DFS NBA FanDuel Starting 5 Lineup Advice 2/1/18

DFS NBA FanDuel Starting 5 Lineup Advice 2/1/18

Two nights in a row I’m able to put up a column? Wow, haven’t done that since before Christmas, but it feels good to get back on my grind. Speaking of grind, I’m writing this while watching C.J. McCollum torch the Bulls in the first quarter, wish I rostered him over Dame.

Tonight we have a typical Thursday short slate with only five games to work with, but there are still plenty of options, especially on the S5 contests when you only need five players. Let’s get to it…

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

Guards

Nothing But Net | Russell Westbrook $16,500 @ DEN

Westbrook had a bad game the other night… and still scored 40 FanDuel points. James Harden‘s 98.5 Fanduel points on that same night will have everyone chasing points, especially because Harden is a grand cheaper, but Westbrook rarely will have two bad games in a row. The Nuggets give up 46.12 Fanduel points to point guards on average, meaning Westbrook could get 65.

Dunk | Will Barton $11,500 vs OKC

Barton goes through drastic ebbs and flows during the season despite his minutes being fairly consistent, but with the injury to Mason Plumlee he is on the upswing of that flow. He has four straight games with over 38 minutes and that streak should continue tonight with Plumlee already ruled out. Barton is listed as a point guard and does play that position, but he plays a lot at the two guard as well where the Thunder struggle to defend. In fact, they are the fifth worst team defending the two over the last four weeks.

Half-Court Shot | Tomas Satoransky $9,500 vs TOR

Satoransky is a bit of a risky play with Kyle Lowry‘s stellar defense, but the volume he will see should allow him to hit value at his $9,500 price. He played 30 minutes against the Thunder putting up 27 FanDuel points and did so by scoring only four NBA points. As long he can continue to fill up the box score like that, he should be able to continue to log heavy minutes and be a viable fantasy option.

Blocked Shot | Khris Middleton $12,500 @ MIN

Middleton will either draw Andrew Wiggins or Jimmy Butler‘s defense, and neither is a favorable matchup for him. This game will be played at a snail’s pace and will likely be fairly low scoring, all reasons to fade Middleton tonight.

Honorable Mentions: James Harden $15,500, Bradley Beal $13,000, Dejounte Murray $11,500

Forwards

Nothing But Net | LaMarcus Aldridge $13,000 vs HOU

The cream of the crop at the forward position tonight is tough to decide between. All of them can go off, with Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo all on the slate. I went with Aldridge because this will be a pace up game for LMA, the volume of shots he should receive in this game will make him the best dollar for dollar play at $13,000. The Rockets are fifth worst defending the power forward giving up 49.27 a game to the position.

Dunk | Otto Porter $12,000 vs TOR

Porter finally looks healthy again and with John Wall out for six-to-eight weeks he will see his usage rate go up. In fact, with John Wall out his usage rate increases by 4.2 percent, the highest increase of any Wizard player, including Bradley Beal. Defending the small forward is one place where the top rank defense in the East, the Raptors, actually struggle — giving up 42.58 FanDuel points over the last four weeks.

Half-Court Shot | Stanley Johnson $10,000 vs MEM

Johnson had a huge game for the short-handed Pistons the other night, and while I don’t expect him to repeat that success, he should continue to see good minutes at the small forward spot. I’m not sure if draws another start tonight, but if he were to get another start, and after his last game why wouldn’t he, he should see upwards of 30 minutes on the floor and with the defense concentrated on new addition Blake Griffin and the big man in the middle Andre Drummond, he should have ample opportunity to score and rebound.

Blocked Shot | Blake Griffin $13,000 vs MEM

This will be Griffin’s debut, but I highly doubt he plays big minutes right off the bat, not to mention — historically speaking — he struggles against the Grizzlies

Honorable Mentions:  Markieff Morris $10,500

Centers

Nothing But Net | Karl-Anthony Towns $13,500 vs MIL

I made it a habit to start mediocre centers against the Bucks in the month of January, guys like Miles Turner, Marcin Gortat and Bismack Biyombo all played well against them. The Bucks do not have much girth at center or power forward to battle with big physical centers, and they definitely won’t be able to handle KAT down low. The only concern I have is that Towns sometimes falls in love with his three-point shot and forgets he is a center. As long as he is in the paint banging, Towns will have a huge game.

Dunk | Steven Adams $12,000 @ DEN 

The center position is shallow tonight, and there aren’t very many bad options. Adams is a great mid-level cash game play based on his consistency. He has 30 or more FanDuel points in nine straight games and Denver has given up 52.10 Fanduel points over the last four weeks.

Half-Court Shot | Pau Gasol $9,000 vs HOU

Gasol has scored 30 or more FanDuel points in six of his last seven games, not including the game he sat out. The Rockets are one of the worst teams defending the center position giving up 55.47 Fanduel points over the last four weeks.

Blocked Shot | None

Honorable Mentions: Nikola Jokic $13,500

 

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