Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 12/18/15

Coming off a crazy Thursday night that saw Lebron send a woman in the first row to the hospital and Toronta call a timeout while Derozan hit a game winning shot, well let's say this Friday has a lot to live up to. (And don't worry, I'm the king of run-on sentences.) There's a lot to like about this slate with a nice range of solid values across the price spectrum.

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POINT GUARD

Jarrett Jack - FD 6400 DK 6200
Opponent - IND FD Proj. Pts - 30.9 DK Proj. Pts - 31.81
With Shane Larkin out due to a concussion, Jarrett Jack was asked to play a ton more minutes. He ran for 36 against Miami on his way to a 22/10/2 line. You could see similar minutes tonight as well against Indiana. The Pacers are actually playing at the 8th fastest pace in the league this season and have been about league average in allowing opposing points guards to score. If Jack is just going to run the point for most of the game then his price is much too low.

Tyreke Evans - FD 7200 DK 7300
Opponent - PHX FD Proj. Pts - 36.26 DK Proj. Pts - 37.54
He was trash the other night against Utah, but this is the perfect time to come back in and play a guy like Tyreke. The public may be a little down on the guy because he burned a bunch of people, but one bad game does not a player make. Phoenix is another super fast squad with a low defensive efficiency. They allow 4% more scoring than league average to opposing point guards and Tyreke has his minutes set. This is a good time to buy when public opinion could be a little lower.

Ricky Rubio - FD 7200 DK 7200
Opponent - SAC FD Proj. Pts - 33.76 DK Proj. Pts - 34.79
Had him as a top play against the Knicks the other night and oh did he pay. He nearly quadruple-doubled with a 9/10/12/8 (steals) line that was (I believe) the top scoring play of the night. Rubio doesn't score a ton so he needs those other ancillary numbers to keep pace. You won't see what he did on Wednesday very often of course, but when he's playing a team like Sacramento who plays at the second fastest pace in the league and has the second worst defensive efficiency, well then you are talking.

SHOOTING GUARD

Kent Bazemore - FD 5500 DK 5700
Opponent - BOS FD Proj. Pts - 27.02 DK Proj. Pts - 28.64
He only played 25 minutes against the Sixers had the game well in hand by the fourth quarter and the starters all got their minutes buzzed off. The important thing is Bazemore drew the start again at the small forward and that should stick at least for the short term. He takes up some of the scoring Kyle Korver's failed to provide this season and will run in a game that should feature a bunch of points. If it stays close Baze could see minutes in the mid-to-high 30's and he's more than productive enough to pay here.

Alec Burks - FD 5300 DK 5000
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 24.92 DK Proj. Pts - 25.85
If he's in the starting lineup again for the Jazz then I really like the prices on Burks. He's shot terrible the last two games (4-19 combined), and didn't start one of them which has kept his price in play. This is such a great matchup against Denver and I think the Jazz will be motivated to keep running some smaller lineups. Denver's been below average in allowing opposing shooting and point guards to score (depending on what you think Burks is playing here) and they bring a faster pace to help the volume.

Very strongly consider Courtney Lee if Tony Allen sits again

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SMALL FORWARD

Omri Casspi - FD 5000 DK 5900
Opponent - MIN FD Proj. Pts - 25.58 DK Proj. Pts - 26.81
Casspi is playing an enormous amount of minutes for the Kings, rolling out an average of about 40 over the last three games. I'm not sure he's a favorite to keep seeing run like that, but even in the mid 30's he's an easy play on FanDuel. I like his floor considering he'll score, but also chip in across the stat line. He's a part of the offense for sure, averaging more than 10 looks per game since joining the starters. Minnesota doesn't sprint up and down the court, but they do allow opposing small forwards (assuming he's the three and Gay shifts to four) to score.

Carmelo Anthony - FD 8700 DK 8300
Opponent - PHI FD Proj. Pts - 41.25 DK Proj. Pts - 43.41
Melo's a complete and total bargain right now. His price dropped some in the early season thanks to a lighter month (fantasy-wise) in November. But Melo's run into some weaker defensive teams of late and capitalized with a couple of double-doubles and even buoying some of his assist numbers. It's coincided a little with Zinger's minutes fluctuating more. Philly's getting smoked by opposing small forwards this season, even with Robert Covington out there now. Melo comes in priced below the big boys, but is really in play tonight especially because the Knicks might not have the firepower to blow out Philly.

Consider Luol Deng and Bojan Bogdanovic on the cheaper side of things

POWER FORWARD

There's a tight grouping of points/$ plays from our system here. I'm going to go quick hitter on a bunch of guys to consider. I'm not fully confident in any of them, but I don't hate any of them either.
Anthony Davis - FD 10500 DK 10500
Opponent - PHX FD Proj. Pts - 51.02 DK Proj. Pts - 51.79
Minutes are there for sure, but he will dust you with a poor performance or mid-game injury more than I'd like to consider. The Suns, while a fast team, do ok against power forwards this year. But this game is coming in at the highest over/under on the night and Brow of course has extreme upside.

Chris Bosh - FD 7300 DK 7100
Opponent - TOR FD Proj. Pts - 37.01 DK Proj. Pts - 38.73
Coming off a poor performance against the Nets the other night, but will come into a game against a league average Toronto team coming off an overtime loss last night. Bosh is more a cash game play for me considering he rarely shoots the moon with upside.

Paul Millsap - FD 8300 DK 8000
Opponent - BOS FD Proj. Pts - 39.48 DK Proj. Pts - 41.19
Should be a fast-paced game against a team league average against power forwards. Much like Bosh, Millsap doesn't do quite enough to really bust it out of the box, but he'll rarely kill you either. Tough games against Miami, San Antonio and OKC make the game log look rough, but remember that those are solid, slow teams.

The Cheap Guys

John Henson - FD 3800 DK 4200
Opponent - GSW FD Proj. Pts - 21.19 DK Proj. Pts - 21.49
Jon Leuer - FD 4600 DK 5900
Opponent - NOP FD Proj. Pts - 24.6 DK Proj. Pts - 25.21
Henson is a per minute beast who just doesn't play any minutes. But he could see around 23 again tonight with Monroe looking doubtful. I don't mind it because he might run even in a blowout and he's basically free.

Meanwhile Leuer is still starting and saw limited minutes because the Warriors were putting on a basketball clinic. The game against the Pels will obviously be a different story and I think Leuer s still very much a viable option at his price.

CENTER

Gorgui Dieng - FD 4800 DK 5300
Opponent - SAC FD Proj. Pts - 26.18 DK Proj. Pts - 26.58
He entered the starting lineup for the Wolves on Wednesday and per dollar was the play of the night. He played a ton of minutes and was productive going 14/10. The price stays pretty much the same and I think you could see him run with the starters even if Kevin Martin were to return. He and Towns play well together and he gives Minnesota much more size with the first unit. Keep an ear out for the starting lineup here, but Dieng might be a play even off the bench if he were to creep towards thirty minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins - FD 9800 DK 10200
Opponent - MIN FD Proj. Pts - 47.55 DK Proj. Pts - 48.13
In the big money tier, Boogie is still one of the best bargains around. His price is below some of the other superstars though his production should be on point tonight. Minnesota's been blitzed by opposing centers this year and power forwards as well. Cousins switches between the two depending on the rotation. No matter the matchup, he's in a good spot here. If he can stay out of foul trouble (not an easy thing for the guy) then he should have his way with the Minny frontcourt even if they go double big.

Jahlil Okafor - FD 6600 DK 6700
Opponent - NYK FD Proj. Pts - 34.84 DK Proj. Pts - 35.26
The Knicks are allow some of the most scoring and rebounding to opposing centers as you'll see. They are allowing 6% more scoring and 7% more rebounding respectively. Okafor isn't much on the defensive end, but he does have an offensive game. And the important thing for Jahlil, which we've mentioned, is his minutes are locked in blowout or no. That's important for a team like the Sixers who screw around with just about every else's run.

Bismack Biyombo - FD 4000 DK 4900
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 22.48 DK Proj. Pts - 22.96
He's a top play in our system and is coming off a night that had him put up 18 boards. I'm just a little concerned with how many minutes he played last night and if there's some fatigue there. Hard to argue with the price and production though. He's fun to watch on the defensive end with the Mutumbo finger wagging for sure.
So yeah, basketball season! And we've got some goodies you can take with you. At the end of the post, we have our NBA eBook that you really ought to check out before setting even a single daily fantasy NBA lineup. It's free, below.

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