Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 12/9/15

A big ole Wednesday night in the NBA. Last night saw a spectacular win
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POINT GUARD

Ricky Rubio - FD 7100 DK 6700
Opponent - LAL FD Proj. Pts - 32.68 DK Proj. Pts - 33.71
The Lakers are the worst team in the league at defending the opposing point guard and it isn't particularly close. They are allowing 15% more scoring and 22% more assists than league average to the position. And though Rubio isn't much of a scorer, the assists could come early and often in this one. The lack of scoring is of course an issue for keeping his floor high, but that's built some into the price. I like him on both sites in the mid tier of salaries.

Patrick Beverley - FD 4100 DK 4800
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 21.12 DK Proj. Pts - 23.46
He's still a complete bargain considering he's the starting point guard and Ty Lawson really isn't challenging many of the minutes. Beverley seems locked into around 30. The big thing for him to keep hitting value is hitting the corner threes. Harden's drive and kick game can work for Beverley who will also hound on the defensive end. He's a better deal on FanDuel, where the price is just not moving at all.

Raymond Felton - FD 4400 DK 4500
Opponent - ATL FD Proj. Pts - 21.79 DK Proj. Pts - 23.42
He's the cheaper way to go on DraftKings if you are looking to save instead of Beverley. And he's in play on FanDuel as well. Felton has been running with the starting unit as the Mavericks go small to start, bringing Chandler Parsons off the bench. That could all change of course, but as long as Felton is in that first group then you can run him out there. He'll take enough shots to keep the floor high and does work from the one quite a bit.

Consider John Wall against the Rockets if looking to spend in the higher tier.

 

SHOOTING GUARD

James Harden - FD 10800 DK 10600
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 49.98 DK Proj. Pts - 52.91
He's on here most nights simply because you rarely will find better value from a guy in these price tiers. Harden is coming on a back-to-back, but that hasn't stopped the Rockets from running him out there for long stretches. They need his scoring in the worst way and he has a cherry matchup tonight. This game has, by far, the highest expected over/under on the slate and Harden is the chief scorer for the Rockets. As long at it stays close, he is the cash game play for tonight. And yes, I know he looked horrendous last night.

O.J. Mayo - FD 4600 DK 5200
Opponent - LAC FD Proj. Pts - 23.72 DK Proj. Pts - 25.88
He continues to start at point for the Bucks and the price is still very much under where it should be considering the amount of minutes he's seeing right now. Mayo isn't particularly good mind you, but the usage is just too much considering he's taking double digit shots per game over the last three contests since joining the starting five. As long as he's with that starting unit, then you can play him safely in cash games.

Wesley Matthews - FD 5400 DK 5000
Opponent - ATL FD Proj. Pts - 25.63 DK Proj. Pts - 28.82
I don't suspect you see another 23 shot performance like what he did against the Wizards two games ago. Matthews jacked up 17 from beyond the arc, just an absurd number. But Matthews will put up double digit shots per game and from a minutes' perspective isn't showing many ill effects from the Achilles tear last season. Atlanta is middle of the pack against opposing shooting guards and Matthews is working off some depressed prices because the shot's been so inconsistent.

Strongly consider Terrence Ross if he's the minutes' guy with Carroll on the shelf. Though I don't always trust the Raptors' rotations. Also, Gerald Green is still coming cheap and should be starting for Deng again.

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SMALL FORWARD

Andrew Wiggins - FD 7000 DK 6900
Opponent - LAL FD Proj. Pts - 31.81 DK Proj. Pts - 32.65
He was horrendous from the field against the Clippers on Sunday, but don't let that dissuade you too much. The Lakers aren't the Clippers by a long shot. Wiggins will have a chance to get to the basket early and often in this one. Now understand, the Lakers aren't the up and down the court squad they've been in past seasons especially when Kobe is off the court. But they are still a defensively-challenged squad and struggle against opposing small forwards. Wiggins is primarily a scorer, so that's where he needs to get his production. I don't see that being much of an issue tonight.

Jae Crowder - FD 5200 DK 5700
Opponent - CHI FD Proj. Pts - 24.31 DK Proj. Pts - 25.75
He hasn't put up any monsters of late, but dude's been consistent. This game will be between the fifth and seventh fastest teams in the league. Shocking to say that about the Bulls, but it's the case. Crowder should benefit from an uptempo pace and he's able to contribute in scoring, on the glass and on the defensive end. He sometimes gets buzzed off in minutes on Celtics' rotations, but I'm not as concerned since the minutes have been there of late.

Gordon Hayward - FD 6700 DK 7000
Opponent - NYK FD Proj. Pts - 30.19 DK Proj. Pts - 31.96
He's taken over more of the Jazz scoring of late as they've been trending to a small ball lineup with Gobert out with injury. He's logging major minutes and been jacking up a ton of shots. The Knicks play a slower pace and I like the two guys above better for the dollar, but Hayward has a higher floor considering his recent run.

Strongly consider Corey Brewer if Trevor Ariza has to sit after the fall he took last night. Also, Kyle Anderson is still in play if Kawhi sits again.

POWER FORWARD

Blake Griffin - FD 9300 DK 9300
Opponent - MIL FD Proj. Pts - 45.08 DK Proj. Pts - 45.77
Blake's shot under his projected expectation in two of last three games which has caused some erratic fantasy performances. I don't expect that to continue for too long. He is an elite talent with the ability to score and rebound with among the best in the game. This is a solid night to turn it around too as the Bucks rank near the bottom of the league against opposing power forwards. Blake's price is depressed some because of the recent play, but that's smoke and mirrors-y all things considered.

Jon Leuer - FD 4400 DK 4800
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 20.25 DK Proj. Pts - 20.74
There are a couple of really nice ways to go cheap at power forward tonight. Leuer is one of those guys. Since Markieff Morris went down for a few games and then came back just to ride the pine, the Suns have been in a bit of flux. But Leuer has emerged to play major minutes over the last two games. It's encouraging because he's getting the run even with Morris back and available. I don't totally trust the Suns and rotations, but it's hard to deny Leuer as one of the top punt plays on the night.

Cody Zeller - FD 4000 DK 4600
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 22.7 DK Proj. Pts - 23.05
With Al Jefferson out, Cody Zeller has picked up some of the big man minutes for Charlotte. In fact, he's picked up a ton of them. Averaging 18/7 over the last two games while getting run close to 30 minutes per contest has him firmly as one of the better cheap options on the night. Miami isn't the best matchup, but these prices are simply too low, matchup independent.
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CENTER

Update: With Marcin Gortat returning tonight, he vaults to near the top of the plays' list if you think he sees around 30 minutes of run.

Nikola Vucevic - FD 7200 DK 7000
Opponent - PHX FD Proj. Pts - 32.75 DK Proj. Pts - 33.21
Center is a little tougher sledding tonight as I'm not enamored with the prices on some of the bigger guys. Drummond's been having minutes issues, Dwight's coming on the second half of a b2b, and Horford's been a little all over the place. Vucevic has seen steady run and the Suns aren't great against opposing centers when Tyson Chandler isn't on the court. Vucevic needs his shot attempts to trend in the high teens to go along with the rebounding. But his price is on the lower end and this game projects for a great deal of points.

Al Horford - FD 7000 DK 6900
Opponent - DAL FD Proj. Pts - 33.04 DK Proj. Pts - 33.61
Remember what I said about Horford a second ago? Well that's the kind of night it is with center. It's just tough to trust some of the more expensive options and I really don't think you need to punt at this position tonight considering there are plenty of cheap options elsewhere. Hereford's been shooting way more three pointers this season, which has come at the cost of some of his rebounding. But if the scoring is there in this game then he should be able to pay these lower prices.

Consider Gorgui Dieng who's been seeing more and more minutes lately.
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