Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftStreet for 3/25/14

Short night - but long on opportunities. As a reminder - the mistakes made on short nights are often MUCH larger than the mistakes one can make on big ones. Fewer choices means a bigger spread between the great plays and the shitty ones. It's on you to find 'em. Or you can just read on.

Be sure to sign up for a free 3-day trial to access the NBA system and spreadsheets that help produce our picks. And give a follow on Twitter @dailyfantasysr. Let's get to the picks.

Point Guards

Jarrett Jack - FanDuel $5,000 DraftKings $5,700 DraftStreet $12,682
Jack paid 10x this price his last time out - and it didn't TOTALLY look like a fluke. I'm not penciling him in for 10 assists a game, but something like 20/6/5 is totally in play, and at a $5k price tag and 35+ minutes, that's awfully appealing.

Raymond Felton - FanDuel $5,800 DraftKings $5,500 DraftStreet $11,683
Judging by his BMI, few players would seem to benefit less from the Laker's up-tempo style than the portly Felton. But this is actually the opposite of reality - Felton is a bottom feeder - a bum hunter - looking for opportunities against weak defenses and taking off against the tough ones. This is your night, Raymond Felton. Make the most of it.

Kyle Lowry - FanDuel $9,100 DraftKings $8,800 DraftStreet $16,965
Lowry had his minutes intentionally limited his last time out, and still provided a pretty decent line. I don't think he'll go off against the indifferent Cavs simply due to his coach's caution with him, but I like him as a very steady play with limited upside.

Damian Lillard - FanDuel $7,800 DraftKings $8,100 DraftStreet $14,256
Just in case you want to spend your money elsewhere, I'll put forth Lillard as a pretty reasonable play. He hasn't been phenomenal recently (horrendous shooting last night), but we've seen him put up some monsters when Aldridge has been out in the past. Not my #1 play, but wanted to add him in in case you wanted to go cheap elsewhere tonight. Worth noting that Orlando is merely league avg. vs. opposing PGs, and has been a tick worse than that of late.

Shooting Guards

Dion Waiters - FanDuel $6,000 DraftKings $6,900 DraftStreet $13,348
Neon Dion has been playing 40+ minutes per night with Kyrie out of commission, and has been making the most of it. The offense is running through his hands, and even Toronto's better than league avg. performance against SGs this year isn't going to dissuade me.

Iman Shumpert - FanDuel $3,600 DraftKings $3,600 DraftStreet $7,228 or Tim Hardaway Jr. - FanDuel $3,700 DraftKings $4,500 DraftStreet $6,684

Depending on Shumpert's status, you've got to love these cheap guards against the Lake-show. Check twitter and rotoworld as things get closer to determine which one will be the play - but at these bargain basement prices, you've got to have Shumpert if he plays, or Hardaway Jr. if he doesn't.

Nick Young - FanDuel $5,400 DraftKings $5,000 DraftStreet $9,120
Don't look now, but Swaggy P is back, and performing better than he has all season. Extra bump here if Shumpert doesn't play (Hardaway Jr. couldn't defend himself in a speeding ticket trial) - but either way, Young looks like a nice option. Jodie Meeks also falls into this same area. I think I prefer Young.

Monta Ellis - FanDuel $7,400 DraftKings $7,700 DraftStreet $14,071
Monta has been awfully... steady? recently. In spite of his chucker's reputation, Monta gets consistent looks, and takes them. An added bonus for tonight's outing is that OKC has given up 15% more FPs to opposing SGs than league average recently. All systems go, here.

Devin Harris - FanDuel $4,600 DraftKings $4,200 DraftStreet $8,490
Harris looked totally serviceable with Calderon getting pulled early last time out, and Calderon is iffy to go tonight. Yet another "watch before the game starts," but we might get news on Calderon early on. If Calderon is a no-go, Harris looks like a fairly safe play.

Small Forwards

Nicolas Batum - FanDuel $7,700 DraftKings $8,400 DraftStreet $16,041
Batum is one of the largest beneficiaries of Aldridge's absence, and I'm not scared by the down-tick in minutes in his last 2. Loving Batum for upside and safety tonight, and will happily play him in most places, especially given the dearth of great SF options elsewhere.

Kevin Durant - FanDuel $12,000 DraftKings $11,600 DraftStreet $24,769
Durant will be a universal double-up play tonight, and I think you can even make a case for him in GPPs. The salary is a lot to stomach, but Durant is about the safest 12k you can spend in the game right now, even with Westbrook in the lineup. If you like a lot of middling options elsewhere, Durant can anchor you with 50-60 points in a way that no one else can - and I especially like him against a Dallas team with no clear guy who can stick him.

J.R. Smith - FanDuel $5,400 DraftKings $5,400 DraftStreet $10,301
Smith makes a fantastic play if Shumpert is out, and a pretty risky one with decent upside if Shumpert plays. Monitor this situation as it gets closer to game time... but on such a down night for SFs, someone has to go out there and play.

Power Forwards

Jordan Hill - FanDuel $5,000 DraftKings $4,600
I really hope you played Hill when he headlined for us 2 days ago, and if not, you've still got a chance at a guy who is playing a $7k game for a $5k price. He seems to be back in D'Antoni's good graces since returning from injury, and while the Knicks have been pretty tough against opposing PFs this season, the price for Hill is WAY too good to ignore.

Amar'e Stoudemire - FanDuel $5,400 DraftKings $4,500 DraftStreet $11,945
Stat hasn't been quite the beast he was several games ago, but he's been very steadily in the high 4x range in terms of pts/$ recently. And now? He gets the Lakers. Unless this is your very first night playing daily fantasy basketball, AND you are from the Ivory Coast or somewhere else without NBA broadcasts, you're probably aware that this is a good thing for him. Love Amar'e tonight.

Amir Johnson - FanDuel $6,200 DraftKings $6,600 DraftStreet $13,855
Johnson had a down game after a phenomenal performance in the OT game against the Thunder, and I'm not worried a bit. He draws the Cavs, who have given up 4% more FPs to opposing PFs this season, and I like him for 35+ FPs tonight.

Carmelo Anthony - FanDuel $10,200 DraftKings $10,200
Melo has been super steady recently, and while he has been kind of unspectacular, he now draws a high profile match-up against a fast paced and terrible defense. This game isn't ending without Melo having 50 FPs. It just isn't.

Centers

Center is a HOT MESS tonight. Apologies for what you are about to read.

Robin Lopez - FanDuel $5,600 DraftKings $5,700 DraftStreet $11,856
Lopez sees significantly more touches and grabs significantly more rebounds when Aldridge is off the floor, and while he is coming off 2 pretty bad games, he gets a nice match-up against an Orlando team that has been giving up 6% more FPs to opposing Cs in their last 15 games.

Jonas Valanciunas - FanDuel $5,200 DraftKings $5,200 DraftStreet $12,331
You never know what you're going to get minutes-wise from Jonas, but when he does play, there are fewer Centers with more upside. His low price tag is based on the fact that he will occasionally get buried, but he'll frequently be the only center with 7x+ upside. Tonight is one such night, as he draws a Cleveland team that only boasts 20 minutes of Varejao to slow him down.

Kyle O'Quinn - FanDuel $4,900 DraftKings $4,100
A double-up special - O'Quinn has paid between 4x-5x of this price in EVERY ONE of his last 10 games. You just don't see this kind of consistency. He's like the anti-Valancunias, which would make for a pretty sweet nick name, except it's a terrible nick name. Either way - I'm expecting more of the same from KOQ in this one.

Tyson Chandler - DraftKings $5,300
An interesting upside play, as he has been very erratic in his return from his most recent injury, but should absolutely embarrass whoever the Lakers have down low in terms of hustle and hops. Feeling a double-double with some blocks, and 30+ FPs.