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

Tuesday in the NBA! After a long Martin Luther King Jr. day full of hoops we settle in to a cozy little 5 game slate tonight. Lets get to the picks!
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Point Guard

Kyle Lowry FD - $9000 DK - $8600
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 44.38 DK - 47.68
Kyle Lowry and the Raptors head to Brooklyn today to take on the Nets. Lowry, like most of his fellow starters saw his minutes cut on Sunday against the Knicks going in to the fourth with a 34 point lead. Vegas has this as one of the largest spreads on the night. However with only 5 games to choose from and given how poor the Nets are on defense, coupled with their league leading pace factor, I'm not overly concerned. Lowry found his shot again on Sunday sinking 5 of 6 from beyond the arc to help him to a 16 point total to pair with 4 rebounds and 9 assists. If the Nets stay competitive Lowry has decent upside, but even if it gets out of hand he should easily pay value before it reaches that point.

Emmanuel Mudiay FD - $4500 DK - $4900
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 22.21 DK - 24.32
The recurring theme of the day is going to be Raptors and Nuggets. The difference being there's little concern of blowout in this one. Vegas has this game at a 1.5 spread with the highest over/under of the evening. Throw in 2 top 6 paced teams and we have a DFS dream. While he started the new year out at a slow crawl, Mudiay has really turned it up in the last few games, yesterday he picked up a career-high 13 assists, and the 18 points he combined with them were more than the previous 3 games combined. While the Lakers come in to the game with a similar ranked defense against opposing point guards, I'm not expecting him to duplicate yesterdays performance, but even if he provides half that production he will easily pay value. If that's what we're looking at as a ceiling, then he makes a great play across all formats.

Goran Dragic FD - $6700 DK - $6800
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 31.81 DK - 34.08
After those last two guys, point guard gets kind of dicey. I don't love recommending Goran Dragic here, but if you want to separate from the other guys, or need salary relief from the likes of Lowry, you could do worse. The minutes have been fairly consistent, coming in under 30 just once since the start of the month and his shot has been on point, putting up double digit points every game during the same stretch. I don't see any upside, but he should provide enough safety for cash purposes.

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan FD - $9400 DK - $8500
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 45.08 DK - 47
DeMar DeRozan put up 23 points going 8 for 17 shooting, while picking up 5 rebounds and 5 assists in only 28 minutes against the Knicks on Sunday. Like Lowry, he sat out the fourth or he probably would've added another 10 fantasy points to his totals. This was the 12th straight game which DeMar scored at least 20 points, and for an offensive beast like him it stands to argue he will have no problem making number 13 happen against the Nets. Given that the Nets also give up 7% more rebounds and 3% more assists than league average, a double double could be in the cards as well. DeMar makes for a great cash game option.

Dion Waiters FD - $5200 DK - $5300
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 26.93 DK - 28.92
Waiters has been less than impressive since his return, but he really hasn't been given much opportunity either. The 13 points and 6 assists he put together against the Bucks on Friday came in only the second game he's seen over 30 minutes to this point. The other being the game before that against Golden State. At this price point if he is going to see run in the 30's consistently moving forward we have to consider him for cash games. Tonight's match up with Houston, and the beard, could give him the breakout game he's been building to. Hardens defensive indifference is no secret, and if Waiters can take advantage to the tune of double digit points to go with some boards and assists, then he could be a great play across all formats.

Nick Young FD - $3700 DK - $3700
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 21.96 DK - 23.44
Two things about Nick Young. First, he has one of the oddest nicknames in the NBA. Where does Swaggy P come from anyway? Second, he's ridiculously cheap. His minutes have been a little up and down lately coming off the bench, but that's mainly because the Lakers have been getting blown out of the water so often. Tonight however, as we've already established, the Lakers and Nuggets are poised for a close, high scoring affair. If he can get up around the 30 minute mark that will give Swaggy plenty of opportunity to get the points needed to crush value and our system sees just that happening.

Small Forward

Danilo Gallinari FD - $5900 DK - $6000
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 28.23 DK - 30.12
Wilson Chandler FD - $5800 DK - $6700
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 28.58 DK - 30.63
There's not a lot to pay up for at small forward tonight. The pricier guys are all going against each other in tougher match ups, so look down to the mid range guys and you'll find more Nuggets and a Raptor. I'll get to Carroll in a moment, but first we have Gallinari and Chandler. Gallinari has had some ankle pain, but it hasn't slowed him down any, as he's put up fantasy points in the mid twenties, while running the boards for 30-40 minutes a game. Chandler was sent back to the bench against Orlando, but with the injury to Gary Harris he should see more minutes. He was averaging 17.4 points to go with 5.8 boards in 31.1 minutes in the 5 games leading in to Monday, so look for him to return to that type of run.

DeMarre Carroll FD - $4600 DK - $5200
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 23.16 DK - 24.75
DeMarre Carroll saw his first double double of the season on Friday, and it just so happened to come against these very same Nets. Oh, and like the other starters, he did this in under 30 minutes. Over his last 4 games Carroll has been averaging 18.75 points, 6.25 rebounds, half a block and a steal per game. If that kind of production continues it won't be long before we see his price start to shoot up, so get in now while the floor is high. I like Carroll for some tournament exposure, but love him for cash.

Power Forward

Nikola Jokic FD - $8500 DK - $8100
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 37.78 DK - 39.49
Fanduel refuses to move Jokic to center, which is probably a good thing, since it's usually a tough position to fill and Jokic makes that chore just a little easier. He set a career high with 30 points against Orlando yesterday, and that's just the most recent of what has been an incredible run of late. He's had 4 double doubles in his last 5 games, averaging 22.3 points 9.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists over that span. Everything I've already said about these two teams still applies here, so consider Jokic a play in all formats.

Kenneth Faried FD - $4300 DK - $4400
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 25.05 DK - 26.08
Kenneth Faried is another player whose overall production seems to be trending upward, while the pricing just hasn't caught up. He returned to the starting line up yesterday against Orlando and picked up over 30 minutes for just the third time this season. If he gets that type of run tonight against a Lakers team allowing 10% more rebounds and 11% more assists to opposing fours, look for Faried to crush value. A good play in tournaments, an excellent play in cash.

Julius Randle FD - $6200 DK - $7200
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 31.88 DK - 33.63
We've picked on the Lakers a lot tonight, but we need to give them their due as well in this game. Who better than Julius Randle? Randle had a rough weekend putting up just 6 points total over the 2 games, but he did find other ways to contribute, with 18 boards and 6 assists during the span. He's got to bounce back though right? Julius scored double digit points in 9 of the 10 games leading into this past weekend. That's the Randle I'm expecting to see tonight against a Nuggets team that is about league average against opposing power forwards. Vegas thinks this game will be a close one, and if that's going to happen, it will be in part because Randle finds his shot.

Center

Hassan Whiteside FD - $8900 DK - $8400
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 41.05 DK - 42.79
Whiteside has quickly put to rest any concerns over lingering effects from his recent injury. in three games back he's averaging 33 minutes per game. He went 7 of 12 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line on Friday against the Bucks. His 9 rebounds marked only the fifth time this season he didn't pick up double digit boards, and it shouldn't be long before he's putting up the double doubles on the regular, like he was doing prior to the injury. That could begin tonight facing a Rockets team that is allowing 4% more boards and 11% more assists to opposing centers. Whiteside makes for a good cash game play, I can see some tournament exposure, but wouldn't go crazy with it.

Jonas Valanciunas FD - $6000 DK - $6200
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 27.19 DK - 28.38
The hardest part of tonight might be deciding which Raptors to play and which to fade, since we cant play them all. Let me suggest you keep Jonas Valanciunas in the play category. He has been on an absolute tear lately. He's only been seeing minutes in the mid to upper twenties, yet still has managed a double double in 3 straight games, and 4 of his last 6. This has helped him average well over a fantasy point per minute. At his current price point, we're getting him at a clear bargain, making JV an excellent cash game play and a definite consideration for your tournaments.

Pau Gasol FD - $6400 DK - $5700
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 30.79 DK - 32.16
The system wants me to tell you to play Pau Gasol and I'm trying to find it in me do just that. The one argument I can make is we know Pau is better than he has been lately. The inconsistencies have me a little nervous as when he's off he is way off, as evidenced by his 3 point outing against the Suns on Saturday. That said, when he's on he can give us 22 points and 9 rebounds, like he did against the Lakers last Thursday. The Timberwolves give up 5% more points, 2% more assists and 7% more blocks to opposing fives, so there's some argument to Gasol in a large tournament, for cash though, stick with the two guys above.

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