DFS NBA Fanduel Lineup Advice 1/6/18 (Main Slate)
Six days into the New Year and I’ve already slacked on my New Year’s resolution. It was my intention to put out more NBA DFS content, and I’ve already missed more than I would like. I’m hoping to be able to bring on some more writers so we can have some consistent content like we do for NFL season, but until then you are stuck with Jared’s weekly column and my soon to be “near” daily content.
I hope to be able to get my spreadsheet up for Saturday’s slate and I want to be able to do a quick “Starting 5” advice column, which has become my favorite contest over the past two weeks. So without further ado, here is today’s column…
NBA DFS Legend
| Nothing But Net | My top plays of the night at his position. |
| Dunk | A Dunk is a second or third tier player with the highest upside. |
| Half-Court Shot | Otherwise known as a “punt play.” A Low-priced, high-upside player. |
| Blocked Shot | A player I’ll be avoiding. Otherwise known as “Fading.” |
**Main Slate
Point Guard
Nothing But Net | Elfrid Payton $8,000 vs CLE
Chris Paul and John Wall are likely going to score more than Payton, but dollar for dollar Payton is the play here. This slate has a lot of expensive top-tier options, and at the time of this article, not a ton of value. Paying up for CP3 or J. Wall will be hard.
Payton has a few things going for him in this game. One, the Cavaliers have been one of the worst teams defending the point guard spot all season and now they get Isaiah Thomas back, who, statistically speaking, was the worst defender in the league last season — I don’t like their chances to improve in this category.
Two, the Magic are still without Nikola Vucevic, which may be a bad thing from a team standpoint, but Payton looks for his shot more when Vuc is off the floor. I know everyone hates to play Elf, and they would rather “leave the Elf on the shelf”, but tonight is the night to play him.
Dunk | Eric Bledsoe $7,200 @ WAS
Despite John Wall being known as a good defender, the Wizards have struggled to defend the point guard position over the last two years. They give up 46.95 Fanduel points to point guards, in fact, Bledsoe put up 41.6 FD points on them early this season.
Half-Court Shot | Tyus Jones $5,600 vs NOP
Jones started as expected last night in Boston and struggled with only seven points and two rebounds in 29 minutes but after the two-game road trip, the Timberwolves are home for this game, a place Jones plays much better.
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Blocked Shot | Isaiah Thomas $6,200 @ ORL
Okay, I admit, this is a cop-out. I doubt anyone was considering him after playing only one game this season and sitting out maybe the biggest regular season game in his return to Boston. All the top-tier point guards are good plays, so it left me with only Thomas…
Shooting Guard
Nothing But Net | Bradley Beal $8,600 vs MIL
Beal is happy to have John Wall back in the lineup. Since December 12, when John Wall returned to the lineup, in eight of the 12 games he has gone over 40 FanDuel points — including a 60-point explosion against Chicago and a 50 pointer last night.
Dunk | Kris Middleton $7,200 @ WAS
On the other side of the ball in that game, we have Middleton who has picked his game up recently as well. He did struggle last night against the Raptors, but previous to that had three straight games of near 35 FD points. I know that’s not a lot to write home about, but the other two options, Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday, have a few things working against them.
Eric Gordon’s price jumped to $8,000 after his 55 FanDuel point explosion. I can’t bring myself to chase points and pay that much for Eric Gordon.
Jrue Holiday will likely see either Andrew Wiggins or Jimmy Butler, both are plus defenders and Jrue is likely the third option to begin with behind Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Half-Court Shot | Avery Bradley $5,700 vs HOU
Man, did the Pistons get their a$es kicked last night? Chalk last night up to just one of those nights. Bradley gets the defense of Eric Gordon tonight. Yes, please.
Blocked Shot | Gary Harris/Will Barton $6,800/$6,300 @ SAC
I never know which of these two are going to have the bigger game each night. Actually, yes I do, the one I don’t roster. Avoid them both to save yourself the headache.
Small Forward
Nothing But Net | LeBron James $11,700 @ ORL
James had a bad game in a battle with the most likely team to have a shot at beating them in the playoffs, and that team also has his former teammate Kyrie Irving. The Magic are in for a very focused, angry LeBron James, and it doesn’t help that they give up 41.16 FanDuel points to small forwards over the last four weeks — good for ninth worst in the league.
Dunk | Jimmy Butler $9,800 vs NOP
Not including last night’s game against the Celtics, Butler had been on a tear with four of his last five over 46 FanDuel points. The Celtics are a very good defensive team, so his down game was somewhat expected. The Pelicans give up 40.1 Fanduel points to small forwards over the last four weeks, bottom third of the league.
Half-Court Shot | Gerald Green $5,700 @ DET
Green has been flying under the radar, but now has two straight games with at least 35 FanDuel points while averaging 30 minutes a game. As long as James Harden is out and Green stays under $6,000, he will be a viable option. The Piston pose a difficult matchup, but at $5,700, he is a nice upside value.
Blocked Shot | Otto Porter Jr. $6,700 vs MIL
Otto Porter has a bad matchup with Giann… The Greek Freak. Sorry, I didn’t want to look up his name.
Power Forward
Nothing But Net | Anthony Davis $11,200 @ MIN
Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Davis have matched up six times over their careers. Davis averages 33.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and nearly one block per game, however, this may be the best Timberwolves team Davis has seen. I still fully expect Davis to have a huge game here and may be my stud lock of the night.
Dunk | Aaron Gordon $7,900 vs CLE
The Cavs are the fourth worst team against the power forward position, giving up 50.40 Fanduel points over the last four weeks. Gordon is likely to see some Kevin Love defense depending on what lineup is on the floor.
I was talking in one of my many DFS chats, and a guy by the name of John Markham asked me about my thoughts on stacking players based on how often they connect on the court for assist/scores. Well, tonight you have a great example on one of those stacks if you pair Elfrid Payton with Gordon.
Half-Court Shot | Zach Randolph $5,500
There isn’t a ton of value at the power forward spot tonight, but Randolph is the best of what little options there are. I don’t see a scenario in which I would roster him, but he is capable of 35-plus points. At $5,500, he has some good upside.
Blocked Shot | Nikola Mirotic $6,800 @ IND
Mirotic is one of those players that I find hard to play on any given night. Some nights he may only get 18 minutes, while others he may get 28. He is pretty consistent no matter how many minutes he gets, but I like to look at minutes/usage/matchup. He checks only two of those boxes.
Center
Nothing But Net | Karl Anthony-Towns $9,000 vs NOP
KAT has struggled against Anthony Davis is all their previous matchups but this is the best team he has ever been a part of, which I expect to change things. He just dropped 60.1 Fanduel points on Boston last night and he could flirt with 60 again tonight as the Pels have given up 52.72 Fanduel points over the last four weeks.
Dunk | Kevin Love (GTD) $7,700 @ ORL
If Kevin Loves plays he will have a dream matchup with the worst team over the last four weeks in defending the center position. His status was still up in the air when I wrote this article, so be sure to check his status before rostering him.
Half-Court Shot | Marcin Gortat $4,600 vs MIL
This is more based on the matchup than it is Gortat’s play on the court. The Bucks very big in the interior and physical centers can put up good numbers against them. As long as Gortat comes out aggressive, which is always a question, he should be able to get a low-end double-double.
Blocked Shot | Andre Drummond $9,500 vs HOU
The pace of this game does not favor Drummond in this game and could find himself in foul trouble. There are far better options tonight.
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