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 player’s 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 freeroll opportunities each night in Daily Fantasy Basketball. Click here to play.
Without further ado, the value plays and lineups for November 21st:
Value Plays
Guard
Nick Young, Shooting Guard, Los Angeles Lakers $3,600
Swaggy P, as Young is nicknamed, has returned to the NBA. Everyone knows about it too, with his comments “It’s like my swag just rubbed off on everybody” and his ability to shoot the basketball (he listed himself as the greatest three-point shooter of all time)
Nick Young’s top 5 3-point shooter list 1. Himself 2. Ray Allen 3. Reggie Miller 4. Either Steph Curry/Klay Thompson 5. Larry Bird
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 19, 2014
But despite all this, Young is a valuable asset to your daily fantasy rosters tonight, as he is just $3,600 against the cap. With that salary, anything over 18 fantasy points is reaching value. In his two games this season, Young has 26.25 and 26 fantasy points respectively. Tonight, the Lakers will face the Mavericks, who are allowing opponents to shoot just under 40 percent from beyond the arc, and are 21st in the NBA in allowing fantasy points to shooting guards.
Other values at guard: Gary Neal, CHA $3,000 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DET $3,900
Forward
Marreese Speights, Power Forward, Golden State Warriors $3,800
Speights is the preferred big off the bench for the Warriors, and that gives him a ton of fantasy value on DraftKings tonight. At his price, anything over 19 fantasy points will reach value. Speights has over 85 fantasy points in his last three games, and has accrued no less than 25.5 fantasy points. Speights is eighth in the NBA in points scored per 36 minutes, and is 27th in rebounds per 36 minutes. Regardless if he plays over 20 minutes, he has the ability to reach value off the bench, which is rare for a big man. Tonight, the Warriors face the Utah Jazz, who are among the league’s worst in points allowed, shooting percentage against, and fantasy points allowed to power forwards.
Other values at forward: Nikola Mirotic, CHI $3,000 (if Pau Gasol is out) and P.J. Tucker, PHO $3,600
Center
Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors $6,200
Tonight’s center of choice is Bogut, who is underpriced on DraftKings at $6,200. Value can be reached with 31 fantasy points or more, which Bogut has reached in two of his last three games. The only thing that prevents Bogut from reaching value each night is a blowout, which the Warriors have their fair share of. But, with the Warriors facing the Jazz, that’s less likely to happen with Utah having the last two days off. Bogut is averaging more than a fantasy point per minute this season, which means he only needs to play 28 minutes to reach value. The last time Utah faced a legitimate big man, Paul Millsap scored 30 points and grabbed 17 boards for the Hawks. The game prior to that, Roy Hibbert scored 29 points on the Jazz.
Other values at center: J.J. Hickson, DEN $3,000 and Omer Asik, NO $4,300 (if he plays)
Lineup (GPP)
PG – Goran Dragic $7,100
SG – DeMar DeRozan $7,200
SF – Josh Smith $6,500
PF – Marreese Speights $3,800
C – J.J. Hickson $3,000
G – Gordon Hayward $7,600
F – Greg Monroe $7,200
UTIL – Jimmy Butler $7,200
Lineup (Cash)
PG – Brandon Knight $7,100
SG – Nick Young $3,600
SF – Tyreke Evans $7,400
PF – Marresse Speights $3,800
C – Andrew Bogut $6,200
G – Klay Thompson $7,2o0
F – Tobias Harris $7,400
UTIL – Jimmy Butler $7,200
Lineup (With Anthony Davis)
PG – Jeremy Lin $5,600
SG – Jimmy Butler $7,200
SF – P.J. Tucker $3,600
PF – Anthony Davis $11,300
C – Nikola Vucevic $8,600
G – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $3,9o0
F – Nikola Mirotic $3,000
UTIL – Kemba Walker $6,800
*Keep an eye on the inactives, as things in the NBA change at the last second. Good luck tonight.
