Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet 2/22/14

A big Friday in the NBA means you should start thinking about those lineups as early as possible. Here, take a break for a second, sit down, relax and just think about that perfect lineup? Have it pictured? See yourself cashing? Good because you are about to marry those two thoughts with this article. You're welcome, that's some Zen shit.

Besides just the mind/body stuff I threw out a second ago, be sure to use our lineup construction tools for FanDuel and DraftStreet today. Using our system for weighting expectation and creating optimal lineups will increase your odds of besting the field on a short night. Also be sure to sign up for our free Ebook on setting your lineups with precision each night. On to the picks.

Point Guards

So many great options here tonight, in every price range you might need to fill out winning lineups.

Rajon Rondo FD $7,300 DK $7,600 DS $14,905
He didn't get traded. He's still a Celtic and tonight gets to play the Lakers. I like a pissed off Rondo. I like a guy who was in a bunch of possible trade talks and speculation. I think that's the kind of guy who goes off tonight.

Kyle Lowry FD $8,300 DK $8,400 DS $15,920
Lowry is such a solid play tonight and will be, I think, a high percentage start on a big night. There's just too much to like about the matchup. Cleveland just gets crushed by opposing point guards in rebounding, assists and blocks. This, combined with Lowry's steady efficiency (and not getting traded) should produce a guy who has little to no problem reaching value tonight.

Goran Dragic FD $9,000 DK $8,500 DS $16,687
Man the price is climbing for Dragic, but still hasn't reached a point that is out of whack with a possible expectation. I think he has upside at these prices, especially on DraftStreet. The Spurs, while still winning games, are also letting up their fair share of points. This could be a high scoring affair with Dragic benefitting from facing a Spurs team that's been below average against point guards this season.

Trey Burke FD $5,200 DK $5,500 DS $10,591
Not the safest guy in the whole world, but has had his share of big performances. Portland allows about 10% more scoring and rebounding than league average to opposing point guards. And with Aldridge out there's much less of a chance of Portland blowing the doors off Utah.

DraftStreet Value

Jose Calderon DS $8,385
Now here's a guy who should be a heavy start just on the matchup alone. Philly is so bad. Clearly just tanking away the rest of the season, they might lose by thirty every night for the foreseeable future. A crazy low price on Calderon even though he isn't the most productive guy in the world.

FanDuel and DraftKings Value

Kendall Marshall FD $6,400 DK $6,700
This is mostly contingent on Nash not playing again. If Marshall is the main guy then these are insanely great prices for a dude who just double/doubles every single time he takes the court.

Patrick Mills FD $5,100 DK $5,500
He's been seeing the most productive run with Parker out. Though he's been coming off the bench he's still been filling it up.

FanDuel Value

Damian Lillard FD $7,500
Should see an increased uptick in volume with Aldridge sidelined. Could probably make the case to play him across the board.

Shooting Guards

As a note today, I don't think you need to really play any shooting guards at DraftStreet as there is plenty of value in a a number of pricing categories at point guard. These picks are strictly for FanDuel and DraftKings so that's where you'll see the price tags.

Jimmy Butler FD $6,400 DK $6,300
At this point I'm sure you're aware of the minutes. Butler plays all of them. There have been a combined 96 total minutes in the Bulls last two games. Butler has played 92 of them. That alone means he can crush these prices. Then you get a Denver team with a paper thin backcourt. Butler is such great value today.

Monta Ellis FD $6,800 DK $7,700
I think this price is getting a little steep on DraftKings, but Ellis gets an insane bump for playing the Sixers. Game could be over by halftime but, especially on FanDuel, Ellis could be one of the guys to make such a blowout possible. You need to steel yourself against the possibility that Ellis just doesn't show up (figuratively). He's had some checked out games and this could be another one. But you need almost need to play him because of the opponent.

Marco Belinelli FD $4,400 DK $4,600
Still playing starter minutes and hasn't done anything dissuade me from getting away from him. He isn't a punt option anymore. He's simply a guy who plays really well at super low prices. Frankly, I can't believe he's still in this salary range. It's crazy.

Gerald Green FD $6,000 DK $5,900
You need to catch him on the big shooting night. Because when you do, these prices look outrageously low. As with Dragic and Mills above, this game should see plenty of scoring and Green will get a ton of looks from the outside. He needs to knock them down because he only chips in a handful of rebounds and almost no assists. Such is the case with many a shooting guard.

DraftKings Value

Courtney Lee DK $4,000
Does this price make any sense to you? Me neither.

 

Small Forwards

Sort of like shooting guard, I think you are going to be using most of your money on DraftStreet with the power forwards. That being said, I included their DS prices because unlike shooting guard, I think you can consider playing these guys everywhere.

Jeff Green FD $6,400 DK $6,400 DS $12,110
High ceiling/ low floor. I wouldn't recommend taking him in double up formats because he's simply too volatile though he's much safer against teams with bad defenses. Same could be said about anyone really, but is of particular note with a guy like Green because his price has his fluctuations factored into it. This means he's the guy to play when he faces a terrible defense because his upside is so great. Make sense?

Wesley Johnson FD $5,200 DK $5,600 DS $10,777
A great play on positional specific sites like FanDuel and DraftKings because he sees a ton of minutes. This kind of run just means he is a heavy favorite to meet his salary simply from running around on the court long enough.

P.J. Tucker FD $5,500 DK $5,400 DS $10,617
Been a sneaky good play lately. Take a look at his game log. Our system has liked him the last couple of games and does again tonight. He's the perfect kind of DFS guy because he does everything you could want in the line.

Dorell Wright FD $3,500 DK $3,000 DS $5,535
He drew the start in Aldridge's absence and more than paid off. In a rarity, his price didn't move on DraftStreet. Take advantage.

 

Power Forwards

Oh man, there are so many guys here tonight who all fall into about the same $/expectation level. Dirk stands out above the rest in our system, but after him I can make a case for all of these other guys depending on how the rest of my lineup was shaping up.

Dirk Nowitzki FD $7,700 DK $7,700 DS $15,863
The top play of the day from a statistical standpoint and Dirk should have plenty of early opportunities. "Early" being the operative word as it might get out of hand quickly. The Sixers don't have anyone who can handle his game (or really anyone's game) and we could be looking at a monster.

Jared Sullinger FD $6,500 DK $6,300 DS $12,753
I would like Sullinger so much more if his minutes hadn't been reduced last game. I know the game before he was dealing with some flu stuff, and last there was foul trouble. Those are two extenuating circumstances but still, when the minutes start waning it can mean others take advantage. I'm looking at you Brandon Bass. But I think you can use Sullinger's two off games to your advantage. Though he won't be completely off of people's radars because of the Lakers, he won't be as high a percentage start as he should be.

Greg Monroe FD $6,400 DK $7,100 DS $13,796
Here's another guy who's been super steady of late. I wouldn't consider him any kind of upside play but Atlanta's interior is such a wasteland of washed up veterans, undersized guys and Paul Millsaps that I can't imagine a scenario in which they are able to handle Monroe and Drummond (below). Though I wouldn't count on Monroe to win me a tournament, he should see plenty of opportunity.

Tobias Harris FD $5,900 DK $6,300 DS $11,527
Here's another guy who's been flying under some radars lately. He shouldn't be. With Vucevic back Harris has slid back to the three and getting starter minutes in a more natural position. He's benefited from everyone realizing finally that Glen Davis is actually terrible (and now hurt and probably getting bought out). Harris is a scoring and rebounding threat who faces a Knicks squad that doesn't defend the SF position all that well.

Carmelo Anthony FD $10,100 DK $10,300 DS $19,475
Speaking of the Knicks, Melo gets a nice matchup tonight against the Magic. First off, the Knicks have almost no offensive options to begin with. They didn't get any better at the trade deadline and are basically still a lock to see Melo jacking 25-30 shots a night. On sites that don't discount for misses, you can rest assured he'll probably meet some value. Additionally, whether Melo plays the three or four, it matters not against Orlando. They are subpar against both.

Carlos Boozer FD $6,400 DK $5,800 DS $11,925 and/or Taj Gibson FD $6,700 DK $6,600 DS $11,902
I always just end up lumping these guys together because they always seem to just sit right next to each other in our system. This is what happens when you play the same opponent, at about the same minutes in a similar price range. Denver gets railroaded by opposing power forwards in the scoring department which benefits both dudes. The problem is they share the load and that limits both of the their upsides. Gibson started last game, but that didn't necessarily help him alongside Boozer. It's an interesting situation.

DraftStreet Value

Zach Randolph DS $13,054
Whoa what a price. Buy low on Z-Bo. He hasn't the best run of late, but how much lower can this price get? And as we've said before, for as big of names Blake and DeAndre are, opposing interior players get theres. Part of that is a pace thing, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Z-Bo is such a solid play at this price.

FanDuel and DraftKings Value

Blake Griffin FD $10,200
If I'm spending big bucks, beside Melo, I'm also considering Blake against the Grizzlies. He's been paying this price off about 5x over the last few weeks. Just insanely productive.

Thomas Robinson FD $3,500 DK $3,000 DS $7,750
Another guy who benefited from Aldridge's injury. Price is much better on FD and DK.

 

Centers

Center is a pretty barren landscape tonight. I think you need to get your money into one of these guys because the drop off is stark after them.

Joakim Noah FD $9,000 DK $8,600 DS $18,228
Joakim is the top center play on every site. His price is completely reasonable and he gets to face a Denver team who fronts him with either Hickson (too small) or Mozgov (too slow). Denver allows about 13% more scoring to opposing centers than league average over the course of the season. Those numbers are even worse over the short term. Last couple of weeks? 42% worse scoring. 30% more rebounds. Those are insane short term splits. They aren't sustainable, but good defensive teams wouldn't run that bad. Start Noah.

Andre Drummond FD $8,700 DK $8,100 DS $18,077
This one is more anecdotal than system based, but Atlanta has no answer for Drummond. If Ayon was still in the mix it might look different, but he's out. Drummond could have a rebounding field day. Like 20 rebounds is completely in play.

Robin Lopez FD $6,300 DK $6,000 DS $13,170
With Aldridge out Lopez saw an immediate uptick in shot attempts. That makes sense as LaMarcus just commandeered so many of the scoring opportunities. His numbers had to go somewhere. Robin is one of those places.