Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 11/24/15

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POINT GUARD

Stephen Curry - FD 10900 DK 10900
Opponent - LAL FD Proj. Pts - 45.51 DK Proj. Pts - 49.15
At this point I don't need to expound on the virtues of one Mr. Stephen Curry. He's having an historic season and is one of the many reasons League Pass is filling up our televisions every time the Warriors play. Tonight he takes on the worst defense in the league and the team that can't defend opposing point guards even a little. The only worry with Curry is the Warriors beat down the Lakers so bad that he doesn't sniff anywhere near his normal run of minutes. The one good thing about Curry's rotations though is that he (typically) plays through the third quarter. So his floor is somewhere in the low thirties of minutes. That's plenty of time to hit value for Steph and he makes one of the top cash game plays on the night.

Chris Paul - FD 8900 DK 8500
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 39.91 DK Proj. Pts - 41.97
His price is still trending on the low side thanks to some injury issues and a slow start to the season. Paul hasn't seen some of the top end performances this season for a couple of reasons. The minutes are trending a little lower than expected and so is his shooting. Paul is shooting worse than his career average from the field (43% compared to 47%) which isn't helping him reach peak value. Not that he's "due" to turn this around, but it doesn't stand to reason he'll continue to shoot as bad over the long term. This is a great matchup which should be up and down the court. I still think we are getting a discount on Paul and should take advantage while the getting is good.

D'Angelo Russell - FD 5200 DK 4500
Opponent - GSW FD Proj. Pts - 26.98 DK Proj. Pts - 28.91
He's the starting point guard for the Lakers now and all of the minutes that come with such an "honor". It remains to be seen how the Lakers will handle their minutes when getting completely run out of the gym. Though I should mention that the last two games they've lost by double digits and Russell has seen about 35 minutes in each. That's a great sign for a guy at these prices. For a point guard he doesn't deal out many assists, though that could be an indictment on the rest of the Lakers more than anything. You are getting him so cheap right now for his new opportunity. That is a great place to buy even if the Lakers are going to get destroyed.

Strongly consider John Wall

SHOOTING GUARD

Jamal Crawford - FD 4600 DK 4800
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 22.36 DK Proj. Pts - 24.66
J.J. Redick - FD 4500 DK 4300
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 21.34 DK Proj. Pts - 24.5
Shooting guard is awfully tough tonight and you are probably best served just going cheap and moving on to another position. Like I said with CP3, most Clippers are in play tonight because they are facing one of the worst defenses around. The Nuggets are allowing about 15% more scoring to opposing shooting guards than league average. That's a healthy bump for both of these guys. I actually don't even mind playing them together on a site like FanDuel as both are coming in the bottom tier of salaries and have some upside at these prices in a high-scoring game. There's little question the Clips are going to put up points in this one, it's just a matter of where they get it.

Will Barton - FD 5400 DK 5800
Opponent - LAC FD Proj. Pts - 23.93 DK Proj. Pts - 24.88
He doesn't need many minutes to fill up the box score. Barton is lightening in a bottle off of the bench for the Nuggets. And even though he hasn't been seeing up to thirty minutes a night, he's still averaging a 14/5/4 over the last three games. That's impressive considering how little he's played. If he's in there for more than thirty minutes in this game then I'd all but guarantee he hits value. The Nuggets are tough to predict on a night-to-night basis because the minutes are so variable. But I don't think Barton's price has outstripped even the chance that he gets buzzed off a little in run.

Consider Gary Harris who's also coming on the cheap side. Like J.J. and Jamal, I don't mind putting Barton and Harris together in cash games.

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SMALL FORWARD

Paul George - FD 9500 DK 9900
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 46.19 DK Proj. Pts - 49.47
The Wizards are still playing at one of the fastest paces in the league this season and rank only behind the Suns, Kings and Warriors in pushing the ball. That's great news for opponents in DFS because it means the volume potentially goes ways up. And PG is a volume guy. He's put together some fantastic nights in the last couple of weeks, highlighted by a 34/8/5 game against Philly. He's remarkably consistent with his production mainly because he doesn't rely just on scoring to accumulate points. He's averaging a 25/8/5 on the season with more than 1.5 steals thrown in. That means he can survive a rough shooting night and not crush your cash game hopes.

Otto Porter - FD 5800 DK 5800
Opponent - IND FD Proj. Pts - 26.64 DK Proj. Pts - 27.55
He's another guy who can get it done multiple ways in the stat sheet. Porter is a hound on defense which has helped boost some of the steal numbers as he's averaging nearly two a game. Porter isn't the top two options on offense for the Wiz which will effect his top end scoring numbers on any given night. But he has a higher floor because he'll put up rebounds and assists as well. Indiana is about middle of the road in terms of pace, so they aren't going to grind this thing down to a halt.

Danilo Gallinari - FD 6900 DK 6700
Opponent - LAC FD Proj. Pts - 30.8 DK Proj. Pts - 33.41
There's a chance the Clips blow the doors off Denver, though as of this writing there wasn't a line on the game. But Denver has been able to hang around in games even when they've lost because they can score. Gallo's part of the reason for that. He leads the team in scoring and is one of the few Denver guys whose minutes appear relatively safe. That's good because he needs full run to hit value. He doesn't fill up the box score, but he makes up for it by just being on the court enough.

POWER FORWARD

Blake Griffin - FD 9200 DK 9400
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 45.28 DK Proj. Pts - 45.97
The top big money play of the night and a guy I suspect will be the highest-owned player on the slate. Power forward is a weaker position to begin with and Blake has by far the best matchup on the night. Denver is allowing about 16% more scoring to opposing power forwards than league average. Blake should have his way in the post and from the top of the key as the Nuggets will really struggle to defend him. He's averaging a 28/8/5 for the season and the Clippers are happy to run many an offensive set through him. This is the kind of night where I think you'll be able to roster multipler big-salary guys and Griffin isn't a guy I'd want to fade.

Jared Sullinger - FD 6000 DK 6300
Opponent - ATL FD Proj. Pts - 32.67 DK Proj. Pts - 34.3
The Celtics' minutes are all over the place which makes me a little scared on guys like Sullinger. His price has climbed some in the short term thanks to a few really nice games. But there are simply too many games where the run isn't there. Those kind of variable minutes make for a dicey cash game play. But he does have big upside if Stevens leaves him out there. Atlanta hasn't defended big men (either power forwards or centers) particularly well this season and are susceptible to getting scored on down low. Sullinger is a tournament play for me, but he can go off in the right matchup.

Darrell Arthur - FD 3800 DK 3500
Opponent - LAC FD Proj. Pts - 22.79 DK Proj. Pts - 23.93
He's basically a must play if Faried is out again. I put him lower only because Faried, while doubtful, hadn't been ruled out as of this post. If Arthur draws another start you need to have him in your lineups. A guy at these salaries who could see somewhere near thirty minutes is a super easy call.

 

CENTER

Nikola Jokic - FD 4300 DK 4000
Opponent - LAC FD Proj. Pts - 18.02 DK Proj. Pts - 18.57
I so badly want to trust that Mike Malone sees what he has in Jokic and plays him big minutes. It's a hope that I don't trust will see fruition, but here we are. Even at a modest 25 or so minutes I'd play Jokic all day at these prices. Two of his last three games have been spectacular with the game against the Suns showing why it isn't a total lock he's out there for extended minutes. But I think it's well worth the risk on this slate considering what he can give you even in limited minutes. That and his salary helps with a lot of maneuvering elsewhere in the lineup.

Roy Hibbert - FD 5400 DK 5000
Opponent - GSW FD Proj. Pts - 25.09 DK Proj. Pts - 25.46
Very good chance the Lakers get annihilated and run completely out of the gym in this game, but also a good shot Hibbert sees his 25-26 minutes. He's a low ceiling, higher floor guy who won't break the bank on you. I much prefer Jokic for much cheaper, but Hibbert is a guy to consider.

Strongly consider DeAndre Jordan but I think I'd like to allocate those dollars to other positions.

 

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