Daily Fantasy Basketball is back, which means each day XN Sports will have a column detailing advised plays and lineups for the remainder of the NBA season. For those familiar with DraftKings, their daily fantasy basketball is formatted differently this season. There is no multi-position eligibility, which makes it a bit harder to set your lineup.
For those unfamiliar with DraftKings, you are given $50,000 in cap space to select a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center, a guard, a forward, and a utility player. There are no points deducted for missed shots, which changes the strategy from other sites. To read the full scoring, click here. Keep in mind that a double-double awards a bonus, which can be the difference between cashing in and winning nothing.
Generally, the goal for value is at five times a players salary. That brings a lineup to 250 fantasy points, which will cash on most days.
Give DraftKings a shot, as there will be a few free roll opportunities each night in Daily Fantasy Basketball. Click here to play.
Without further ado, the value plays and lineups for November 5th:
Value Plays
Guard
Elfrid Payton, Point Guard, Orlando Magic $4,000
Starting a point guard against the Sixers has become common practice in daily fantasy basketball, and tonight is no exception. At just $4,000, Payton has an excellent chance to reach value of 20 fantasy points. So far this season Payton is averaging 25.4 fantasy points per game. But in his last two, he is averaging over 33 fantasy points per game. Why the spike in production? Payton has taken a lot more shots in the last two games (26) as opposed to the first two games of the season where he only took 10 combined. With the Magic facing the Sixers, Payton has a plus matchup considering Philadelphia has given up the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season, and an absurd amount of fantasy points to guards, including 57.75 to James Harden, 40.25 to O.J. Mayo, and 37.5 to Mario Chalmers this season.
Other values at guard: Courtney Lee, MEM $3,200 and Garrett Temple, WAS $3,800
Forward
Shawne Williams, Small Forward, Miami Heat $3,000
The worry was that the return of Josh McRoberts was going to hinder Williams’ value in daily fantasy basketball, but it has done the opposite. Williams has reached value in every game so far this season and is averaging just under 25 fantasy points per game. Williams is averaging just under 30 minutes per contest this season, and has made three three-pointers in each of his last three games. For a player at minimum price, Williams’ floor is very high. That’s a steal of a value on DraftKings in such a big slate. The Heat will face Charlotte tonight, who allow opponents to shoot 39 percent from beyond the arc. Williams’ usage rate is a crisp 15.4 percent, which means he is being used in his offense more than guys like Jameer Nelson and Shane Larkin, who are both point guards.
Other values at forward: Jason Thompson, SAC $3,600 and Chris Copeland, IND $4,600
Center
Lavoy Allen, Center, Indiana Pacers $3,200
Allen has been the main big off the bench for the Pacers with West out, and his price of $3,200 gives him a chance to hit value every night. In the Pacers’ four games this season, Allen has reached value in all four, including value of over seven times his salary three of four games. Tonight, his value would be anything higher than 16 fantasy points, and with Allen averaging 23.9 fantasy points per game and the Wizards giving up the fourth-most fantasy points on DraftKings to opposing big men, Allen’s chance to reach value is high.
Other values at center: Alex Len, PHO $3,200 and Kyle O’Quinn, ORL $3,100 (Quinn is hurt, but is questionable for tonight)
Lineup
PG – Elfrid Payton $4,000
SG – *Courtney Lee $3,200
SF – Shawne Williams $3,000
PF – Chris Copeland $4,600
C – Nikola Vucevic $8,800
G – Stephen Curry $10,200
F – Blake Griffin $10,100
UTIL – Tobias Harris $5,800
*Courtney Lee is slated to play tonight, but check his injury status before tip-off.
