DFS NBA FanDuel Starting 5 Lineup Advice 1/16/18
One rebound! Just. One. Rebound. That’s what I needed from Hassan Whiteside yesterday to cash in my $12 GPP, but head coach Erik Spoelstra decided to leave him on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. I missed cashing by .8 and missed out on another $20. Luckily my lineup cashed easily in 5050s, so I broke even for the day.
Enough about me. Let’s get to why you are here. Today we have another small slate of only four games, and trying to build some early lineups is proving difficult. There isn’t a ton of value on the slate at this point. Hopefully, some will open up at some point today. Here is today’s advice…
Guards
Devin Booker $12,500 @ POR
Booker had a down game in his last outing against the Pacers, but Victor Oladipo‘s defense had a lot to do with that. C.J. McCollum is not nearly as good of a defender, in fact, the Blazers have given up 43.51 Fanduel points to shooting guards over the last four weeks — Seventh worst over that span. His volume and usage are what keeps Booker as an elite play at $12,500.
Rajon Rondo $10,000 @ BOS
There will be a lot of “return to Boston” narratives out there, but you won’t find any of that here. Rondo has always been motivated to play well against the team that he won championships with, averaging 33.4 Fanduel points against his old team. Oh, and I lied about not having the “revenge” narrative. Rondo has never recaptured the magic he had as a member of the Celtics, but he has shown flashes of what he can still do, and if there is one weakness in Boston’s league-leading defense it’s Kyrie Irving, who I expect to be on Rondo.
Also recommended: Andrew Wiggins $11,000, Gary Harris $11,000, Yogi Ferrell $9,500
Forwards
Jimmy Butler $14,000 @ ORL
I’m going to ride the Butler train until the wheels fall off, and then I’ll probably still ride it. His usage rate was down significantly over the last two games, 21 and 17 percent respectively, but I’m expecting it to get back to his season average of 24 percent in this game. The great thing about playing the Timberwolves in games where they are heavily favored like this game, head coach Tom Thibodeau does not believe in resting players in blowouts. They might get to sit out the last few minutes of the fourth, but Butler will log heavy minutes in this game despite the score.
Marcus Morris $8,500 vs NO
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I’m hoping some more value opens up as the day goes on, but for the moment, Morris looks to be the best value on this slate. I don’t really want to punt this position, but it’s so top heavy it’s hard to be able to afford two top-tier options.
Okay, now that I tore down this pick, now it’s time to build it back up. Morris returned to the lineup against the Sixers and dropped 34.6 in only 24 minutes. This will be a huge pace up game for the Celtics as the Pelicans are ranked top six in possessions per game, while the Celtics are ranked 20th overall.
Also recommended: Taj Gibson $10,000, Anthony Davis (duh) $15,000
Center
DeMarcus Cousins $15,000 @ BOS
Cousins will get you 50-plus in this game. Book it. If Cousins wasn’t “Cousins” and if the Pelicans weren’t the “Pelicans”, Cousins’ name would likely come up in MVP discussions. Unfortunately, because Cousins has a bad reputation with the media, and the Pelicans are a small market team playing .500 ball, he won’t even be an honorable mention.
If I told you to roster Cousins and I told you he was only going to score 15 real-life NBA points, you would think I’m crazy. Well, his stat line from the Knicks game was only 15 points, but he also had 16 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and seven steals — seven!
Also recommended: Karl-Anthony Towns $14,000, Al Horford $12,000
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