NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/26/17

NBA Daily Fantasy

by Austyn Varney on October 26, 20170 Comments

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/26/17

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Point Guard

Jrue Holiday
FD $7,300 DK $6,200

Anthony Davis is currently listed as questionable, but it doesn’t look good. For the sake of this article, we’ll assume he’s out. With just 5 games on the board, we have to take huge advantage of this situation. Holiday should be 2nd behind Cousins in terms of who benefits most here. Holiday moves over to PG with the Rondo injury and has been consistent. He’ll now see an extra 5-10 shots and have his minutes locked in over 35 as long as it stays close. The price is still fair on both sites and he’ll be hard to stay away from in cash games. The match-up with George Hill and De’Aaron Fox is average. Holiday is an elite cash game play and a very solid GPP play on a slate that doesn’t do much at PG.

Malcolm Delaney
FD $4,800 DK $4,400

The only easy choice for me at PG is Malcolm Delaney. With Dennis Schroder already ruled out, he is locked into 32+ minutes. With just 5 games on the slate, we don’t have any value this good. At least not yet (written the night before). If no value opens up as the day progresses, Delaney will be highly owned. There are a lot of studs, who we’ll get to, that force you to pay down elsewhere. That elsewhere could very well be PG. The matchup with Chicago is a lot better than Miami, but not great. They play at an average pace and have a solid paint defender in Robin Lopez. Still, this is a pure opportunity play. Delaney is in the $4k’s on both sites and a lock to hit value if he sees the minutes. The upside for 35 FP and a must in tournaments is quite possible.

Shooting Guard

C.J. McCollum
FD $7,700 DK $7,300

This game between the Blazers and Clippers currently holds the highest O/U on the night at 212. On the Blazers side, it’s McCollum and Lillard who do most of the coring. With Pat Beverley on Lillard, let’s move to McCollum. C.J. will see a combo of Austin Rivers and Lou Williams, who are both pretty bad at defense in general. He will easily get his shot against either of those guys and it should lead to them finding someone else, but I’m not sure who. Beverley will be plenty busy with Lillard, so they might just have to take the McCollum blows. He is fairly priced on both sites and makes for an excellent play in both formats. This is a game I want a lot of exposure to with a 212/-2, so McCollum does that at a cheaper price than Lillard or Blake Griffin, while still having similar upside. The Clippers will struggle to guard SG’s this season and McCollum will look to take advantage tonight.

Buddy Hield
FD $5,100 DK $5,000

Hield saw just 16 minutes of work last game but put up 30 fantasy points. It makes no sense. As for the 16 minutes, 3 starts saw it. I guess it was punishment. They should be right back out there for this one and see the typical 30-35 minutes a starter sees. He finally hit his groove last game and could be in for a nice stretch. if you remember correctly, Hield was about $6500 for a while last year and getting plenty of interest and putting up 30 fantasy points on a regular basis. He will definitely get back to that this year once he can get it going. This match-up with the Pelicans is very nice. E’Twaun Moore is a pitiful defender and I have no idea why he has a starting gig in the NBA. He’s much worse than even Troy Daniels, who’s at least elite at shooting the 3. Anyways, Hield will see a cupcake match-up that should remain very close throughout. He’s a lock for 20 fantasy points with the upside for 45.

Small Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo
FD $12,400 DK $12,000

Giannis is in too good of a spot to ignore. While there are some stars that we’ve yet to touch on, Gianni’s is right with them at the top of the list. He sees the same Celtics team he saw on opening night and dominated for 37 points and 13 rebounds. They struggled to cover him that night and will struggle just as much here. Expect Jaylen Brown to get most of the minutes on Giannis, but he won’t have much success. He has held 60 fantasy points in each of his first 4 starts while also maintaining a + (+/-) in every game. You can expect Antetokounmpo to have another 60 FP night. It just comes down to the price. He is going to make you sacrifice a lot and it could bite you in the ass. Or not. With the other guys we’ll touch on, they aren’t AS expensive, so they don’t force you into such a corner. With that being said, if you have the space for Giannis, play him without hesitation.

Dante Cunningham
FD $3,500 DK $3,300

This is 100% contingent on Anthony Davis being ruled out. Cunningham will see close to 35 minutes at the 3 and 4 if Davis is out, and while he won’t be a focus of the offense, he gets involved more than enough. When AD is on the court, he’ll just sit in the corner. With AD off, he will try to get down low and make things happen. Sitting at the minimum price, there’s really no discussion to be had. With the studs on this slate, you need value and there isn’t much of it. If Davis is ruled out, go ahead and play Cunningham for the guaranteed value in all formats.

Power Forward

Blake Griffin
FD $9,800 DK $9,500

Here’s one of my two favorite superstars. As you can see, he’s nearly $2k cheaper than Antetokoumpo, letting you pay up at another position or two. This game, as mentioned, holds the highest over/under on the slate at 212. The Blazers are also just favored by 2, so Vegas expects it to stay close throughout. The Blazers have Aminu and Caleb Swanigan at PF, which is kind of sad. Aminu is fine against smaller PF’s, but holds no chance against a literal monster in Blake Griffin. This is his offense to run and he does what he sees fit. Against a Blazers team that should double him every time, my guess will be a spread out, stat-stuffing night. If the Blazers try to let Aminu take care of Griffin alone, well, no bueno. Griffin is easily my favorite PF on the board and there’s no discussion to be had as long as AD remains out. It’s an absolutely brutal position, so I’m guessing the ownership will be relatively high.

Zach Randolph
FD $4,500 DK $4,900

Zach Randolph has definitely fallen quite a bit from the guy he was in Memphis a couple years ago. I actually don’t think his skill is much different. I just don’t think his style of play is very effective in today’s NBA. It’s tough to center your offense around a back-to-the-basket PF who grinds out 15 seconds of shot clock every time. You throw Z-Bo back in the 90’s and we discuss him as one of the greatest forwards of all time. As for tonight, he looks at a solid match-up against the presumed short-handed Pelicans frontcourt. Cousins will be focused on Nukic, which will leave Cunningham and Diallo on Randolph. Diallo should have more success, but Cunnigham will get more minutes. Randolph was one of the other starts to see under 20 minutes for punishment, so expect that to go back up tonight and make him a viable option in all formats.

Center

DeMarcus Cousins
FD $11,800 DK $11,500

My favorite play of the night is DeMarcus Cousins. Remember, this is all with the contingency of Anthony Davis sitting out. If he plays, the slate is a mess and I’ll be moving a lot of my Cousins over to Griffin and Antetokounmpo. If AD misses like we think, this is Cousins’ game. He’s facing off with his old Kings that he absolutely hates. HATES. He dominated them last year and I don’t take Cousins as the guy to let things go. Hey, maybe I’m wrong, lol. Expect Cousins to go out there and try to score a million points. He will likely have a good amount of turnovers without AD on the floor, but he’ll more than outweigh them with points, rebounds, and assists. The Kings will likely toss WCS at Cousins for the most part. He can rebound with Cousins, but is way too skinny to deal with him in the post. Play Boogie.

Jusuf Nurkic
FD $7,500 DK $6,200

On the other side, we have Jusuf Nurkic. Cousins is a solid defender, but I don’t think that will be the focus tonight. Nurkic has struggled to start the season, but if you watched last game, you get it. He is a guy they involve like crazy on offense. He was cruising last time out until he had 2 phantom fouls in 2 minutes. it put him on the bench for the rest of the half and turned what would have been a good game into absolute garbage. He should be back out there tonight for another chance at a big night. Again, Lillard doe shave Pat Bev on him, which could funnel some offense away. Nurkic is willing to shoot and wants to show what he does for an offense. He has the upside to be just like Nikola Jokic production-wise but has to maintain some level of consistency to get there. As for tonight, he’s a clear 2nd to the Boogieman. Good luck!!!

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/20/17

NBA Daily Fantasy

by Austyn Varney on October 19, 20170 Comments

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/20/17

Point Guard

Eric Bledsoe
FD $7,500 DK $7,400

Bledsoe saw just 29 minutes in the opening contest, in what was a blowout at halftime against the Blazers. He has always been a guy that plays big minutes and I think it’s fair to expect around 35 on a daily basis. This style of game fits into Bledsoe’s hands perfectly, as the Lakers love to run and push the ball up the court. We didn’t see it much last night, but some of that can be attributed to PatBev giving them a nightmare. This game currently sits at a 220 total with the Suns favored by just 3, so it’ll be high scoring and close. Exactly what you’re looking for out of a game stack. The price is fair and he’s pretty safe, considering he fills up the box in every which way. He thrives in the open floor and should have no problem getting there often against a Lakers team that ranked 3rd worst in 2016 against transition baskets. Bledsoe isn’t a lock, but he’s as close as you’ll get at the position.

D’Angelo Russell
FD $8,000 DK $7,300

Jeremy Lin has already been ruled out for the year. Thoughts go out to him, but at least we got it over quickly. It’s surely a lot less stressful than him being questionable EVERY DAY for the entire season. like we dealt with for much with for much of 2016. With Lin gone at PG, D’Angelo Russell will slide over and let Caris LeVert and Sean Kilpatrick handle the 2. Russell gave us a taste of what to expect from him in game 1, shooting 22 times and putting up 42 fantasy points against some quality defenders in Indy. I know both of these guys are a bit expensive, but they are both in spots where the ceiling and floor is just too high for the respective price. Russell could very well be a $9K player very soon. It sounds crazy, but it’ll happen if he’s over 20 shots on a nightly basis. He did it just 6 times in 2016. The Magic play fast and don’t care too much about defense. Russell is a prime option for all formats.

Shooting Guard

Jaylen Brown
FD $6,200 DK $5,500

Until the price goes way up or the Celtics are facing a defensive juggernaut, Jaylen Brown will remain a safe cash game play. He’s the number 2 option behind Kyrie and has shot 34 times over the first 2 contests. The Celtics now see the 76ers, who will be one of the teams we target a lot this year. With the addition of Fultz and Simmons, they should want to run as much as possible. Brown derives a lot of his value from being able to get into the open court and make things happen. That shouldn’t be an issue here, as neither TLC or J.J. Redick have the speed or athleticism to stick with Jaylen. It may be tough to the pay the $6K tag for a guy who was just at $4k, but he’s worth close to 7 or 8. Expect him to once again see 30+ minutes against a lackluster defense that is fine running.

Andrew Wiggins
FD $6,800 DK $6,300

We still don’t really know how Jimmy Butler will cut into Wiggins and Towns, but I think it’s safe to assume that it won’t be much. Butler is a superstar, but he doesn’t need the ball in his hands a ton. He posted a 25% usage last season in Chicago and will likely end up with a similar one here. You also add in the fact that all these starters will see close to 40 minutes on most nights, and the safety is there. People generally see the “Utah” under the opponent and completely ignore. While they are a good team defense, they have Rodney Hood and Donovan Mitchell at the 2. Both of which are inexperienced and not known, at all, for their defense. Ignles will be on Butler, which could funnel some more production towards Wiggins on the perimeter. He’s not as safe as Jaylen is Point per $, but he’s close. He will also be just 5 or 10% owned, at most.

Small Forward

Harrison Barnes
FD $6,300 DK $5,700

We’ve been looking at a few of the more expensive options at PG and SG, so let’s look for a way to save here at SF. Harrison Barnes is the leader of the Mavs on offense and he’s going to be one of the more consistent SF’s we can lean on at such a solid price. He can handle 35+ minutes every night and had no problem shooting close to 20 times a game in 2016. The Kings have a gaping hole at SF with Rudy Gay out, so they’ll look to Justin Jackson and Buddy Hield to deal with Barnes on defense. Barnes doesn’t have the upside to put up 50 fantasy points, but you can lock him in there for 25 with the upside for 45. At this price, you can’t ask for more.

Evan Fournier
FD $5,600 DK $5,400

Evan Fournier left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouth after last season, including mine. It seemed like countless times that I rostered him and he just goofed around for 300 minutes and ended with nothing worthy of note. That didn’t look to be the guy I was watching the other night. While it can be tough to base decisions on things like the eye test, it’s really not with a guy like Fournier. He looked like he wanted to be there and was initiating a lot of the effective offense. He now heads up with the fast-paced Nets, who haven’t played defense in 2 years. This game is sitting at a 223 over/under with the Magic favored by 2. Get some exposure on both sides of the ball. Fournier is cheap enough where you really don’t have to consider him a “pay-up”, but has the upside to give you 50 in a tournament.

Power Forward

Anthony Davis
FD $10,900 DK $10,600

With Draymond Green doubtful as I type this, I’m going to assume he is out. Even if he is in, you can take all of what I’m about to say and just minimize it a little bit. Davis is unstoppable. Cousins is unstoppable. When you try to stop them with whatever combo of Zaza, Javale, David West and Jordan Bell, things may get ugly. With that being said, the same can be said for the Pelicans in regard to Kevin Durant/Klay Thompson. I think this one just turns into an absolutely shootout and stacking the entire game is a terrific idea. If it blows out, none of them make value. If it stays close, I think it does because of the back-and-forth nature. We aren’t going to see either of these teams grind out defense here. Davis saw 40 minutes last game, which is a terrific sign for a guy that is often on a minutes limit. If he’s seeing those types of minutes this early, it’s fair to assume we’re playing with a fully healthy Anthony Davis. A fully healthy Anthony Davis is something you won’t come across often, and when you do, you take advantage. Personally, you will catch me with 100% Anthony Davis if Draymond is out. I’d prefer to watch him abuse the backups and for me to benefit instead of grimace every time he slams it over anyone’s head in hopes I won’t be passed by the crowd. AD might end up being popular, which is when I’ll pivot over to Cousins. All in all, this game is a gold mine and you should get exposure from both sides.

Jae Crowder
FD $5,300 DK $4,700

This is just a simple case of a guy being a bit mispriced to start the season. It’s not too bad, but Crowder will put up numbers in this offense if he’s going to play 30+ minutes. He’s a lot better of an offensive player than many of the guys who have played the same role with LeBron in the near past. He will get as many open 3’s in the corner as he could ever want and could have some huge games if he gets hot. He’s also good at penetrating and scooping up peripherals on defense, which can’t be said for the usual LeBron corner guy. It’s also comforting to know Crowder will be out there when it matters. He is a good defender and helps make up for the atrocious Rose and Love (If you want to laugh, watch these 2 try to defend a PNR). I feel like they should have a coach out there grabbing their hips and throwing them into the proper defensive position. It’s just brutal. Getting back on topic, Crowder is going to be an integral part of this offense from the get and isn’t priced like it just yet. The Bucks play small and he’ll have no problem getting an excess of minutes at the 4 and maybe a few at the 5 when Thon Maker is out there. He isn’t going to go crazy but penciling in 25 at this price is a blessing in cash games.

Center

Nikola Vucevic
FD $8,400 DK $7,600

There are a lot of different ways you can go at center if you’re paying up, so take your choice. We’ll run with Nikola Vucevic here, who sees and up-paced affair with the Brooklyn Nets. He got dismantled by Hassan Whiteside in the first game, but did answer back with a solid 19-13-2-2 line. TheNets lost Brook Lopez in the offseason and will turn to Timofey Mozgov at center. I don’t know how they plan on making that work, but they are the Nets, so maybe they just don’t care. Bucevic will embarrass Mozgov for however many minutes the Nets can lie to themselves for. Trevor Booker and Rondae Hollies-Jefferson man the 4 and are way too undersized to mess with Vuc. To me, it looks like a severe match-up problem. Unless the Nets have a focus on taking away Vucevic from the start (no shot), he should have a big game. His price is still fair and will likely see a small bump if he continues seeing heavy minutes. Aaron Gordon is also questionable now, so Vuc could be leaned on even more down low than already expected.

Marcin Gortat
FD $6,100 DK $5,600

Now for what may be the most cut and dry option of them all, let’s take a look at Marcin Gortat facing off with the monster that is Andre Drummond. Gortat will need to be out there to match the size of Drummond, which Ian Mahinmi just can’t offer. Gortat is locked into a double-double and you can safely project him for 34+ minutes. For years now, Gortat has been getting a ton of minutes to start the year until eventually getting a nagging injury that keeps them down. Drummond is a huge center, but his defense is nothing to be worried about. The Pistons were 3rd worst against centers in 2016 and I can’t see a guy with Gortat’s skill set just flopping. Wall leans on Gortat to space the floor and he does it perfectly, knowing exactly how Wall likes to play. Gortat is the safest option at center for the price and I’ll have a ton of exposure in cash games.

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/19/17

NBA Daily Fantasy

by Austyn Varney on October 18, 20170 Comments

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/19/17

Point Guard

Russell Westbrook
FD $11,800 – DK $11,000

Look, if you’re playing on this slate, it’s going to take some real guts to fade Russell Westbrook. No matter how you slice it, he’s the top raw option at any position in any format. While he may seem expensive, if you played NBA DFS last year, you know this is nothing. He did lose Victor Oladipo and Enes Kanter, but gained 2 great players in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. They may warrant a few more shots than the guys did last year, but this team belongs to Westbrook and the ball will be in his hands as much as he wants. This match-up with the Knicks couldn’t be better. Ramon Sessions will cover him. Yes, let that sink in. Of course, the Knicks will try to remedy that with Justin Holiday and double-teams, but we all know by now that it doesn’t work. Westbrook is a guy I’ll have 100% exposure to, bar none.

Jerian Grant
FD $6,600 – DK $5,300

Point guard is typically a position where you have to pick between 5 or 6 elite options. That’s just not the case tonight. Kyle Lowry is the 2nd safest guy, but I’m trying to include some cheaper options and I’m a bigger fan of DeRozan, who we’ll get to. The Bulls are an ultimate cluster$%%@ right now and they will need more than a few guys to step up and fill the hole that Mirotic and Portis will leave. Grant won’t see any impact minutes-wise, but he’ll be looked at to lead this young offense. He showed plenty of times last year that he was able, going over 30 FD points 7 times in his last 25 games. Kyle Lowry is known as a good defender, but he’s really not. The Raptors ranked 23rd against point guards in 2016 and while Grant is far from a typical PG, his size should give Lowry some issues. I’m not expecting a huge game out of Grant, but he can fill the stat sheet in plenty of ways and will be in there for over 30 minutes against an average defensive team.

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan
FD $8,800 – DK $8,300

With just 3 games on the slate, you probably want to have either Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan. Chances are at least one of them will have a superb game against the inept opponent. Before going any further, go ahead and look at the Bulls projected lineup. It is like a spring training lineup in baseball or something. I’m not sure I can remember seeing anything as bad in recent past in any sport. Justin Holiday will cover DeRozan and he’s just too small, as well as not good enough. It’s no offense to Holiday, who’s young with a ton of potential, but DeMar DeRozan is a premier NBA scorer. He can put up 40 points on any given night and will probably put up 50 a time or two before the season concludes. There aren’t too many +EV ways to pay up tonight, so you probably want some exposure to the Toronto DD.

Jordan Clarkson
FD $4,700 – DK $4,300

You have a lot of different ways to go at SG, but you’ll have to pay down in a couple spots here and Jordan Clarkson might be my favorite way to do it. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope suspended, he will be in line to play at least 30 minutes, with some at the 1 and some at the 2. Julius Randle is also questionable, so he could end up seeing a huge uptick in usage as well. Clarkson is an extremely good guard who is underpriced on both sites. He gets the ball in his hands when on the court and if his floaters are hitting, value will come in the 1st half. The Clippers will toss Austin Rivers and Lou Williams at Jordan Clarkson, so he won’t have a hard time getting to the paint. Clarkson is nowhere near a must, but I don’t see the reasoning behind his price.

Small Forward

Paul George
FD $8,600 – DK $6,100

We have no real idea how Paul George will mesh with Russell Westbrook and the Thunder, but I’m willing to take a guess. If you’ve been watching Paul George since he came into the league, you should know that he won’t be causing any problems. There were plenty of times in Indy when a guy like Jeff Teague, Roy Hibbert, or Lance Stephenson would get hot and George would have no problem taking a backseat. He would then hop back into the driver’s seat the next night and put up 30 real-life points. In this Thunder system, I suspect he turns into quite Robin to Westbrook’s Batman. His price is way too low on DraftKings and he’s a near must in cash games. On FanDuel, I love him, but it’s not a must by any means.

Paul Zipser
FD $4,800 – DK $4,200

Hey, calm down. I know Paul Zipser isn’t a guy you wanted to roster until the end of the year when we’re scratching and clawing for value. But I don’t think this is like most years. We usually don’t have a teammate breaking another one’s face and sending him to the hospital with facial fractures. These unforeseen circumstances have led to Nikola Mirotic being out for 6 weeks and Portis suspended for 8 games. It leaves a bunch of minutes for not too many guys. Paul Zipser is locked into 36+ minutes and it’s the reason he’s in play. He will sit in the corner for most of the game, occasionally takin charge and driving to the hoop for a goofy layup. With minutes, come production, and that’s the hope here with Zipser at his depressed price tag.

Power Forward

Lauri Markkanen
FD $6,500 DK $5,600

We’ll stay here with the mess that is the entire Bulls organization. With Mirotic and Portis out, we have RoLo, Felicio, and Markkanen at the 4 and 5. Felicio physically can’t play more than 20-24 minutes, so that leaves about 75 for Lopez and Markkanen (maybe a few from Zipser). Markkanen is technically a rookie, but he’s been playing pro ball in Europe for 6 years and should be able to transition a bit better than guys coming from college. Markkanen is a very good basketball player and he can fill the stat sheet in many different ways. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him well over $8,000 on both sites come next month. This match-up with the Raptors isn’t great, but like I’ve said, minutes = production.

Blake Griffin
FD $9,500 DK $9,600

This year is going to be very telling for the outlook and legacy of Blake Griffin. The last time he was without Chris Paul for an extended period of time, he was consistently one of the top 5 NBA players on a nightly basis. His production was tempered with CP3 back, but that’s not the case anymore. This offense will run through Griffin and he will be given the opportunity to do as much damage as possible. Expect plenty of face-up and PnR opportunities for Griffin from the first possession on. He will also have some games where he distributes and sees close to 10 assists, which could very well come against the Lakers. All in all, I think Griffin has the opportunity to have a huge night and I’ll be doing my best to get him in all my contests. With the current value, I have been able to fit both Westbrook and Griffin without any worries.

Center

Brook Lopez
FD $7,400 DK $6,500

For me, it’s a toss-up between Brook Lopez and DeAndre Jordan for the top high-priced center. They both couldn’t care less about defense, but produce fantasy points in very different ways. Jordan will rely on rebounding and putbacks, while Lopez will get the ball with 15 seconds left on the shot clock and go to work, both post-up and face-up. I suspect Jordan may have some trouble covering Lopez and it could put him into some foul trouble. I doubt Lopez gets into foul trouble as he would much rather just back up. Whichever way you decide to go is fine, but Lopez is probably a bit riskier with a higher ceiling. If you don’t have Griffin and are looking for safety, play Jordan.

Steven Adams
FD $6,300 FD $5,700

If you don’t want to pay up for either Lopez or Jordan, Steven Adams is a quality pivot at $2k cheaper. The Thunder face off with the Knicks, who offer up Enes Kanter and Willy Hernangomez at the 5. If you pay attention to the NBA, you know they are both embarrassingly bad at defense. I expect we will be targeting centers against the Knicks all season long. Adams isn’t a scorer, but he can score with his back to the basket when guys like Westbrook and George are pulling all of the attention away from the paint. Adams has a double-double before the game starts and it just depends on whether the game stays close enough for him to play 35 minutes.

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/18/17

NBA Daily Fantasy

by Austyn Varney on October 18, 20170 Comments

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks for 10/18/17

Point Guard

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks

Damian Lillard
FD $8,800 – DK $10,400

Welcome to the first real NBA slate of the 2017-18 season! With 11 games on the docket, we have plenty of options at each position, contrary to last night. We also have a pretty soft NBA at this point, so there are a few questionable and outs already at each position. In this circumstance, C.J. McCollum has been suspended a game for leaving the bench early in the preseason. Seems like a silly suspension, but hey, let’s use it to our advantage. This game has a 220 over/under, sitting at the 2nd highest of the night. McCollum and Lillard are the only 2 real ballhandlers on this team with Crabbe gone, so we’ll see Lillard pick up the slack like he did last season when McCollum was out. In McCollum’s absence, Lillard held a 35% usage rate, jumping from 28%. That’s a huge difference in basketball. He averaged 30 real-life points as well and sees a high-pace match-up with the run and gun Suns. Lillard is a top option at any position on this slate.

Patty Mills & DeJounte Murray
FD $4,300, $3,800 – DK $4,700 $4,100

The Spurs are starting the season without Kawhi Leonard, so there’s an immediate space to be filled in many different capacities. Tony Parker is also out for 4-6 weeks, so Murray and Mills should split time at PG, as well as a few minutes each at SG. The Timberwolves played at the 11th fastest pace last year and ranked 17th against point guards. They’re a very solid defensive team. Mills and Murray are both extremely cheap around the industry and do produce when on the court. I prefer Mills, but just slightly.

Shooting Guard

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks

D’Angelo Russell
FD $6,600 – DK $6,600

D’Angelo Russell is now a member of the Nets, and it looks like he’ll technically be playing shooting guard. With that being said, him and Link should bring the ball up about equally. Russell is simply a far better scorer and playmaker than Lin. We now look at a game between the Pacers and Nets with a 218 over/under and very close spread. Victor Oladipo is an average defender and the pace here should play right into Russell’s style of play. His price is fair and his ownership should be rather high.

Malik Monk
FD $3,800 – DK $3,700

Nicolas Batum is, once again, out for an extended length of time with an injury. Jeremy Lamb should be the main benefactor, but Malik Monk has seen over 30 minutes a few times in the preseason and has exploded given the opportunity. I don’t expect a ton of minutes out of Monk, but 26-30 seems about right. This game will be rather slow, but Monk will be covered by a combo of Reggie Jackson and Stanley Johnson. I would expect Bradley to man Kemba or Lamb when the opportunity arises. Monk is extremely cheap and this should be a prime example of minutes = production.

Small Forward

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks

Jimmy Butler
FD $8,700 – DK $8,100

Jimmy Butler is back to his stomping grounds with Tom Thibodeau. This is the guy who gave Butler his “Jimmy Minutes” nickname in the first place. Thibs loves running his starters into the ground and it was why Towns and Wiggins ranked in the top 10 for minutes played and fantasy points scored. We’ll now get Jimmy Butler seeing upwards of 38-40 minutes a night and the production should flow like never before. He gets a friendly match-up with the Spurs tonight, as Kawhi is out and Kyle Anderson is in. Butler should score at will on him and this game will likely stay close throughout. Butler is one of the safer plays on the slate and that phrase will be repeated all season long.

Jaylen Brown & Jayson Tatum
FD $3,700, $3,500 – DK $3,900, $4,100

We saw Gordon Hayward suffer a brutal injury midway through the first quarter last night. There are a million words that should be said before we look at the fantasy implications, but let’s cut to the chase. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum should both see over 30 minutes per night and take plenty of shots(12 & 23 last night) to sustain cash game value until the sites bump their prices. Tatum and Brown are both near locks in my cash games tonight and it’s because of the guaranteed minutes and production. Even this early in the season, it seems like we’re being forced into some strong value. As of note, Brown is the better player and he will have the ball in his hands more often. That could also change quickly if Tatum progresses as expected.

Power Forward

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks

Giannis Antetokounmpo
FD $10,200 – DK $10,300

You’re going to want to pay up for a guy or two with the value on this slate, and Giannis is as good as you’ll find. He’s the biggest match-up problem in basketball and there’s no question as to why. A 7 foot 2 frame, 7 foot 6 wingspan, and elite ballhandling skills are just some of the reasons. Go ahead and throw in a good shooting game and one of the brighter minds around and you see why teams should be so scared. This Boston team should win a lot of games this year, but they’ll have to score. With the absence of Gordon Hayward and the departure of Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, they will struggle defensively. Kyrie, Horford, and Tatum are all subpar defenders and will rely on the likes of Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris. As for tonight, I’m guessing Jaylen Brown covers Giannis. He doesn’t match-up well because nobody does. Expect a big game out of Giannis.

Ben Simmons
FD $5,600 – DK $7,100

We just touched on a hybrid player in Giannis Antetokounmpo and now move to the guy who hopes to the best player in basketball in a few years. He is a hybrid in every sense on the word. That feels weird to say, but he was the number 1 pick just 2 years ago after being hyped as the next LeBron James since 8th grade. He enters this season with some tempered expectations because of the last season, which may help. He’s going to have the ball in his hands a ton and has proven in the preseason that he can be as diverse of a player as we thought. This match-up with the fast-pace Wizards is juicy, as I suspect Simmons will derive a lot of his value in the fastbreak game. Markieff Morris is out, so they’ll be forced to use some smaller guys on Simmons like Kelly Oubre and Otto Porter. He’s definitely a bit risky because of the team and injury past, but I feel safe with him in all formats. He’s a bit too cheap across the industry.

Center

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Lineup Picks

Andre Drummond
FD $8,000 – DK $7,600

Maybe I’m just reaching or looking for something to grasp onto, but Drummond is a guy I look to have an insane 2017 season. In the offseason, he got a surgery done to open his nasal passage, and supposedly, it has turned him into a different player. It doesn’t look to be fake news, either. He played 36 minutes in his last preseason game and threw up a stat line that we don’t typically see out of him (17 points, 22 rebounds, 7 assists). We may be running into an Andre Drummond that’s ready to play 35 minutes per game, which will put him in the pricing range of Boogie and Towns very soon. He also has a match-up with Dwight Howard, so I don’t think either team will turn to the “hack-a” strategy. Dwight Howard is a very fun guy to watch, but he’s not too worried about stopping centers at this point. He steps up for blocks far too often and leaves the block unattended. Drummond is a lock for a double-double and has 20/20 upside every time he takes the court.

Willie Cauley-Stein
FD $4,700 – DK $5,900

In cash games, at this price, you’re better off with Marcin Gortat. He’s a safe bet for 32 minutes and 25 fantasy points. If you’re looking for some fun in tournaments, look towards Willie Cauley-Stein. He’s the backup PF and C, so he’s figuring to see around 24-28 minutes on a regular basis. If you played NBA DFS last year, you know how valuable he can be in that amount of time. He put up nearly 1 FP per minute last season and is still working into the player he is at just 23. This match-up with the Rockets will be up and down and I look for Cauley-Stein to run himself into 30 fantasy points. We may also see one of the starting interior big men get into foul trouble with Harden, which could push WCS minutes over the projected 26.

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