Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet 3/12/14

Another big Wednesday in the NBA means a ton of games, tournaments and action across the industry. You've come to the right place. We'll get you sorted out and in tune to the values out there. Lot to talk about. Let's get to it.

 

Point Guards

Kyrie Irving - FanDuel $8,500 DraftKings $8,900 DraftStreet $16,989
I'm taking Kyrie for three reasons. One: He's been on a decent run of late, handling the offense and contributing in a variety of ways beyond scoring. Two: He's facing a Phoenix team that allows about 5% more scoring than league average to opposing point guards. Three: yesterday I was talking to a guy I know who used to coach Kyrie in middle school basketball and he showed me a pic of that team, dude beaming ear-to-ear as this was definitely the highlight of his coaching career. I think it's a sign.

Isaiah Thomas - FanDuel $7,900 DraftKings $6,800 DraftStreet $13,881
IT2 gets to run up and down the court with the Sixers. I'm not going to belabor the point on Philly's sucktitude. I will say though that it is somewhat of a knock on Thomas that he wasn't the runaway leader in our system even with Philly's defensive deficiencies. That, combined with the prospect of not seeing the fourth quarter and I have a few reservations.

Jameer Nelson - FanDuel $5,600 DraftKings $5,400 DraftStreet $9,999
A very strong play today against Denver and their uptempo game. The Nuggets don't allow more scoring than average to opposing point guards but they lose ground in assists and rebounds. Nelson comes at a low price mainly because he is wildly inconsistent. I'm willing to take the risk today with the increased volume and think he actually makes a safe play in cash games.

Kyle Lowry - FanDuel $8,600 DraftKings $8,300 DraftStreet $15,682
Lowry is a solid play today and will make the position interesting as he faces off against the Pistons who couldn't defend you if you played point guard. And yes I know you have a killer crossover but still, this is the NBA. Detroit is below average in every phase of the game against point guards and Lowry has been generally consistent this season.

Jarrett Jack - DraftStreet $7,620
Completely reasonable price with a ton of upside if he gets 12+ shots up.

Note: Our system likes Goran Dragic tonight and a few other Suns. I am taking a wait and see approach with him as Eric Bledsoe should return tonight. I just want to see how that effects their rotations and production.

 

Shooting Guards

James Anderson - FanDuel $4,500 DraftKings $4,500 DraftStreet $9,106
The Knicks made Anderson look like an All-Star the other night. The Kings are another culprit in not defending shooting guards. Anderson's basement is mitigated a little because he will play minutes even in a blowout. Not as much in play on DraftStreet with the cheap point guards above making for a bit better plays, but still in the discussion.

Gordon Hayward - FanDuel $6,800 DraftKings $7,400 DraftStreet $14,508 (Forward)
Was looking very much like we'd caught a bad Gordon Hayward night on Monday. But he pulled out of it in the second half to finish just below value. He just adds too many assists and rebounds to totally bottom out (I say now). If he was listed as a guard on DraftStreet I wouldn't have him on that site, but forward is weak, putting him in play. Hayward, especially on FanDuel is right in the value zone, though this is probably the max price I'd take him.

DeMar DeRozan - FanDuel $8,200 DraftKings $7,800 DraftStreet $14,260
No doubt about it, Derozan is seeing significantly less shots a game over the short term and this is a bit concerning for his upside. But I'm not willing to jump off the wagon just quite yet. Brooklyn is a glacially slow team which will explain, at least a little his nine attempts the other night. I didn't watch that game so if someone wants to chime in on the defensive scheme the Nets ran to limit Derozan's looks, leave it in the comments section. Basically I'm looking for a reason to play Derozan tonight.

Monta Ellis - FanDuel $7,300
Not over the moon about this play, but Ellis has been fairly consistent this season.

Chris Douglas-Roberts - FanDuel $4,100 DraftKings $3,800
Still very much in the punt zone. He had people who'd rostered him on suicide watch during the first half against Denver. But he climbed back to value in the second half. Now Washington is better than average against shooting guards so I don't think he has crazy upside, but these prices still seem safe.

Terrence Ross - DraftKings $3,800
A punt price for a guy who should see thirty minutes.

Randy Foye - DraftStreet $9,378
An upside play if you want to get frisky in a GPP.

Ben McLemore - DraftStreet $5,198
No one does less with more minutes than McLemore but the downside for this price is so little and he has some upside against the Sixers.

Note: Same thinking for Dragic applies to Gerald Green. The system is high on him, but Bledsoe reentering the picture makes Green more iffy, even with Tucker out of the lineup tonight.

Small Forwards

Rudy Gay - FanDuel $7,700 DraftKings $7,500 DraftStreet $14,813
Sixers alert. Gay is the top forward play today by a decent margin. The question, as always, is what the playing time ends up looking like. Frankly, at these prices I'm not too totally concerned with it. I think Gay will be a big percentage start as there's almost no way he doesn't produce at least as well as any other SF on the board for the dollars. This is even factoring in reduced minutes. If he plays the whole game? Forget it. Remember, the Kings suck too. They aren't historically bad like the Sixers, but they aren't good.

Trevor Ariza - FanDuel $6,900 DraftKings $6,700
It's a weak night at small forward. Ariza gets the nod here because he's a favorite to see a full compliment of minutes against an average Charlotte team. Knock his last game off as Miami is real good against small forwards. And remember, Ariza has the chance to run a heat check on the right night. I don't love this play, but on a tough night in the always dicey land of small forwards, I think he makes a fine option.

Wilson Chandler - FanDuel $5,900
Like Ariza, I am lukewarm on this play but the options are limited. Also like Ariza though is that Chandler is getting his minutes and his shots with more frequency. Orlando has had a rotating cast of characters in their small forward slot, so it's hard to totally trust the defensive numbers. But they aren't a good team on the whole and Chandler could provide some upside here.

Luol Deng - DraftStreet $10,250
Trying not to let my personal feelings about all the times he's screwed me taint my view of this as a solid price on Deng. Granted, just the fact that I've typed him name in this space means he's good for a 1/13 shooting night.

Kyle Singler - DraftStreet $7,205
Fantastic price. Probably will be in all of my DraftStreet lineups.

 

Power Forwards

Warning, this position is a bit tough tonight. I'm not a fan of any of the more expensive options.

Reggie Evans - FanDuel $3,800 DraftKings $3,600 DraftStreet $8,146
This is assuming he's starting again. Granted, our system liked him not even initially accounting for the role change, but if he's in the starting lineup again tonight against the Sixers then this is probably the play of the day.

Derrick Favors - FanDuel $6,100 DraftKings $6,500 DraftStreet $11,696
Doesn't feel good does it? This could easily turn into a situation in which we like Favors and he turns in an absolute stinker. Which is to say, he is far from the safest guy. Basically, you need to know that the Jazz won't get blown out because Favors doesn't play huge minutes to begin with. He needs to be productive in under thirty minutes. If the Jazz are losing big, he sees no minutes. But when he plays, he plays real well and Dallas struggles on the interior

Amar'e Stoudemire - Amar'e Stoudemire - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $4,900 DraftStreet $11,229
Still in the value range, Amar'e has benefited from coming into the starting lineup against below average defensive teams like Philly, Minnesota and Utah. That's probably inflated his value just a tad. But his price still hasn't caught up for a guy playing thirty minutes a night as the starting power forward. Boston is about league average. Stoudemire is still in play tonight.

Amir Johnson - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,800 DraftStreet $11,431
Playing big minutes with Patrick Patterson sidelined. Weak night with forwards means you need to squeeze drops of value out of off-the-radar plays. Johnson fits that perfectly. We are always looking for increased minutes and Detroit, for as big as they are, allow more than average scoring to opposing power forwards. I'm looking to save money at this position today. Price is a little steep on DraftKings and DraftStreet (about 11% of cap), but kind of great on FanDuel.

Zach Randolph - FanDuel $7,000 DraftKings $7,300 DraftStreet $14,538
If I was going to get a little pricier on power forward I would consider Z-Bo against a Pelican team that's allowing worse than league average scoring and rebounding to opposing power forwards.

Thaddeus Young - DraftKings $7,200 DraftStreet $13,878
Still significant upside for Thad at these salaries especially if he's seeing his full run in blowouts. He made up some ground late in the Knick game against the second unit.

Marvin Williams - FanDuel $4,000 DraftKings $3,700 DraftStreet $7,325
Disclaimer: System has him as a top option, but it is really only based on his super high ceiling. Because he has a very low floor.

 

Centers

Top end of this group is clear.

Nikola Vucevic - Nikola Vucevic - FanDuel $7,500 DraftKings $7,800 DraftStreet $16,658
We have Vucevic as a top play tonight and he's probably the guy I'll be running instead of Cousins. Denver just gets completely chewed up against centers. Like totally destroyed and it doesn't matter who they put out there. Al Jefferson was just another in a line of scoring centers who run roughshod over their interior. Vucevic should be much of the same.

DeMarcus Cousins - FanDuel $9,500 DraftKings $9,800 DraftStreet $19,862
Going to be interesting to see who fades Boogie tonight. While I think he's a top option, the prices are steep and the other value at center isn't too far behind him even considering the matchup he's got against the Sixers. Philly is obviously hot garbage against centers, allowing like 12% more scoring and rebounding than league average. But what kind of run does Cousins get? If I'm staying away from any Kings guys tonight, it's him. Nice plug for a guy near the top of the list huh?

Marc Gasol - FanDuel $7,300 DraftKings $7,600 DraftStreet $14,776
This one is a little more contrarian as I think the majority will be running the first two guys. But Gasol makes for a decent play agains the no-center Pelicans.

Marcin Gortat - DraftKings $6,500
Would consider him here only because of the reduced price tag. I mention him because the system likes him, but I think I'll be targeting the guys listed above.