Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for Draftstreet and FanDuel 1/30/14

Simply stated, if you followed yesterday's picks, you probably won some cash. We gave you Kevin Love, Dirk, Brandon Knight, Kyle Lowry and Terrence Ross to name a few. But most importantly, we suggested fading Lebron and KD. This was correct in that both of them paid less than 4x (on FanDuel). Allocation of dollars and expectation is critical and the matchups for both just didn't contain a great deal of upside.

Small slate of games, but I think there's a fairly easy way to go tonight. Let's take a look.

Quick reminder about these picks. At DFSR we employ a system that seeks to gain the most points-per-dollar. When we give a recommendation, it’s because we believe that player has the best chance to meet or exceed his price. On any given the night the highest dollar player can be expected to score the most points, but that doesn’t always make him the best play for the money. Want an in-depth look at how we set our lineups each night? Sign up for our email list and get a free eBook on the 6 steps every pro takes before setting his lineup, either by clicking that link or signing up through the sidebar. On to the picks.

Point Guard

Raymond Felton FD $5,600 DS 11,531-
Still fat. Still not fun to watch. Still not great at basketball. Still an okay value today with limited options at point guard. Felton is a decent cash game play as he's nearly assured to hand you 4X+ at this price against Cleveland. His ceiling is low, so avoid him in tournaments, but the Cavs are below average in a number of categories against PGs.

Kyrie Irving FD $8,100 DS 16,540-
Thankfully Felton is also bad at defense, as are the rest of the Knicks backcourt unit making Kyrie an extremely strong play today. He will probably be the highest percentage PG play. He, like Felton has been consistent of late and there is a bit of upside with Kyrie at this price if he really gets his shot falling. Buyer beware though: Kyrie has a much lower relative floor. He's put up some stinkers. I think he's a tournament play for me.

FanDuel Value

George Hill FD $5,100-
Been kind of crushing lately, paying this close to 5X for some time. Did you see what Brandon Knight did to the Phoenix backcourt last night? Of course Hill and Knight are very different players, but the conceit remains intact. This is a great price for a guy who's been doing a bit of everything lately.

 

 

Shooting Guard

Dion Waiters $4,900 DS $8,074-
Yikes. If you want to avoid the carnage don't look back at his game log. If it were graphed out, I'm not sure how many players would have such distinct peaks and valleys. He gets into the 30s and basements in the single digits. It's gross. But the matchup against the Knicks is great and on a slow night you need to find some value somewhere. Plus, I think you are going to want to save money for the heavy hitters at power forward. Set it and don't watch.

Klay Thompson FD $6,100 DS $10,520-
Thompson is like the opposite of Waiters. He never goes too high and rarely goes too low. I like him a bit more on FD because his volume is high and he won't kill you with his misses like on DS (though the price is so low there). If he gets hot against the Clippers and their suspect D against SGs you are golden.

 

 

Small Forwards

JR Smith - FD $5,100 DS $10,625-
Ugh, I hate to keep recommending him, but he just keeps paying this price going away. Smith plays sort of a hybrid role for the Knicks so it's hard to pin down his exact defensive matchup, but Cleveland is either meh (against SGs) or blah (against SFs) so it all spells for a nice matchup.

Andre Iguodala - FD $5,600 DS $11,050-
Again, I think you want to save money and Iggy makes for a decent midrange value. He seems to play better (or extract more fantasy value at least) from faster paced games where he gets out in the open court. The Clips are in the top third of the league in PACE meaning Iggy could see some more opportunities to fill the stat sheet.

DraftStreet Value

Luol Deng DS $11,560
Injuries could be hampering Deng's performance, but at this price I think you can take a swing on him in a tournament. He has the upside and the matchup. Like I said, a really good price for a tournament homerun.

 

Power Forward

I think you want to slot Blake in and try like hell to get these other two guys in depending on the site.
Blake Griffin - FD $10,700 DS $21,179-
Going to want him in your lineups on both sites today. This game should be high tempo, high scoring and Griffin could be all over the court. Last time these two teams played Griffin got ejected (which was bullshit not only because I had him in every lineup, but also because he basically got baited) but was well on his way to a huge game. He's averaged more than a 20/10 against the Warriors this season. All statistical and anecdotal signs have Griffin as a money play for tonight.

FanDuel Value

Carmelo Anthony - FD $10,800
Shoots a ton. Been scoring a ton. Shoots some more. Doesn't care if it's going in, just keeps shooting. That's exactly what I'm looking for on FanDuel. Shoot, shoot and shoot some more. This is especially more attractive if Deng is hobbled a bit.

DraftStreet Value

David Lee FD $14,158-
Awesome, awesome price. He's scored more than 20 points in their two meeting this year. And he'll be able to board sufficiently. Best midrange for-the-money player on DraftStreet tonight.

 

Center

*Quick note: Check on Varejao's status prior to game time for whether you can punt with Tyler Zeller again.

Roy Hibbert FD $6,000 DS $12,491-
A solid play on both sites, but you have to know that Hibbert can just not show up for a game. I'd be extremely hesitant about putting him in cash games. For that you may have to pay a bit more for Bogut (or a lot more for DeAndre).

FanDuel Value

Tyson Chandler FD $5,100-
Nothing changes from the other night. Neither the price nor the upside. Can give you 6X at this price. If he stays out of foul trouble and this game stays close he crushes this salary.