Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 1/12/17

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Point Guard

Jrue Holiday FD - $6800 DK - $7000
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 36.83 DK - 39.3

Holiday and the Pelicans face off with the Nets here, in what happens to be my favorite game of the day to target. Both of these teams play fast, and the Nets especially so. These teams also lack good individual defenders outside of  Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday. Holiday will match up with a combo of Kilpatrick and Whitehead, and he will dominate both. Davis and Holiday have been great running the pick and roll lately, and they will go right back to it tonight. Brook Lopez could care less about defense, and I see no chance he wants to get in the way of Anthony Davis. Holiday is going to attack, and he has no problem taking some shots as well. He will be effective tonight, and his price isn't too high. He only needs about 38 to make you happy in tournaments, and I have him protected way higher. I think he gets to 40 tonight, and his upside is over 50. The  Nets play really fast, and i'm excited to see what Jrue Holiday can do here.

Deron Williams FD - $5900 DK - $5600
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 28.59 DK - 30.88

Deron Williams is a guy I don't love to roster, but is sometimes the necessary evil. He has actually been pretty good since returning from injury, usually staying around 30 fantasy points. He gets a good pace match up with the Suns, who love to run and gun. Williams will match up with  good defender in Eric Bledsoe, but the pure amount of possessions and the speed of the game lets me ignore that. He is price really cheap on both of sites, and only needs 28 to hit value for you in cash games. He has the potential for way more, and this game has a ton of potential. We will touch on a couple more of these guys as we move on, but definitely keep an eye on Williams. If you want different exposure at this price range, I would consider Derrick Rose facing off with the Bulls. You have to think he wants to play well in that spot.

Michael Carter-Williams FD - $4800 DK - $4900
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 24.45 DK - 26.4

I will likely go with whoever starts here, as we saw Rajon Rondo come off the bench and play pretty well. MCW is still cheap, and the minutes still should be there. Jimmy Butler will remain out, which opens up some shots and solidifies everyone's minutes. He saw 29 last game, and I would expect another similar performance tonight. The Knicks are nothing special against point guards, and MCW has done a good job using his height recently to take advantage of smaller guards. He is still pretty cheap on both sites and the upside is there. With our favorite value PG Brogdon not on the slate, we have to look elsewhere. While I definitely prefer Jrue Holiday and Deron Williams, MCW makes more a good play in both formats.

Shooting Guard

Dwyane Wade FD - $6900 DK - $6800
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 38.15 DK - 40.01

Dwyane Wade sat out last game for rest purposes, and will be back in full tonight. He should be in for a ton of minutes, and a highly concentrated amount of shots in those minutes. The Knicks don't have anyone to really cover Wade, and they will probably just stick Courtney Lee on him. Lee is a fine defender, but he won't stop Wade. He is going to take the scoring responsibilities with Butler out, and his price doesn't reflect that. Take advantage of this situation and get Wade into all of your lineups. He has a floor of 30 here, and I see a ceiling around 45. The Bulls have stretched him close to 40 minutes this year, and I wouldn't be shocked to see something close coming off of 3 days of rest.

 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope FD - $5900 DK - $5900
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 27.93 DK - 29.94

Caldwell-Pope is a guy that hasn't been on too many radars this year, but has been very productive. I have played him a few times recently, and he has been playing well. The Warriors obviously have some good individual defenders, but give up a ton of points due to there style of play and how many possessions that have in the in the game. KCP also plays A TON of minutes, hitting 40 and 48 minutes in the last 2. That means he played the entire game. If he does anything close to that tonight, he will destroy value and be a must for all formats. I don't think that much craziness will happen, but he should be a solid option in all formats. He should go under the radar again tonight, and fall in at about 18% owned.

Buddy Hield FD - $4200 DK - $4700
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 22.01 DK - 24.56

I played Buddy Hield for the first time all year last game, and it paid off. After watching the game, it has become relevant that he is an actual weapon in the offense. The bigs look for him to outlet the ball, and he will take it coast to coast. He will also catch some passes in the corner from pick and roll kickoffs. He has an extremely efficient 3 point shot, and is a good fantasy asset on the court. As for tonight, he takes on a fast paced Nets team that is league worst against the 3 point shot. He will get a ton of open shots, and won't hesitate to fire. He has a solid ceiling, but the floor is still definitely there. If the shot isn't there, E'twaun Moore can check in and Hield will only see 22 minutes. I don't think that happens tonight, but it;s something to always think about before it is too late.

Small Forward

Kevin Durant FD - $10300 DK - $9700
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 45.89 DK - 48.74

You gotta love KD tonight. The Warriors face off with the Pistons, who are a slower pace this team. This should theoretically keep them in the game longer, and I really wouldn't be surprised to see them go small and keep this one close. The Pistons have talented guards, and athletic forwards in Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris that can run with the Warriors and contribute down low. The Pistons don't have anyone to cover Durant, and he should be the guy who has a huge game here. He is the number 1 option, even though Draymond Green scolded him for taking a last minute shot. There are plenty of cheap guys tonight, and paying up for Durant should be no problem in cash games. Small forward doesn't have too much down low, and Durant is the safest guy with the highest upside you will find.

Kawhi Leonard FD - $8700 DK - $8600
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 46.73 DK - 49

Leonard and David Lee are the only 2 guys I have interest in from this game, along with Aldridge in tournaments. Leonard will have a path of little resistance tonight, facing a Lakers team that lacks perimeter defenders. Brandon Ingram has the tools, but he is limited skill wise and Leonard will be able to back him down easily. Leonard flashed a little bit of his upside in his last match up, scoring 52 on FanDuel. He has a better match up here, and the upside could easily be shown again. Leonard will be in the majority of my cash games, and I am willing to eat the chalk. You won't want to watch the games tonight and see Leonard all over the court and all over everyone else's lineups.  This game is my least favorite tonight, but you have to love this spot.

Harrison Barnes FD - $6900 DK - $6700
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 30.34 DK - 31.88

Like I said, small forward is a spot you probably want to pay up for tonight. With no injury news yet, there is nobody that really draws attention down. Doug McDermott can be considered, and it can be argued that foul trouble was the main cause of his bad game last time out. He should start again tonight, and I do see the merit in tournaments. As for Barnes, he is facing off with a fast paced Suns team and is the leading scorer on the Mavs. He isn't priced like any other number 1 options, and rightfully so, but you have to think that helps his upside. He has been staying around 35, but one of these games are going to go to overtime and Barnes is going to go off.  The Suns have good defenders at SF, but I don't see either of them being a problem for Barnes on offense. He is a safe way to get exposure to this game, and gives you the upside  in tournaments as well.

Power Forward

Anthony Davis FD - $11800 DK - $11800
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 55.33 DK - 57.36

Now on to my favorite play of the night, Anthony Davis. Davis is currently questionable, so do keep an eye on twitter as lock approaches. I really hope Davis plays tonight, because this is an ideal match up. The Nets have literally  nobody to stop him, and nobody that will even try. If Trevor Booker even plays, he will do his best, but he is way too short and doesn't have the athleticism necessary. Davis has been playing well recently, topping 70 last time out, and being over for 45 for 5 straight games. Davis is one of the best fantasy performers in the league, and there are not too many spots to pay up for tonight. If I can get confirmation that Davis is playing, I will have him across the board. This is the first game of the slate, so something weird would have to happen for us to not know. However, Derrick Rose somehow slipped past NYC until 30 seconds prior to tip-off, when all hell broke loose on Twitter. All in all, Davis is a guy you should have everywhere tonight if you know he is playing. If he gets ruled out, you have to look at Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones. They will both play big minutes and are both great producers while on the court.

Play Donatas Motiejunas &/or Terrence Jones if Anthony Davis is ruled out prior to lock.

Kristaps Porzingis FD - $7900 DK - $7200
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 35.2 DK - 37.25

Porzingis had an extremely disappointing night against the 76ers last night, finishing with only 13 points on FanDuel. However, he only 24 minutes as a bright side. This leaves the possibility that he plays huge minutes tonight, even in a back to back. We have to have a short memory, and we know how good Porzingis is. His shot will start falling, and he will be right back in the 40;s. The Bulls have nobody to cover him, and Taj Gibson is way too slow, and Nikola Mirotic is way too small. With Anthony Davis questionable, Porzingis could end up being very highly owned. That does concern me in tournament,s but I have a really good feeling on Porzingis. I may end up being over the field on both of these guys, no matter what.

Dirk Nowitzki FD - $5500 DK - $5800
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 29.49 DK - 31.36

Dirk has seen a huge uptick in minutes recently, and the production has obviously been there. He is always going to produce when on the court, due to his sheer presence and getting enough respect to get the ball every other possesion. He is going to get open shots in this game, though it seems that he prefers the ones where defenders are draped over his right side. Some may worry about the fast pace for Dirk, but he has no problem running the break and hitting that transition 3 at the top of the key. He will get Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender on defense tonight, who are both young, weak and very inexperienced at this point. I look for Nowitzki to shred them both, no matter how many minutes he gets. You should definitely have Dirk in your cash games tonight.

Center

Brook Lopez FD - $7000 DK - $6400
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 34.55 DK - 36.44

The center position is really ugly tonight, and there are only 2 ways to pay up. You have to pick between Andre Drummond and Brook Lopez, and I went with Lopez. I don't think Drummond will be able to run with the Warriors, but we will get to that later. Lopez is needed tonight for offense and size, especially if Anthony Davis plays. Davis is definitely a guy that blocks a ton of shots, but I don't think he is too great of a defender for a guy like Lopez. He just shoots his open mid range shots and occasionally attacks for a layup. Davis is by no means a lockdown defender, and neither are the 2 guys off the bench. Lopez isn't scared to shoot, even if he misses every time. Lopez is kind of expensive, but I do see a ton of upside in this match up. If this one stays close, Lopez could see 35 minutes and turn that into 50 fantasy points Nobody would be too surprised. This game has the chance for DFS gold.

Tyson Chandler FD - $5200 DK - $4900
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 23.89 DK - 25.22

Tyson Chandler will face off will face off with the mavericks, and he have to take what we can at this positions. Chandler doesn't have much upside, but the rebounds are always there, and the points could follow tonight The Mavs have no good big men, and Chandler will be able to control the offensive boards. Chandler has a floor around 20 tonight, and a ceiling that hits 35. Chandler doesn't get the ball on offense much, but he will get himself involved on the glass, and should be able to block some shots against the Mavs as well. His price is fair, though I do prefer Robin Lopez and Brook Lopez.  I like Chandler in both formats tonight, but how much can you like Tyson Chandler? That's up to you.

Robin Lopez FD - $4100 DK - $4000
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 25.7 DK - 26.8

There is nothing exciting about this one, but he will probably get it done. He's gonna get 30 minutes, grab 25 fantasy points and be on his way. He will do no more, and I doubt he does less against Joakim Noah and Kristaps. With Butler out, a few more shots could go his way as well. The ball does see his hands a lot on this offense, but he rarely has the ball last. His price is the lowest I have ever seen, sitting at 4k on both sites. This is a guy we we're playing mid 6k for last year, and we will hopefully see the Bulls start to get this guy going. This is a good spot to do it against an interior that gives up big games almost every night.

Andre Drummond FD - $8200 DK - $7500
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 40.3 DK - 42.05

This isn't really a recommendation, but I felt like I just needed to talk about Drummond here. He obviously is the center with crazy upside, in the really weird match up. i think this game can go 1 of 2 different ways. The less likely way is the Pistons battle this one out, slow the pace down, force Pachulia to remain in, and Drummond eats on the board and in the paint. The more likely result is the Warriors outrun the Pistons with Drummond on the floor and he end sup seeing 18 foul riddled minutes. He is just too expensive for me here, though I am not going to deny the upside he has in tournaments. Proceed with caution tonight on these Pistons.

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions

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