After a small slate last night, the rest of the FanDuel contest finishes tonight. In addition, you can start anew and play just Friday night, as tonight is a huge slate with tremendous values in play.
I will not go over how we did last night in this column, as it is still underway, but stay tuned to see the results tomorrow.
On FanDuel, the goal is to submit a lineup with more than 320 points. In most GPP (guaranteed prize pools), the winner will always have over 335, and likely in the 345-355 point range. A 355-point lineup is an incredible thing, and is very hard to sustain on a consistent basis, but should you be able to submit lineups in the 300-320 point range, you could win some prizes consistently.
FanDuel uses a roster that is composed of: two point guards, two shooting guards, two small forwards, two power forwards and a center. FanDuel’s scoring is as follows, this is directly from the site’s “Rules and Scoring” page.
Point = 1pt, Rebound = 1.2pts, Assist = 1.5pts, Block = 2pts, Steal = 2pts, Turnover = -1pt
For tonight’s games, there is an incredible 12 game slate, with a lot of bad defensive teams playing. This is great for the daily fantasy basketball world, as more points is always better, no matter what lineup you have. Keep in mind that a lot of daily fantasy players will be looking for the best values, and there will not be many similar lineups tonight. Pick the right players, and tonight could be a huge money maker.
Values
The goal is to get five times the player’s salary in production, meaning that if Chris Paul‘s salary is $10,000, you would want and expect 50 fantasy points. Should this happen at every player slot, the final output would be 300 fantasy points or more, which is just south of what the goal is. The key is to get players who exceed good value, which could bring the total up to 320 points.
Point Guard
Avery Bradley, BOS ($6,100). Bradley’s price has risen a lot, and tonight is higher than I would like, but he should still reach value at 30.5 fantasy points. He has has 29.5 fantasy points or more in four of his last five games, and with Jordan Crawford gone, he is due for more games of that sort. The Lakers are 28th in the NBA in giving up points to guards, and Bradley should be able to attain good value for tonight’s matchup. The Lakers rank 29th in the NBA in points allowed, and 23rd in turnovers allowed, which is a perfect storm for Bradley to get some fantasy points in transition.
Shooting Guard
J.J. Redick, LAC ($5,300). Redick is a starter now after just two games since his return from injury. But since his return he has registered 25.6 fantasy points, and 47.1 fantasy points for a total of 72.7 fantasy points in just 54 minutes played. That torrid pace is likely to slow, but with the Clippers facing the Knicks who allow 46 percent of their shots to go in, Redick is a perfect play. The Clippers fast-paced offense is perfect for Redick, and at just $5.3K, it makes little to no sense not to play him tonight.
Small Forward
James Johnson, MEM ($4,100). Once again, James Johnson is only $4.1K, and until his price rises, he is worth playing in almost every matchup. He needs 20.5 fantasy points to reach value, and he has over 20 fantasy points in four of the last five games, including his last game, which he reached a value of over 11! Tonight, Johnson faces off against the Sacramento Kings, who are 28th in the NBA in defense, giving up over 104 points per game. Look for Johnson to once again reach value.
Power Forward
Greg Monroe, DET ($6,600). Greg Monroe has been a consistent option for daily players of late, scoring less than 26.4 fantasy points just once. Tonight, Monroe faces the Utah Jazz, who are 20th in the NBA in rebounding. This alone is a good matchup, but one thing to look into for Monroe is his ability to get offensive rebounds. The Jazz are 28th in the NBA in defensive rebound percentage, and with Monroe down low, look for him to get some offense rebounds and put-backs, which equates to 3.2 fantasy points each occurrence. Monroe is averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds per game, and with a good matchup, could see that increasing tonight against the Jazz.
Center
Andrew Bogut, GSW ($6,100). Bogut and the Warriors face off in what may be the best game of the night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite that the Thunder are ranked among the tops in every category this year, they do rank 29th in the NBA in fantasy points allowed to centers. This is a good sign for Bogut, who only costs $6.1K tonight. Bogut should reach his value at 30.5 points as a double-double is in order. If he can add another six points and two rebounds, that puts him at 16 and 12, which is good for just under 30 points. Add a block or two and Bogut meets his value.
Optimized Lineup
- PG Avery Bradley $6,100 LAL@BOS
- PG D.J. Augustin $5,000 CHI@WAS
- SG DeMar DeRozan $8,200 MIN@TOR
- SG J.J. Redick $5,300 LAC@NY
- SF James Johnson $4,100 SAC@MEM
- SF Rudy Gay $7,600 SAC@MEM
- PF Greg Monroe $6,600 UTA@DET
- PF Pau Gasol $8,600 LAL@BOS
- C Al Jefferson $8,200 CHA@ORL
Good luck to everyone tonight!
*Remember to check the starting lineups before tip-off, and make sure your players are active for tonight’s games, this column is written with the intent of everyone not labeled “OUT” to be playing*
