Daily Fantasy Basketball Plays for 4-12-14
It was an exciting night in the NBA with two last minute scratches of two high profile players, Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo. This translated into career nights for Corey Brewer and Phil Pressey. Brewer was no stranger to shooting the rock going 19-for-30 and finished the night off with an unlikely 51 points. Brewer had not attempted more than nine shots in the previous seven games. Pressey had 10 points, 13 assists, 3 steals, and 5 rebounds and was a nice value play for those of you that were able to make the last minute adjustment to fit him in your lineup. Be sure to check out fantasyalarm.com throughout the day for last minute lineup news that can make or break your chances of cashing in tonight. Below are players I like 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.
*Fantasy points (FP) and pricing are based on Draftkings scoring system.
Cheap Plays
Avery Bradley ($3,500) - His price has dropped from $5,100 to a near minimum price of $3,500 even though he is coming off two nice performances where he scored 39.5 and 30.5 fantasy points. I don’t expect him to continue his 50% shooting from the field but with 30 plus minutes he should hit double digit fantasy points.
Josh McRoberts ($4,400) - I like the upside here and recommend McBob as a GPP and cash play. Philadelphia ranks second to last against the power forward position giving up 13 percent more fantasy points than the league average. He is clocking in the minutes so reaching five times his value should not be a problem. His floor is around 22 fantasy points and he will enable you enough salary relief to afford a few studs.
Austin Rivers ($4,200) - Injuries are allowing Rivers the opportunity to play major minutes and he has responded. He scored 32 and 37 fantasy points in the last two games while playing 30 and 40 minutes. The nice thing about Rivers is he isn’t solely dependent on actual points, his ability to accumulate assists and rebounds provides a nice floor. Brian Roberts and Tyreke Evans both incurred injuries last night and if they can’t go tonight Rivers will be a must start.
Mid-Tier Value Plays
Eric Bledsoe ($7,300) - One assist away from a triple-double last night, yeah let me have some of that!! This is the game of the night, Dallas (7th seed) and Phoenix (9th seed) are half a game apart in the playoff standings. Dragic should be in the lineup tonight so Bledsoe gets a slight bump in value but not enough to keep him out of my lineup. I would also consider using Goran Dragic but would check the pregame warmup news to make sure his ankle won’t hold him back.
Aaron Brooks ($5,800) - Not the safest pick but if you are doing multiple lineups I would get some exposure to Brooks. He can go for 15 or 40 fantasy points on any given night. He is averaging over 16 shot attempts per game over the last four but has struggled to make them. If he can hit forty percent from the field he will be in store for a huge night against a subpar Utah team.
Ramon Sessions ($6,300) - Sessions hasn’t scored less than 27 fantasy points in the last nine games. That is what you want to see in a cash play. He is still fairly priced and has the potential to produce 40 plus fantasy points, warranting him as a GPP flier as well. I do prefer him as a 50/50 and H2H play and his dual eligibility has a PG and SG on draftkings is a plus.
Expensive Plays
Al Jefferson ($9,400) - If you have been playing daily fantasy NBA this season then I don’t need to inform you about the great season Big Al is having. His draftkings average is an impressive 42.4. He should destroy Philadelphia (defenseless) tonight and if Kemba Walker can’t go I like his upside even more. He put up 25 points and 10 rebounds in the last meeting against Philadelphia in only 31 minutes of playing time. (Update Kemba Walker is officially out Luke Ridnour becomes a nice punt play)
Dirk Nowitzki ($8,900) - Playing at home where he is shooting over 50 percent and that fact this is a meaningful game, sign me up. Dirk does rely on scoring to provide most of his fantasy production so a bad shooting night can put a damper on a daily lineup but I will take my chances and expect to get 45 FP’s!!
Paul Millsap ($8,900) - Atlanta is trying to clinch the 8th seed, Miami has trouble defending big men, and it’s a home game to boot. What’s not to like about this scenario? This “Grit and Grinder” should have his way down low against the undersized Heat and with a few blocks we could see a 50 fantasy point performance.
LeBron James ($11,200) - James is the most expensive player on the board tonight and I would only use him if Wade is out. He has to score 45 FP’s to cover four times his price tag which is highly attainable when Wade isn’t on the court to take away some of his looks. This game does have playoff seeding implications for both Miami and Atlanta so I expect James to see plenty of minutes.
Give me a follow on twitter @mnorrad where I post daily fantasy content including lineups for fanduel, draftkings, and draftstreet. Be sure to check out the NBA lineups page on fantasyalarm.com for late scratches and the NBA player updates for the latest injury news to get an edge on the competition.