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Daily Fantasy Basketball Plays for 3-8-14
No better way to celebrate the greatness of Saturday than playing some daily fantasy basketball. Surprisingly, there are only six NBA games tonight. Below are players I like tonight based on value, production, and matchups. The cheap plays are players who should exceed their value while not costing a lot, the mid-tier group are players that should produce big numbers while not breaking the bank, and the expensive players are high priced players who are worth every penny.
Cheap Plays
*Fantasy Points(FP) are based on DraftKings scoring system.
Dion Waiters SG, Cle- He must be an oyster fan because he is a chucker with 18 shots in two straight games. Tonight, he gets the Knickerbockers, who give up 41.35 FP to opposing SG’s (3rd worst in the NBA). He will keep on chucking up shots tonight and should reach 30 FP while not costing much.
Boris Diaw PF/C, SAS- His price has gone up some, but that is because he is averaging 34 FP in the past three games. Also, he’s playing plenty of minutes for the Spurs as they play Tim Duncan less minutes. Diaw is actually 12 for 12 in the last two games combined, while hitting 2 three pointers in each game. His consistency and price make him a viable option tonight.
Khris Middleton SF, Mil- This is going to be a major shocker, but he is not related to Kate Middleton. However, Washington has treated Khris like royalty by allowing him to average 37 FP in two games. He is very cheap on all sites and is a superb GPP play.
Consider J.R. Smith on sites that don’t negate points for miss shots. Cleveland is brutal vs opposing SG’s by giving up 39 FP per game in the last 15 days.
Henry Sims makes for a great punt play at the center position.
Mid-Tier
Marcin Gortat C, WSH- Is the only real big man on the Wizards and faces the NBA’s worst defensive team vs centers in the Milwaukee Bucks. His price is a bit high, but he will reach value by providing 35 or more fantasy points. Nikola Vucevic is a solid play as well, but is more expensive than Gortat.
Matt Barnes SF, LAC- He is the type of player you hate playing against, but love playing with. The same can be said about playing him in fantasy leagues as he is averaging 46 FP in the past two games. Don’t expect him to get 46 FP, but 30 FP is close to a lock. His price is still low on all sites. However, his production will take a hit if Jamal Crawford returns tonight. If he doesn’t return, then feel confident in rolling with Barnes tonight.
Kawhi Leonard SF, SAS- Not a big fan of Kawhi, but it’s hard to argue against his recent production as he is averaging almost 34 FP in his past five games since returning from an injury. Also, Orlando is giving up 41 FP to opposing small forwards in the last 15 days. Combine all of that and he makes for a solid play tonight.
Gordon Hayward SG/SF, Utah- He is playing Philadelphia…oh, you need more information than that? Fine. The 76ers are giving up 50! FP per game to small forwards in the last 15 days. Also, Hayward put up 45.8 FP in their previous matchup despite only shooting 3-17 from the field. He is a must play tonight as there is no reason why he shouldn’t reach 45 FP with the chance to boom for 50 plus FP.
Kemba Walker PG, Cha- is high risk/ high reward player as he doesn’t play well on the road and has a tough matchup with the Grizzlies. However, he did torch the Grizzlies for 50 FP in their last meeting. I am fading him as his price is high on most sites, but can see why people would play him tonight. Michael Carter-Williams is a better play because he is cheaper and will produce 30 plus FP.
Mike Conley will be in a lot of my lineups as his price has dropped significantly and he will get close to 30 FP.
Expensive plays
Kyrie Irving PG, Cle- He is my top PG play given his price is a lot cheaper than John Wall and Chris Paul, and should out produce those guys. He is averaging 42 FP at home and has a made a mockery of the Knicks defense by averaging 47.6 FP in their two meetings (granted, almost every team has a made mockery of the Knicks defense this season). He will be in all of my lineups tonight.
Carmelo Anthony SF/PF. NY- Is the most expensive player tonight because he is Melo and will shoot it 20 or more times. The matchup is good, but I do not want to spend my money on him because I don’t believe he reaches value. He doesn’t grab a lot of rebounds and barely gets assist, so he relies on his points scored and that’s just hard to trust.
DeAndre Jordan C, LAC- If you want to make it rain at center, than throw your money D.J.’s way. Altanta gives up 44.4 FP to opposing centers, which ranks in the bottom third of the NBA. There will be plenty of points scored in this game as the over/under is 221.
I am fading Duncan and Tony Parker because their minutes are sporadic vs bad teams. The Spurs are favored by 16 points so I don’t see them playing big minutes.
Good luck tonight! Feel free to hit me up on twitter @datrueguru for any fantasy basketball related question.