lowry out of the lineup. Dude can put up a ton of shots. He beat the Sixers the other night almost single handed and is the primary scoring threat for the Raptors. The Cavs are obviously not the same kind of matchup, which is why I'm not as bullish on Demar going into this one. But shooting guard is a bit rough and I don't think his price is quite where it should be with Lowry out.

Victor Oladipo - FD 6900 DK 6600 DFSTR 6300
Oladipo is playing monster minutes for the Magic and this should be a fast-paced game. That would help Oladipo meet value as long as he is on the court for the majority.

Strongly consider Gary Neal if Kevin Martin is out again.

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Small Forwards

Tobias Harris - FD 6500 DK 6300 DFSTR 5700
Over his last four games Harris is shooting only 38%, well below his 46% career average. That's been a killer for the guy but has also served to keep his price down across the board. I'm buying him on the cheap against a quick Phoenix squad. I really think the shot volume will be there for Harris and I love grabbing a guy when others might be scared off by recent performance.

Danilo Gallinari - FD 5200 DK 5300 DFSTR 3800
Continues to start and see minutes in the two and three for Denver. With Brian Shaw out of the picture it stands to reason that the Nuggets' rotations will at least even out a bit. Let's hope that the days of wishing and hoping for minutes from the starters is a thing of the past. I still think you are getting him around the value threshold and the Timberwolves are one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

Nicolas Batum - FD 5600 DK 5500 DFSTR 5100
Some nights he has it. And some nights he makes you want to commit severe acts of violence. Let's hope tonight is the former. It's the lack of scoring that's really keeping the price down because the rest of his numbers are in line with his career averages. But he's shooting a dreadful 28% from three and only 38% from the field. I'm willing to go there in GPPs, but he's too risky for cash games.

James Johnson - FD 4300 DK 4700 DFSTR 4400
If you had read our Twitter mentions or emails on Monday you would have thought I was directly responsible for Johnson getting dusted in minutes against the Sixers. I wasn't. Still think he is in play, but the variable minutes have me worried about his safety.

 

Power Forwards

Derrick Favors - FD 7600 DK 7400 DFSTR 7300
He's seen a slight uptick in minutes since the Kanter trade and has really used it to his advantage, averaging close about an 18/10 in that time with some steals and blocks thrown in for good measure. The blowout risk isn't high in this game and the Celtics are a bad team defending the interior. Favors, is one of the best dollar-for-dollar plays on this whole slate and if he can see minutes in the mid thirties has a great chance to really hit the moon.

Serge Ibaka - FD 8200 DK 8000 DFSTR 6300
Now it should be noted that Philly isn't completely dreadful against power forwards, but they aren't good either. There's a chance this thing turns ugly quick and Ibaka's seen his price climb with Durant out of action. But in terms of safer, per minute guys, he is a solid play at a position that once again is tough to parse out.

Anthony Davis - FD 10600 DK 10400 DFSTR 4900
I'm putting him down a bit lower on the list for a couple of reasons. If he were to play, he's coming back from injury which always makes me a little squeamish. But if he does play, he's coming at a price under 11k on FanDuel against a team in the Pistons who are bad in defending opposing power forwards. Our system doesn't fully recognize the injury factor and loves his points per dollar expectation.

Kenneth Faried - FD 5800 DK 5100 DFSTR 5400
Here's to hoping that the exit of Brian Shaw means steadier playing time for Faried. That's been the dude's biggest issue this season. He's averaging an 11/9 in only 27 minutes per game so far. Imagine if the coaching staff just kept him out there for say 33 minutes a game? We would be buying him everywhere. The sample size is too small to know exactly how this is going to play out. But I love the matchup against the Timberwolves tonight who have some big challenges in defending low post players.

Projection system thinks you can take a shot on Andrea Bargnani and Ersan Ilyasova in GPPs but both guys make me feel kind of icky*
*pro-term

 

Center

Hassan Whiteside - FD 8100 DK 8300 DFSTR 6200
Didn't play nice with others the other night against Phoenix and cost me in GPPs by getting ejected. He did enough in the game before that to hit value, but he was on his way to a total monster. Alas, gets to pick right up where he left off tonight against the Lakers. We still are waiting for his price to top out. It hasn't yet which I find utterly remarkable. He's a human rebound machine and scoring and blocks are there as well. Keep enjoying getting him for a discount.

Alex Len - FD 5200 DK 5600 DFSTR 4100
Speaking of not getting along in the sandbox, Len and Whiteside had a kerfuffle that led to both getting ejected. Alex was having a game of his own before getting tossed and he's been averaging close to a double-double with blocks thrown in since hitting the starting lineup. Vucevic is a nice offensive center but leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end. Len is still coming at a nice price.

Nikola Vucevic - FD 8500 DK 8700 DFSTR 8200
Speaking of Vucevic, Len is also not a terrific defensive center and Vuce makes one of the better big money plays on this slate. He's going to have a decent advantage on the offensive end and as long as Orlando can hang, has a great shot to put up something in the area of a 25/10 night. Center is going to be tough today as I like all of these guys a great deal. Kind of the anti-power forward in that way.

Demarcus Cousins is a must-play on Draftster.

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