Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for Draftstreet and FanDuel 2/3/14

Presumably, you hate the Super Bowl as much as I do, because it stops daily fantasy basketball games from happening. I'm actually writing this before the super bowl, so you can pretend that there are lots of Super Bowl references in here, and that I'm as mad as you are that Richard Sherman grabbed his behind after the game-tying sack for a safety. Ready for hoops yet? Same here. On to the picks.

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

DJ Augustin FD $6,500 DS $11,261-
Playing a ton, very consistent output, and a nice matchup against a Sacramento team that is missing their best rim protector. Loving Augustin for his safety, even if it's been a while since he's flexed his true upside. Expecting a very, very big game from him in this one if it stays close.

Kyrie Irving FD $8,200 DS $15,440-
Kyrie was one of the most consistent performers in the 2nd half of January - and Dallas is merely average against point guards. Not really a GPP play for me, but happy to slide him in there for double-ups.

John Wall FD $8,800 DS $17,154-
Holy moses, did Wall pay this off against the Thunder. We thought he would only pay it if he kept the game close... it turns out he ignored our hopes, and helped the Wiz blow the Thunder out instead. Wall is blossoming into one of the very best and most consistent Fantasy Performers out there. Lillard is an offense-first PG, and Wall should be able to fill it up in this one as well.

Nick Calathes FD $3,500 DS $6,099-
Oh, Gypsy, what a price for Calathes, who played 40 minutes and absolutely killed it against the Bucks (no turnovers!). OKC isn't quite as favorable a matchup, but the Thunder haven't been great against PGs recently, and got positively torched by Wall last game. Calathes shouldn't be relied upon for 30 fantasy points a game, but at these prices, 20 FPs will still get you to the moon.

FanDuel Value

Nate Wolters FD $3,600
You can do a lot worse than Wolters if you want to punt away from the PG position. While Calathes showed some real upside last game, Wolters is still starting as of now (thanks a lot, Larry Drew, for screwing me over and over and over again with this bullshit), and minutes really matter. Especially for the bare minimum price, Wolters needs to be considered seriously.

DraftStreet Value

Tony Wroten DS $5,883-
Keep an eye here on Michael Carter-Williams' status, but at this price, it's awfully tough to go too far afield on Wroten. You can keep an eye on him on FanDuel as well, but the real upside of this price is on Draftstreet.
 

 

Shooting Guard

Jamal Crawford FD $6,400 DS $12,341-
You could never call Crawford a "safe play" for a double up, but it's hard to argue with the upside. His counterpart in this game is Randy Foye - and while Foye can put shots in the air as well as anyone, especially with Lawson out, defense isn't exactly his strong suit. I'm expecting a good game from Crawford AND the starter, JJ Redick ($4,800) on FD, but I'm taking Crawford for upside, and Redick for safety.

Randy Foye FD $6,100 DS $12,315-
Do you realize that Randy Foye has been playing more than 40 minutes a game with Lawson out? Foye is about as safe as they come when Lawson isn't in there, as he gets to bring the ball up the court a fair amount. Upside is there too. If Lawson is back in, you can downgrade Foye slightly, but with Nate Robinson out for sure, Foye will still get more than his fair share of looks against Crawford and Redick, who are either unwilling or unable to play decent defense.

Demar DeRozan FD $8,500 DS $14,144
DeRozan got his sea-legs back in his 2nd game back from injury, and is set to put a hurting on Gordon Hayward and whoever else tries to cover him in this game. I'm tempering my enthusiasm if the price goes up too much higher, but I expect he'll be a $9,300 FanDuel player before the year is out. DeRozan is safe for double-ups, and I'm fine with the upside in GPPs as well.

Lance Stephenson FD $7,900 DS $15,305-
Lance got going early, and then cooled off in his last time out there, but I'm expecting a big bounce-back game against Orlando. The only reason I can't recommend him without qualification is the blowout risk - but even on his "off nights" Lance tends to do a little bit of everything. I'm a fan.

Courtney Lee FD $4,900 DS $9,279 -
Just great opportunity with Conley out. He played SERIOUS minutes last night, and those minutes are going to bring opportunities. While I like Calathes quite a bit at his continued reduced rates, Lee represents more safety (and possibly a lot more upside than he showed against the Bucks) - I'm happy to get him in double ups or GPPs alike.

Jimmy Butler FD $6,400 DS $12,202 -
Butler is a phenomenal double up play simply due to his consistency in minutes and opportunity. While he rarely (if ever) "goes off," he's pretty reliable for 25-30 FPS on FanDuel, and he's a guy I'm happy to have in there if I have to play a shooting guard in a double-up. Not recommended for GPPs, even against Sacramento's lackluster defense.

Fanduel Value

Evan Fournier $3,900
They can't seem to get Fournier off the court with Lawson out - and even if he comes back, Fournier rates to play a lot of minutes that had been going to Nate-Rob. Draftstreet price limits his upside, but if Lawson is out, I don't mind him there either.

Victor Oladipo $6,300
While it's not fun to pick against Indiana, I may consider Oladipo here. Hear me out. Indiana has not been nearly as good against SGs as they were in the beginning of the year, and Oladipo's upside comes from his "everything else" contributions as opposed to his ability to score the ball. Not saying he's a premier play, but if you are sitting there with $6,300 left over and the SG position to fill, I don't mind him a bit.

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Draftstreet, I hardly ever find a reason to get SGs in the game, especially in double-up formats. PGs tend to be far more consistent.
 

 

Small Forwards

Paul Pierce FD $6,200 DS $10,987-
You may not feel as sexy as hell when you put the Truth in your daily fantasy hoops lineup, but Pierce is capable of paying this price excellently when he has a mind to. I'm contractually obligated to mention that the Sixers are God-awful against the SF position, so I'll do that now. More of a safe play for me, but I'm not surprised at all if Pierce goes out and puts up numbers against the hapless Sixers.

JR Smith FD $5,500 DS $10,838 (GUARD ON DS)-
Monitor Shumpert's situation, but Smith is playing (and shooting) a TON recently. His misses limit his upside on Draftstreet, but you have to love the quantity of shots on sites that don't penalize you for misses, like FanDuel. I have to warn you here about the Milwaukee Bucks of Milwaukee. They have single handedly cost me thousands of dollars in the last week alone with their ability to be blown out in a single quarter. My hope is that the Knicks' dearth of non-injured basketball playing human beings leaves JR out there on the floor.

Wilson Chandler $6,200 DS $10,921-
Chandler has had a few off games, but I think he's still a solid play for double-up formats against a Clips team that has been defending the SF position a lot worse since CP3 went down. Chandler is more of a double-up play for me.

Mike Dunleavy FD $5,700 DS $10,195-
Rudy Gay has taken weeks off from playing defense in his effort to determine the outcome of every GPP across the industry, which opens the door for Dunleavy to have a nice game. Limited upside, but really expecting a solid pay-off from a position that so frequently is filled with question marks.

Keep an eye on...

Jae Crowder FD $3,500 DS $7,520
Marion looking questionable again - and Crowder has played nicely when he starts. SF is typically a pretty awful position, so if Marion is out, leading your punts with Crowder is unlikely to be a bad thing.

 

Power Forward

Zach Randolph FD $7,700 DS $15,676-
The price remains low, and Zbo continues to deliver. Upside, consistency, you name it - Randolph is just doing it night in and night out. Expecting him to feature an even more prominent role in the offense with Conley out, and his post-up craftiness should even confuse Ibaka (even if he gets a few embarrassing blocks shoved back in his face as well). Love him here though. Love him. Play ZBO. Do it. do it.

Carmelo Anthony FD $10,500 DS $18,514-
Huge blow-out risk with Melo against the zombie-Bucks, but the reward here is tremendous. Melo is a classic front-runner, and isn't shy about pouring it on against dog-shit teams. The Bucks are such a dog-shit team. While I'm staying safe with Z-bo and others in double-ups, Melo will be plastered all over my GPP lineups, and if he manages to not get his here, it will only be because I continue to not learn my lesson about getting overzealous picking against the Bucks.

Dirk Nowitzki - FD $8,500 DS $18,720-
To be clear - his FanDuel price is MUCH better than his Draftstreet price, but he's an acceptable play on DS as well. For this price, what do you want from the guy? He has been CRUSHING recently, averaging in the high 40s for FPs on FanDuel, and I can't believe this will change against Cleveland, who doesn't have anyone who matches up against him at all defensively. Dirk for safety and upside on FanDuel, but more of a safety play on DS.

FanDuel Value

Anthony Davis $10,000 -
Price on Drafstreet has really skyrocketed, but Davis remains a great value on FanDuel. He's perhaps the best power-forward play over all for both consistency and upside, as the Spurs play an under-ratedly fast pace. Davis against Diaw hardly seems fair, so expect the Spurs to try and counter with Duncan... but no one on the Spurs can counter Davis' rebounding and shot-blocking ability - and the points come as a matter of course when he's logging 40 mins a game the way he has been recently.

Carlos Boozer - FD $6,700 -
Boozer had a pretty rough go of it his last time around, but Sacramento is just getting worse and worse against the PF position with everyone playing a little bigger in Boogie's absence. Price is still low enough on FD to where I'm happy to get Boozer in there.

DraftStreet Value

Blake Griffin $17,249-
Joke of a price for Griffin, especially against a Denver team that struggles against scoring PFs. I simply can't imagine not starting him on Draftstreet in any of my lineups. I don't hate him on FanDuel, either - but you almost can't go wrong at this price.

Patrick Patterson- $8,391-
Pat Pat continues to produce in his back up minutes, and Draftstreet just puts its fingers in its ears and says "LALALALALALALALA." Not the safest play due to minutes concerns, but I'm happy to save a few bucks on Patterson if it means paying up for a nice value AND upside guy like Blake or Carmelo.

 

Center

Andre Drummond FD $7,500 DS $15,942-
Barring the bizarre benching game, Drummond has been a complete force recently. The price is creeping up on Drafstreet, but yowza, Drummond is capable of delivering upside and safety.

Joakim Noah FD FD $9,000 DS $17,267-
I'm already embarrassed when I try and picture the Kings rebounding against Noah. Ugh, I can't stop thinking about poor Aaron Gray, or the under-sized Thompson, or any of those guys. I need to change the subject before it keeps making me feel so awkward. Oh god, the feeling is coming again. Moving on.

DeAndre Jordan FD $7,600 DS $15,629-
DeAndre has turned into one of the most consistent fantasy centers in the game. The rebounds are just so secure, and the Denver matchup is an excellent one for him - as Denver features a lot of hybrid bigs or semi-stiffs (hi Mozgov). His athleticism builds in some additional upside, but he'll be in my rotations on DS and FD.

Timofey Mozgoz FD $4,300 DS $10,380
No back up can ever be called safe, but Mozgov was really producing on this price up until last game. He's sort of a separation play for me (i.e., I doubt many people will play him, so it could be a way to break away from the field), but he has considerable upside when things break right, and playing him could allow you to pair a couple of the big forwards and get more bang for your buck there.

FanDuel Value

Larry Sanders FD $5,100-
Don't sleep on Sanders, who is producing value on this price night after night for a Bucks team that has almost no big men that can do anything besides stand idly by while the other team shoots the ball into the basket. Love Sanders and his hustle, and could be a good separation play in GPPs while everyone else chases the more expensive guys.