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.
Rather than value plays and lineups tonight, XN will give you a cheat sheet with the best plays at each position.
For those who frequent this column: if you like this idea let us know. If you prefer the other format, let us know as well.
Each position will have a few guys that we like for each night, ranked from top to bottom. To find these players, tools like usage rate, defense vs. position, injuries, minutes, and more are used.
There is a lot of news that will affect lineups tonight, stay informed before tip.
Point Guard
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers $10,300
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics $8,500
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors $10,200
Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns $7,800
Cheap Plays:
Dennis Schroeder, ATL $3,000
Jeff Teague is doubtful tonight, so Schroeder is in line to start for the Hawks, making him an excellent play as a minimum-priced point guard on DraftKings. When Teague is not on the floor, Schroeder has played the most minutes among all Hawks and has the second highest usage rate to Paul Millsap. Schroeder can be used in cash games and GPPs, but will likely be highly-owned.
Shooting Guard
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs $4,900
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat $8,100
Alec Burks, Utah Jazz $5,400
Cheap Plays:
Jodie Meeks, DET $3,300
Meeks’ price has yet to come up on DraftKings, making him a value play for the second straight game. Since returning from injury, Meeks has reached value in all three games, including almost 11 times his salary in the last contest. Meeks’ minutes are rising, and he is likely to play over 25 minutes again tonight against the Mavericks, who are the worst in the NBA in defending the three. Meeks has taken nine shots from beyond the arc in the last two games, and should shoot more again tonight, so get him into your lineups.
Small Forward
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers $11,600
Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers $6,500
Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks $4,900
Chandler Parsons, Dallas Mavericks $6,600
Cheap Plays:
No cheap plays at small forward at this time. The only one would be Kyle Anderson if he draws a start for the Spurs, as he is the minimum and a nice punt play as a starter.
Power Forward
Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks $8,800
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks $6,100
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers $9,300
Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors $5,200
Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets $5,000
Cheap Plays:
There aren’t any glaring values at power forward on the cheap side tonight, but Udonis Haslem is a starter at the price minimum, so he’d be your punt option. Keep in mind, he’s not highly involved in the offense.
Center
DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers $7,900
Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets $9,000 (if he is active)
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic $9,200
Al Jefferson, Charlotte Hornets $8,300
Cheap Plays:
Chris Kaman, POR $4,000
Robin Lopez is out for the foreseeable future, which means Kaman is the next man up at center. There has been doubt on how many minutes Kaman will play, but with his price at just $4,000 he only needs 20 fantasy points to reach value. The Trail Blazers face off against the Bucks, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers tonight. Numbers say Kaman will be a candidate for a double-double tonight, and reach value with ease, but if he doesn’t play as many minutes as we would like he will disappoint a lot of players. Keep tabs on his situation, as he is expecting the birth of his child, which could cause him to miss tonight’s game. In that case, Joel Freeland becomes a punt play at center.
*Keep an eye on the inactives, as things in the NBA change at the last second. Good luck tonight.
