Wizards v/s Thunder 03/14/11
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And shout out to CD Hill who jumped in a helped with the picks tonight.
Russell Westbrook - FD 11200 DK 11600
Opponent - PHI FD Proj. Pts - 51.12 DK Proj. Pts - 52.78
Is Russell Westbrook going to put a huge hole in your DFS wallet right away once you select him? Sure, but he has been worth it for just about every game he has been started in. He does little bits of everything with an insane usage rate when Kevin Durant is out of the lineup. That will more than likely mean that Westbrook will average closer to at least 55 fantasy points per game from here on out. The only thing that makes him anything but a no-brainer is the price. And on a massive slate with a punt play or two cropping up, you should be able to fit him.
Rajon Rondo - FD 6800 DK 7600
Opponent - BKN FD Proj. Pts - 37.54 DK Proj. Pts - 38.23
Rajon Rondo is dishing out the ball left and right right now. He's been well into the double-digits in assists in his last three games and has collected 10 steals and grabbed 29 boards in that stretch too. He's a bargain, price wise, on FanDuel and is still coming in at a fairly reasonable price on DraftKings as well. The biggest thing for him right now is the minutes which are completely ridiculous. It's hard to imagine him keeping up this kind of run, but with Darren Collison still sidelined the Kings have little in the way of ball-handlers.
Mike Conley - FD 6400 DK 5900
Opponent - POR FD Proj. Pts - 31.44 DK Proj. Pts - 33.62
Mike Conley continues to go at very reasonable prices on both FanDuel and DraftKings. He may have his off night here and there, but he can really be a difference maker for your DFS lineup on nights he is at his best. He may be coming up on one of those nights too because he goes up against one of the worst team's in the league (Portland) in terms of how many fantasy points they give up to point guards on average this season. Conley should be in for a solid night.
James Harden - FD 10000 DK 10100
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 50.02 DK Proj. Pts - 52.96
The bearded one, James Harden is probably the top points/$ big money play on the slate only because Westbrook is so expensive. And I think you'll be able to play them both. Though his usage takes a jump when Howard sits (watch which game of the b2b Dwight doesn't go, but I suspect it's tonight) he's been plenty effective with the big man on the court as well. There is some blowout concern here which could ruin some of the upside. But his price still isn't where it should be.
Marcus Thornton - FD 4800 DK 5500
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 26.14 DK Proj. Pts - 28.75
Marcus Thornton, pound for pound, is one of the best buys right now in all of DFS. He has put up an astounding 32.8 fantasy points per game on FanDuel and 34.7 fantasy points per game on DraftKings in his past four games. His 17.3 actual points per game average right now is the highest it's even been and even with teammate Terrence Jones returning from injury, the Rockets seem content on continually giving Thornton starts in his place for now. It's anyone's guess how long that will go on, but for now, that works just fine for his daily fantasy owners. Should be a popular play on FanDuel.
Evan Fournier - FD 5600 DK 6100
Opponent - UTA FD Proj. Pts - 25.98 DK Proj. Pts - 28.56
Fournier's just been shooting a ton this season and though the price has climbed, it isn't completely out of the value zone considering how many looks he's getting. I probably wouldn't have him on here if it weren't for Victor Oladipo potentially sitting with injury. Dipo out would potentially mean another 40 minutes for Fournier tonight. Even against a slower team in Utah, that kind of volume is hard to ignore.
Gordon Hayward - FD 6600 DK 6300
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 31.38 DK Proj. Pts - 33.17
We've been quietly waiting for him to turn it around after some early season shooting struggles. That's starting to happen over the short term as he's seeing plenty of looks. He's shooting plenty enough and remains one of the focal points in the Jazz offense. He put up close to 20 shots last night and should be in line for something in that range tonight. The Magic aren't a terrible defensive team all things considered, but they are far from good.
Andrew Wiggins - FD 7200 DK 6400
Opponent - IND FD Proj. Pts - 33.13 DK Proj. Pts - 34
The thing with Wiggins is that if the Wolves are willing to play him insane amount of minutes (and they've done it in the past) then he can really make a nice play at the right prices. He's shooting much more than expected this season thanks to Rubio being on the court much more and Minny's somewhat lack of reliable scorers in the starting lineup. Coming off the game against the Warriors last night, I think you still see plenty of run for Wiggins tonight. The Pacers are a middle of the pack defensive team. And while I don't like their pace for opponents, I think he can hit value here.
Trevor Ariza - FD 5700 DK 5500
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 25.76 DK Proj. Pts - 28.75
He's very difficult to trust in cash games because between Harden, Dwight and now (unbelievably) Marcus Thorton, there are only so many shots to go around. But Ariza plays enough minutes and the Nuggets are that bad on defense that basically any Rocket is in play for this slate. Denver doesn't push the pace like they used to, but make up for it by being garbage on defense. Though not terrible against small forwards this season, they rank in the bottom third of defense efficiency.
Thaddeus Young - FD 5700 DK 5700
Opponent - SAC FD Proj. Pts - 29.65 DK Proj. Pts - 30.57
I really liked him the other night and he was on his way to a great fantasy performance when foul trouble stuck him in the first quarter. That buzzed off his minutes pretty hard and he wasn't able to fully recover. But when he's out there for full run, his prices are still trending low. In only 22 minutes last game he went 13/4 with 3 blocks. He'd played in the mid 30's consistently before that and I think the Rockets' game was the minutes outlier. Love the mid range price here that can help on bigger slates.
Julius Randle - FD 5900 DK 6300
Opponent - DAL FD Proj. Pts - 28.76 DK Proj. Pts - 29.34
He's falling into that class of rookies who don't need a ton of minutes to put up big games. When Randle is on the court, he can fill it up in a hurry. While Dallas is middle of the road against power forwards this season, Randle doesn't need a ton of run to pay off at least his FanDuel price. He's a little steep on DraftKings where I don't think you need to shoehorn him in if some cheaper options become available. But if he pushes into the low 30's in terms of minutes, then his all around game has a high cash game floor.
Kristaps Porzingis - FD 5600 DK 5900
Opponent - CLE FD Proj. Pts - 26.88 DK Proj. Pts - 27.75
I personally have never actually played him on the correct night, but that doesn't stop me from heading back down to the Kristaps Well. He falls much into the same category as the guys above. When he's on the court, he keeps a high floor relative to price. It's just that the minutes can look so damn variable that it doesn't exactly make you feel great. Last time the Knicks played Cleveland, Porzingis went 13/4/1/2/2 in only 21 minutes. That's a great line and a testament to his hustle and ability to contribute in different ways across the stat sheet.
DeMarcus Cousins - FD 10200 DK 9900
Opponent - BKN FD Proj. Pts - 54.12 DK Proj. Pts - 54.8
There are a lot of big money options you are going to want in your lineup tonight. But outside of Westbrook, Boogie might be the safest of them all. When he's on the floor, he dominates Kings' possessions and is happy to shoot from just about anywhere on the court, even from outside the arc. And though that might be ill-advised overall, it does speak to how much he gets the ball all over the court. He should feast on Brook Lopez tonight and
Karl-Anthony Towns - FD 7100 DK 7500
Opponent - IND FD Proj. Pts - 36.75 DK Proj. Pts - 37.4
The Pacers are getting just owned by opposing centers this season and there isn't a lot of reason to suspect it will change. Ian Mahimni and the rest of the crew they throw down there (Jordan Hill? yeesh) are just a couple of guys responsible for them ranking dead last in opposing centers rebounding. They aren't great in keeping the big men fro scoring either. Towns can fill it up in a hurry and he's on a great run of late. The T-Wolves appear to slowly be coming around on normalizing his minutes which reduces some of the risk. If you don't go Boogie on this slate, Towns is the one to roll.
Jahlil Okafor - FD 6700 DK 7100
Opponent - OKC FD Proj. Pts - 32.58 DK Proj. Pts - 33.02
While Philly comes off as pretty big underdogs, they've been playing Okafor independent of final score. That's a good thing to know when looking at Vegas lines before a game. Certain teams handle blowouts differently. Philly is used to them so their dudes play. Okafor is in the same class as Towns in that he can score, rebound and block shots in bunches. I like him less per dollar than the guys above, but he's another one to for sure consider.
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View Comments
Hi,
I tend to always check your picks before I post my lineups.
Thanks for providing so helpful picks.
Tonight though it's a really tough call. Especially with so many games on.
I'm a bit worried with the PF position. Porzingis has been playing heaps and Randle is a bit unsteady. What do you think of Millsap and Sullinger?