Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 1/1/15

A rare shorter slate for this Friday with only a few New Year's Day games to enjoy. But that's fine, we can still ring in 2016 with style. Hell, I stayed up New Year's Eve to write picks while the rest of you were partying your respective butts off (hopefully). Let's get this new year on.

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POINT GUARD

John Wall - FD 10200 DK 9700
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 45.32 DK Proj. Pts - 46.49
There's a lot to like about point guard tonight which is the only reason I'm not calling Wall a must on this slate. There aren't a ton of real big money guys in play which means you aren't going to need a bunch of punts to get some of the more noticeable names into a lineup. Wall is playing insane minutes at a very high level right now as Washington needs everything he can give. From a points per dollar perspective I like the guys below a lot better, but from a raw points piece, Wall is the top guy tonight and it isn't particularly close.

Ish Smith - FD 5800 DK 6500
Opponent - LAL FD Proj. Pts - 29.34 DK Proj. Pts - 30.27
Dude's been a revelation since coming back to the Sixers only a few days ago. In his last two games he's averaged a 20/10 and been the talk of NBA DFS. It's really something when you see a journeyman bounce around, then find the minutes and go ballistic. There's decent data to suggest he's just actually a good player that teams struggle to use correctly. I suspect you see him continue playing these minutes and be a very popular start. If things keep going like this he'll be a $7500 guy on FD in no time. Still buying low for sure. Oh and he's playing the worst defense in the league. So...

J.J. Barea - FD 4400 DK 5500
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 23.2 DK Proj. Pts - 24.33
Deron Williams was ruled out a few hours before game time on Wednesday which may suggest he's still not close to returning. Obviously, if he's back in the starting lineup you can stop considering Barea, but if Deron sits again? Well J.J. is close to a must. He's averaged a 22/7 in his last four games and that includes an underwhelming affair against the Bucks. It's not as clear on DraftKings, but on FanDuel you can run these two point guards without hesitation.

Strongly consider Kyle Lowry on DraftKings. Charlotte is bad defending in the paint against opponent drives and Lowry can get to the rim.

Additionally, Aaron Brooks looks great if Rose were to sit again.

SHOOTING GUARD

Evan Fournier - FD 5600 DK 5800
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 26.71 DK Proj. Pts - 29.53
Our system's been on Fournier for some time now as the minutes are normalizing of late. It's a great sign for the guy considering he's a high volume shooter when he's on the court. He'll get up double digit looks while also pitching in assists and throwing in a couple of steals for good measure. Washington is a fast-paced team in the bottom third for defensive efficiency. Fournier, as long as the minutes are there, feels like the safest shooting guard for cash games.

Garrett Temple - FD 4100 DK 4700
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 19.88 DK Proj. Pts - 20.87
There are certain class of NBA players who can spend a great deal of time on the court and produce very little in the way of results. Temple is that kind of guy. In his last three games he's averaging in the mid 30's of minutes but only in the mid teens in terms of fantasy points. But he's shown that there are times when he can get the scoring going and pay off. I'm willing to take the risk at shooting guard with his salary because I don't love many of the other options. Should be a high-scoring game and Temple is getting run.

Strongly consider paying up for Jimmy Butler if Derrick Rose were to sit again.

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SMALL FORWARD

Tobias Harris - FD 6400 DK 6300
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 31.44 DK Proj. Pts - 33.26
This is going to be a faster-paced game for the Magic tonight facing the Wizards. Depending on where he falls in the rotation, Harris is in a solid matchup here. Washington is below average against power forwards and real bad against small forwards. So either way this is advantageous for Tobias. His price has dipped some in the short term and this is exactly the right time to buy. He's playing big minutes but has run into some slower teams of late like Brooklyn and Miami. That's not the case in this one and his mid range salary makes for a lot of flexibility.

Carmelo Anthony - FD 8600 DK 8300
Opponent - CHI FD Proj. Pts - 40.57 DK Proj. Pts - 42.67
To me Melo falls into the category of looking to spend up some money on a shorter slate without any of the real big boys. You are going to need to round out lineups beyond some of the cheaper value plays on the slate. Carmelo is a nice way to do it at small forward where there aren't as many cheap options. He doesn't have a superstar ceiling, but I think his floor is high enough if the Knicks can keep it close. Still the primary scorer for the Knicks who is chipping in with rebounds and assists just enough to keep said floor in place.

Chandler Parsons - FD 5200 DK 5800
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 25.46 DK Proj. Pts - 27.71
Felt like he was the only Mav struggling against the Steph-less Warriors the other night. While his teammates rained threes from all over the court with assassin-like efficiency, Parsons was lost in the shuffle. I think it's an outlier and am willing to go right back to the guy tonight. He has a so-so matchup against the Heat, but his price isn't fully caught up to the minutes restriction fully off for the guy.

POWER FORWARD

Pau Gasol - FD 8700 DK 7700
Opponent - NYK FD Proj. Pts - 39.93 DK Proj. Pts - 40.58
The Knicks are below average against opposing centers this season (where Gasol is playing now) as they are allowing about 4% more scoring and 7% more rebounding than league average to the position. I like Pau's price a lot more on DraftKings, but I think you are going to have such an easy time fitting solid value plays in that he's in the mix on FanDuel as well. He strikes me as uber-safe in this matchup even if the Bulls pull away a little late. He should be able to score effectively and I suspect the Bulls try to force feed the ball down there to him.

Taj Gibson - FD 5000 DK 5600
Opponent - NYK FD Proj. Pts - 25.57 DK Proj. Pts - 26.01
He got bailed out by an lucky overtime the other night against the Pacers but the minutes are still very much there. He played in the low 30's during regulation even though he did have some issues getting good looks. This is all about the price for me as there are few guys getting this kind of run in the same price range.

Strongly consider Nerlens Noel against the Lakers if he sticks in the starting lineup

CENTER

Nikola Vucevic - FD 8200 DK 7900
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 38.75 DK Proj. Pts - 39.28
I'd be floored if he wasn't the highest owned center on this slate (at least on FanDuel). This game has the second highest projected game score on the slate and he's the best offensive center going here (outside of Gasol though it's close). A lot of Vuce's value is wrapped up in scoring as he doesn't exactly crash the boards considering his size. But he's an excellent offensive center with mid range game. Gortat and Wiz do defend opposing centers well but it's tough to get away from the game and this price on Vuce.

Marcin Gortat - FD 7100 DK 6900
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 33.2 DK Proj. Pts - 33.72
Will be fronting Vuce on the opposite end and these two guys are real close in our system from a points/$ perspective. Don't think you'll need to worry too much about saving the extra bucks on this slate, but Gortat is a fair price considering his output. He's a better rebounder than Nikola, but not the same kind of scorer. I don't mind going down to his salary if you think you need the extra $1K or so somewhere else.

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