Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 11/25/15

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POINT GUARD

Brandon Knight - FD 7900 DK 8200
Opponent - NOP FD Proj. Pts - 35.65 DK Proj. Pts - 38.14
I would like him even more if Eric Bledsoe were to sit again, but even with Suns at full strength, this is a fine play. Knight is averaging almost 18 shots per game this season which is among the most in the league. But there's no denying he's been a feast or famine dude through and through. He has a couple of spectacular performances, but has some real stinkers thrown in there as well. The good news here is the Pelicans are about the worst in the league at defending opposing point guards. They don't have a lot of stability at the position to begin with and are getting shredded on the defensive end. I don't like point guard as a whole tonight, and it can feel weird paying this much for night. But I think he's worth it.

Rajon Rondo - FD 8400 DK 9300
Opponent - MIL FD Proj. Pts - 36.72 DK Proj. Pts - 37.38
He's expensive, but my god the lines this dude has been putting up are just ridiculous. He's playing minutes in the 40's which on it's own is crazy. He dished out 20 assists in an overtime game against Charlotte and could be looking at a big line tonight as well. He's hurt some without Boogie in there, but it probably only means the Kings will need him on the court the whole game, which could even things out. Rondo is another guy who's seen a big time price jump, but it's warranted and as long as the Kings keep it close he should see plenty of minutes to see value.

Consider Jeff Teague

SHOOTING GUARD

Avery Bradley - FD 6000 DK 5900
Opponent - PHI FD Proj. Pts - 28.02 DK Proj. Pts - 29.99
He's in the starting lineup now and I really should have included him in the picks from last night. He was one of the top points/$ shooting guards in the system and I simply glossed over him when writing. If his minutes are going to be in the mid 30's with the starting unit then these are really solid prices on Bradley. He's primarily a scorer which can cause problems in cash games if the shot isn't falling. But he's not so expensive that it will kill you. This is obviously a great matchup for Boston though there is some very real blowout concern.

Evan Fournier - FD 5900 DK 6700
Opponent - NYK FD Proj. Pts - 29.39 DK Proj. Pts - 32.18
He was a minutes' machine until last game when he got in some foul trouble and had the minutes lopped off completely. I don't expect the same thing in this game against the Knicks. Fournier, for the most part, has been an iron man for the Magic this season. And his minutes are really the safety valve even as the price has climbed since the beginning of the season. Fournier's been averaging more than 15 shots per game this season, which is crazy and I expect that to continue here tonight. He's probably a bit too pricey on DraftKings, but FanDuel is still very much in play.

Consider Kevin Martin as a tournament play if he draws the start again

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SMALL FORWARD

Rudy Gay - FD 7600 DK 7000
Opponent - MIL FD Proj. Pts - 32.18 DK Proj. Pts - 33.5
With Demarcus Cousins looking doubtful for this game, Gay gets an auto usage bump. This season, when Boogie is on the court, Gay's usage is about 22. When Boogie sits, that number jumps to about 28. Gay and Rondo become the primary guys on offense with a decent dropoff to the next guy. I imagine Gay will look for his shot all night long in this game and will play big minutes barring a blowout from the Bucks. The Bucks haven't been great against opposing small forwards this season, though there's a chance they shift Gay to the four and go smaller tonight. Either way I like the prices on him figuring he sees a lot of volume.

Jae Crowder - FD 5100 DK 5800
Opponent - PHI FD Proj. Pts - 23.86 DK Proj. Pts - 25.35
The question marks surrounding his minutes on a nightly basis keep his price down. That's both the good news and the bad news. Crowder can fill it up when he's in there and this does seem like just the right kind of matchup for him. Though Philly isn't playing at breakneck pace this season, they are still among the worst in the league at defending opposing small forwards. Crowder can be a per minute beast who's especially adept at the steals end against sloppy teams (hey Philly!). I think the prices are such that even getting a slight reduction in minutes wouldn't totally kill him.

Nicolas Batum - FD 7000 DK 7300
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 31.69 DK Proj. Pts - 34.13
I really though we would see more consistency from Batum this season. But he goes through games in which he struggles to find his shot and the field goal attempt volume is just all over the place. But this should be a game he sees a lot of shots. The Wizards are playing at one of the fastest paces in the league this season and rank dead last in defending the opposing small forward (see: George, Paul last night for a recent example). Batum is a solid cash game play who I think has a bunch of upside if he gets hot from three.

Thabo Sefolosha - FD 3900 DK 4200
Opponent - MIN FD Proj. Pts - 21.8 DK Proj. Pts - 22.89
He makes a great cheap, low ceiling-high floor guy as long as he sticks in the starting lineup. If Bazemore were to reappear tonight then Thabo is instantly out of the mix, but if Sefolosha starts and stands to see minutes then he is a nice little punt play.

POWER FORWARD

Luis Scola - FD 4600 DK 4800
Opponent - CLE FD Proj. Pts - 25.39 DK Proj. Pts - 25.79
He is a top play on the day as his prices haven't adjusted for the new opportunity. With Jonas Valanciunas out of the mix with injury, Scola picked up a bunch of those minutes in the last game. His last three games have seen him average an 18/6 which obliterates these salaries. This isn't the best matchup in the world against the Cavs who rank in the middle of the league against opposing power forwards. But this doesn't matter all that much considering what kind of discount you are getting on Scola who has a solid offensive game even with Lowry, Derozan and Carroll out there. Easy play here.

Kristaps Porzingis - FD 6700 DK 7000
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 32.8 DK Proj. Pts - 33.94
If the minutes are for real (and it appears as if the Knicks can commit to his run) then Zinger is about as good as anyone you'll see in this price range. He has an inside-out game that causes all kinds of matchup problems for opponents and he's a double-double threat anytime he's seeing close to thirty minutes (and he might not even need that much). Bottom line: he's been awesome and there's not reason to suspect his minutes get cut short now. He's just playing too well. Orlando is one of the worst teams in the league at defending opposing fours and will have to make a choice with how they match up with him.

Tristan Thompson - FD 5700 DK 5800
Opponent - TOR FD Proj. Pts - 30.64 DK Proj. Pts - 31.3
He's another who's seen the price climb some over the short term, but not enough to meet what's happened with Thompson not that Mozgov is on the shelf. Thompson is playing huge minutes as one of the lone bigs for Cleveland and is needed on the court a ton to give them any real size. He's not much of a scorer, but the rebounding numbers do keep the floor higher. He's averaging 15 rebounds a game since entering the starting lineup two games ago. I suspect he's out there a ton again today and Toronto isn't huge inside. Thompson makes a decent cash game play but doesn't score enough to really crush this price for a tournament.

Very strongly consider Markieff Morris who's been playing bigger minutes lately. But those minutes are always in question with Markieff. I'd like him a lot more if Bledsoe was to sit again. Also, Kevin Love has greatly benefited from Mo Williams out of the lineup.

 

CENTER

Jahlil Okafor - FD 6600 DK 6900
Opponent - BOS FD Proj. Pts - 31.01 DK Proj. Pts - 31.42
What I like about Okafor is he sees his minutes now matter where the Sixers are in the game. He's good for 31-35 minutes a night depending on if the game is out of hand or close. That's a good sign that Philly is committed to his development no matter how bad they are getting thrashed. Okafor isn't the most consistent big in the league which is to be expected from a young player. So don't pencil him in for a huge game every night, but with Boston pushing the pace Philly should see a bit more volume and they are a league average squad defending opposing centers.

Karl-Anthony Towns - FD 6900 DK 7400
Opponent - ATL FD Proj. Pts - 36.21 DK Proj. Pts - 36.87
I love buying players off of bad games. Towns burned a lot of people last time out against Philly when he played only 19 minutes thanks to some foul trouble. That kind of recency bias will keep many off of him tonight against the Hawks. But this is a good matchup against a Hawks team who've struggled some defending opposing centers. Now it isn't like Towns is the safest guy in the world as the minutes will fluctuate. But that's built some into the price and if Minny can keep it even a little close here I think Towns could really put up a nice line.

With Demarcus Cousins looking doubtful, you can consider Kosta Koufos as a punt play.
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