Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 1/22/16

A big old Friday in the NBA coming at you and there is a ton of news to wade through before tip off. Some things we know already, but tomorrow will be a day of monitoring a whole host of players' situations. It could make for a very interesting up-to-the-last-minute lineup sweat. But we love that sort of thing. We'll get you started here with some of the names to keep an eye on.

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POINT GUARD

Russell Westbrook - FD 10700 DK 10600
Opponent - DAL
FD Proj. Pts - 49.53 DK Proj. Pts - 51.27
Look, I like him just about every time he hits the court. Outside of a price tag north of 11K and a matchup against say the Jazz, Westbrook should be on your radar. He's just so freaking great and has an insanely high floor because he appears every where on the court at all times (or so it seems). His biggest issue of late is OKC just crushing some teams and his fourth quarter minutes get buzzed. But in only 27 minutes against the Hornets he still went 16/15/8. The guy barely needs to play some games in order to put up astronomical lines. I think this game stays close and he's one of the safest plays on the night.

Tyler Johnson - FD 4300 DK 5600
Opponent - TOR
FD Proj. Pts - 24.78 DK Proj. Pts - 26.19
It really doesn't look like Udrih is going to play and Goran Dragic's already been ruled out for Friday. If Udrih were to come back I'd downgrade Johnson, but as it stands now dude looks like he's all systems go again. He played 35 minutes last game, finishing with an underwhelming 15/4/2 line that barely got him to value. Part of the issue was how the Heat played Josh Richardson more minutes at the one, sliding Johnson to the two. If Wade is back I don't think you'll really see that rotation as much. There is a lot of injury news up in the air right now, the Heat situation being a major one.

Jeremy Lin - FD 5200 DK 5100
Opponent - ORL
FD Proj. Pts - 26.51 DK Proj. Pts - 27.7
He's going to draw the start for Nic Batum tonight and will play shooting guard with the first unit. In the last four games Batum sat out Lin averaged a 17/3/3 line. He isn't exactly a punt, but a line like that will get you close to value on him. The best case scenario for Lin is he plays the two with the starters, but then picks up some point guard minutes as well when Kemba sits. Lin isn't a lock for me tonight, but I can stomach him in cash games and think he makes an excellent dice roll in tournaments.

SHOOTING GUARD

Monta Ellis - FD 6300 DK 6800
Opponent - GSW
FD Proj. Pts - 28.19 DK Proj. Pts - 29.34
George Hill is going to sit another game out (he'll be back on Saturday) leaving the point guard duties to Ellis. The last two games with Hill sitting, Ellis has averaged 22/4/2. And though the minutes haven't been as high as I thought they'd be with him running the point, the shot volume has increased dramatically as he's averaged 18 looks in those two affairs. He'll face his former team in Golden State as a heavy underdog, but I actually still like the value here with the opportunity especially if there's any way the Pacers can keep the game close.

Klay Thompson - FD 7000 DK 7400
Opponent - IND
FD Proj. Pts - 32.64 DK Proj. Pts - 36.27
It's funny, we don't have Klay in the value plays often. His price is typically just out of range and the threat of the Warriors blowing someone out on the nightly keeps his minutes anything but safe. Those factors combined with his fantasy profile making him awfully scoring dependent keeps his production fluctuating. But this is a good matchup against an Indiana team that's one of the worst in the league at defending the opposing two. Klay could fire up a ton of shots early in this one.

James Harden - FD 9900 DK 10000
Opponent - MIL
FD Proj. Pts - 46.1 DK Proj. Pts - 48.7
A little lower down the list but only because the potential points per dollar is right in line with the guys above. Harden stands to see a slight usage bump on the night as his number goes from 32 to 36 when Dwight is off the court. Howard won't play tonight which should leave a majority of the offense (or more than usual) to Harden. Milwaukee is an above average team against shooting guards which is basically the only reason Harden isn't a unanimous play.

Evan Fournier - FD 4800 DK 5500
Opponent - CHA
FD Proj. Pts - 23.46 DK Proj. Pts - 25.92
As is going to be a theme tonight, we are waiting on so much injury news that things will certainly change more than once before we hit lineup lock. Fournier's one of those guys who could see big minutes if Oladipo is out, though would get bumped down if the latter were to play. Keep a close eye on this situation as Oladipo's status will cascade some value down the line.

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SMALL FORWARD

Tobias Harris - FD 5800 DK 6300
Opponent - CHA
FD Proj. Pts - 27.86 DK Proj. Pts - 29.36
Our system really liked him against the Sixers on Wednesday and he delivered with a 15/10 line while also chipping in some points on the defensive end as well. Harris had seen a steady price decline over the short term thanks to some poor performances and the Magic getting into blowout situations. But Harris as perked up in two of his last three and is facing a Charlotte team tonight that's playing real thin. I like his chances for hitting value at these salaries for sure.

C.J. Miles - FD 4500 DK 5200
Opponent - GSW
FD Proj. Pts - 21.25 DK Proj. Pts - 23.81
Though he's coming off the bench even with George Hill away from the team, Miles does add a second unit scoring spark which helps raise his projection if the minutes are there. It's tough playing guys against the Warriors because they are so good on defense, but this is a situation where I can see C.J. playing minutes because the Pacers will need his scoring. Also, small forward is weaker on this slate and the quality options are somewhat limited.

Luol Deng - FD 4400 DK 4800
Opponent - TOR
FD Proj. Pts - 19.54 DK Proj. Pts - 20.65
Justise Winslow - FD 3700 DK 4000
Opponent - TOR
FD Proj. Pts - 13.48 DK Proj. Pts - 14.45
Both of these guys would be in line for bigger minutes and usage if the Heat going into the game short-handed. Both ran a ton on Wednesday against Washington and a similar scenario could play out tonight. With Wade and Udrih looking doubtful and Dragic already, that's a lot of offensive slack to pick up. Deng has an eye issue to be aware of. If he couldn't go then a guy like Winslow could be looking at minutes in an around 40.

POWER FORWARD

There's a ton to love about power forward tonight. Usually this is a wasteland, but tonight we are staring down the barrel at a ton of potential value.

Pau Gasol - FD 8500 DK 8400
Opponent - BOS
FD Proj. Pts - 42.71 DK Proj. Pts - 43.41
Taj Gibson - FD 4800 DK 5600
Opponent - BOS
FD Proj. Pts - 26.09 DK Proj. Pts - 26.54
The Bulls were boat raced by the Warriors the other night and Pau put up a real, real ugly line. Chicago was completely overmatched in about every phase of the game and the starters didn't see much of the fourth quarter. That shouldn't be the case tonight against the Celtics. Boston is a fast-paced team that also has a solid defensive efficiency (much like the Warriors), but the former has been below average in defending opposing big men on the season. I like the price points on both Taj and Pau assuming the minutes are going to be there.

Frank Kaminsky - FD 4500 DK 4800
Opponent - ORL
FD Proj. Pts - 24.26 DK Proj. Pts - 25.83
With Cody Zeller out of the lineup (Batum as well), I suspect Kaminsky grabs an even bigger share of the minutes in this one. Though Hawes is expected to start, Kaminsky has seen a steady uptick in minutes and played really well of late, averaging a 15/6 over his last three. Look for that kind of production to continue tonight. Though Orlando is a fine defensive team this one is more about the price and the potential for more opportunity in a depleted Charlotte front court.

Terrence Jones - FD 4500 DK 4700
Opponent - MIL
FD Proj. Pts - 26.91 DK Proj. Pts - 27.59
Clint Capela - FD 4800 DK 5600
Opponent - MIL
FD Proj. Pts - 25.03 DK Proj. Pts - 25.47
Dwight Howard's going to sit this one out leaving a bunch of big man minutes to get disseminated down the line. Both of these guys will fill those gaps I think and both are coming at lower prices. Both are fantastic plays on FanDuel with Jones being particularly enticing on DraftKings as well. With Dwight off the court this season, Jones is the third highest usage guy on the team after Harden and Buckets Thornton.

Aaron Gordon - FD 4200 DK 4400
Opponent - CHA
FD Proj. Pts - 20.59 DK Proj. Pts - 21.46
Keep a close eye on what Scott Skiles is going to do leading into Friday's games. There's been hints he will shake up the starting lineup, mostly because Channing Frye's been a stain and is basically unplayable right now. I think you see a big chunk of minutes go to Gordon who's been a per minute beast this season. If you thought he was going to run in the mid-to-upper twenties then he makes another fantastic cheap play at the position.

Consider Amar'e Stoudemire at the minimum on DK if he's picking up a bunch of Whiteside's minutes. 

CENTER

Nikola Vucevic - FD 7500 DK 7500
Opponent - CHA
FD Proj. Pts - 37.57 DK Proj. Pts - 38.07
Charlotte is playing without a great deal of size tonight and they've struggled all season against opposing bigs anyway. They've allowed more than league average scoring to centers this season and Vucevic could really be in line for a big game. The Hornets don't have much in the way of being able to defend him and he's been seeing plenty of minutes to be great at these prices. He's the top points/$ center in our system on FanDuel and it isn't particularly close. I'll be hard pressed to not have him in cash game lineups tonight.

Kelly Olynyk - FD 5000 DK 5000
Opponent - CHI
FD Proj. Pts - 23.38 DK Proj. Pts - 24.81
Do you trust his minutes? Me neither, but it's tough to ignore what he's been doing lately. Brad Stevens has given him a ton of run in basically three of the last four games and in that time he's put up two monsters. I don't think he's anything close to a safe cash game play, but for a tournament you can hit the jackpot on a guy like Olynyk. He can definitely score when given the opportunity. But it's said opportunity that's so difficult to trust.

Greg Monroe - FD 7700 DK 7000
Opponent - HOU
FD Proj. Pts - 34.09 DK Proj. Pts - 34.6
With Dwight out there could be an opening for Monroe to take advantage down low. He's a steady Eddie type who will rarely put up a monster line, but doesn't stand to sink your squad either. I much prefer Vucevic in a similar price tier, but Monroe is worth a look in this matchup.

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