Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet 3/3/14

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Point Guards

There a few site-specific plays today. Make sure sure you read through because the top guy, while solid need to possibly be paired with someone from below.

Damian Lillard - FanDuel $8,000 DraftKings $8,300 DraftStreet $15,653
Lillard is probably the only guy I'll consider playing on all three sites. Though his productivity takes a hit with Aldridge back on the court, he still gets a major bump playing the Lakers. Though, on paper, they've been "better" against point guards lately, that's because many of those games have been against teams without high quality PGs. There were a few, but not a ton. Lillard could really light this thing up.

Brandon Jennings - DraftStreet $11,396
Holy shit this is low. Could you tell how confused I was in that last sentence? I know he's all over the place, and there is possibly some Will Bynum creeping in along the margins threatening some playing time. Plus a little bit on injury concern. But even with all of that I think I could still stomach playing him at this price. That's no easy feat because this dude causes ulcers.

Isaiah Thomas - DraftKings $7,700
Great price on IT2 today whose production doesn't really change one way or the other with changes in the lineup. For this reason, I like his consistency with a raised floor. He gets his.

Ricky Rubio - FanDuel $6,600
I'll consider Rubio today on FD because this price is getting a bit low and he gets a solid matchup against Denver. He'll either be playing a rusty Ty Lawson or a traffic cone in a basketball jersey, Aaron Brooks. The T-Wolves have everyone back which means Rubio goes back to never shooting. But I think he can do enough of the other stuff* to pay.
*industry term

Brandon Knight - DraftKings $6,500 DraftStreet $13,189
He's the least bad player on the Bucks. I have him last on the list because while our system likes him, I'm a bit worried that it hasn't completely accounted for his slightly reduced playing time now that Ramon Sessions is in town. I still think he is fairly solid, just not as solid as when he was the only guy on the Bucks who could dribble.

 

Shooting Guards

A million tons of value today.

Kevin Martin - FanDuel $5,800 DraftKings $5,200 DraftStreet $11,215
After screwing us a month or so ago with his last minute announcement of a broken finger (I don't forget Kevin, and I barely forgive) Martin came back last game and had one of his best games of the year. Which just about figures. Now he gets a great matchup against Denver which probably means we'll hear he has something like the flu about 45 seconds after lineups lock.

Tyreke Evans - FanDuel $5,400 DraftKings $6,000 DraftStreet $10,960
Is, for now, in the starting lineup and playing big minutes. I feel like that's all Evans needs. Well, it's probably all anyone needs, but Evans was lighting it up off the bench for a stretch early in the year. Then he kind of disappeared. And now he's back. Evans plays a hybrid 2 and will take many of the ball handling duties from Brian Roberts. Bad news for the Kings who already get rolled by shooting guards.

Wesley Matthews - FanDuel $5,600 DraftKings $5,800 DraftStreet $9,254
Hasn't been great of late, but has been far from dreadful. Matthews is a solid value play, especially on DraftStreet, against the Lakers. He should see more than his average amount looks and I actually consider him a fairly safe play even with any blowout risk.

Gordon Hayward - FanDuel $6,500
Been making more than three shots a game lately and can definitely pour it on across the statistical board on the right night. Milwaukee isn't a great team (understatement) and Hayward is a solid play at this salary which has dropped of late.

Eric Gordon - FanDuel $4,800 DraftKings $5,400 DraftStreet $8,199
I have him down on the list because it just felt weird putting him near the top even though in our system that's exactly where he is. On FD and DS he is one of the top guys. Gordon is all or nothing so make him a tournament play.

Jimmy Butler - DraftKings $5,400
What? Plays every minute of the game.

Kent Bazemore - FanDuel $4,400 DraftKings $3,900
Still a solid punt play for the minutes he's getting. Even if the Lakers are down big I still think he sees his run.

 

Small Forwards

Nicolas Batum - FanDuel $6,900 DraftKings $7,300 DraftStreet $13,936
Noticed a theme of Blazers all sitting near the tops of these plays? Not a mistake. Lakers blow. Batum seems fully recovered from the hand injury and has been back to just doing everything. He's on quite a run that didn't stop, nor slow down when Aldridge came back on board. Going to probably have him in my lineups on every site today.

Corey Brewer - FanDuel $4,600 DraftKings $4,600 DraftStreet $8,267
A lot harder to get excited about Brewer than Batum, but our system really likes his chances against a Denver team that's about league average against SFs. Brewer actually probably pretty safe at these prices, with the outside chance that he really turns it on.

Wesley Johnson - FanDuel $4,900 DraftKings $4,700
I'm only recommending the Lakers I think will see their full run of minutes regardless of the outcome. Johnson should be able to see 30 minutes and I like his chances against a Portland team that's been below average against small forwards this season.

Mike Dunleavy - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,300
He, like Butler, just gets out there and runs around the court enough to warrant a mention. Even against the Nets who are slower than molasses, Dunleavy's on court time is enough to pay these prices though probably not with huge upside.

Kyle Singler - DraftStreet $6,868
Stunk last game but much of it was because of early foul trouble. He's been playing a ton of minutes and I don't think those are in jeopardy. As long as he is starting this is a fantastic price. Like must play territory.

 

Power Forwards

Kevin Love - FanDuel $11,600 DraftKings $11,300 DraftStreet $22,827
The top big money play today and it really isn't close. Pekovic and Martin aren't in the lineup? No problem. They're back? No problem. While those two dudes eat in to Love's production simply because he's not called on to take every single shot and grab every single rebound, he still is one of the best in the game playing against one of the worst defenses. Denver has allowed 13% more scoring and 8% more rebounding to opposing power forwards this year. Love is a top option and with depressed prices elsewhere I don't think you'll have issues getting him into your lineups.

Kenneth Faried - FanDuel $5,600 DraftKings $5,700 DraftStreet $10,993
On the other side of the ball, Faried makes a great option today. With the turmoil at Denver's center, Faried has quietly played solid ball. He plays his best games against fast-paced teams and stands to produce a nice line against the speed of Minny. If you're looking to single game stack a bit, pairing Faried and Love together is a nice option.

Zach Randolph - FanDuel $7,100
This one is a bit of a hunch as he isn't particularly high in the system but with Washington playing without Nene I don't see Trevor Booker handling Z-Bo.

Finally, I think:
Anthony Davis - FanDuel $9,400 DraftKings $9,300 DraftStreet $17,126

and

Carmelo Anthony - FanDuel $10,600

and

LaMarcus Aldridge - DraftKings $8,900 DraftStreet $17,660

are all solid options. But I am favoring Love above all of them. That being said, if you are looking to fade Love, I think you can do it with any of these guys at the sites listed and spend some more money in the rest of your lineup.

 

Centers

Only three choices for me today.

Robin Lopez - FanDuel $6,100 DraftKings $6,100 DraftStreet $13,718
And we've rounded out the Blazer starting lineup. The next center the Lakers guard efficiently will be the first. The only problem with Lopez is that his price rose a bit with Aldridge out of the lineup and hasn't fallen back to what it really should be with Lamarcus back in the lineup. Granted he was good last game and I think he has plenty of upside here. I just want his stock to dip back down to pre-LA injury and grab even more value.

Nikola Pekovic - FanDuel $7,100 DraftKings $7,000 DraftStreet $13,450
I missed the guy. It was nice to have him back, looking like the Eastern European mafia heavy that I like to see roaming around the Minnesota interior. Denver, even with Mozgov, won't have a lot of answers for Pek and I love, love the prices on him.

Tyson Chandler - FanDuel $6,500 DraftKings $6,500 DraftStreet $13,109
For me, he's below the first two guys (in case his geographical placement on this list didn't give it away), but worth a mention because Detroit just isn't good against opposing centers. Granted many of their issues are in allowing centers to score and assist at will, not exactly Tyson's skill set, but he could see a modest bump there.