Daily Fantasy Basketball: Cheap Advice 12/22/15

daily fantasy basketball advice


Point Guard

Beno Udrih ($3000, 14.7 USG) – This could be our “Tim Frazier” of the day.  As of now, Goran Dragic is questionable with a hand injury.  With Tyler Johnson already being ruled out, Beno could be in line for all the minutes he could handle if Dragic is ruled out as well.  At the bare minimum, he deserves some consideration.  Personally, I like the value around $5000 much more with guys like Jameer Nelson or even a bit more for Mike Conley in much better scenarios.  With no one on this slate costing more than $9400, you don’t need to save too much to build a solid lineup.

Shooting Guard

Gary Harris ($4000, 16.1 USG) – I was debating between Courtney Lee and Gary Harris here and favored Harris for 2 reasons.  I like the pace and matchup a bit more against the Lakers and I’m worried about a potential blowout in Philadelphia (Mem -10).  So here’s the thing, the Nuggets will be without Emmanuel Mudiay and Danilo Gallinari tonight meaning Will Barton should be in every lineup of yours tonight but Harris can get extended run with Barton potentially playing SF a bit.  Any time you get a few extra minutes against the Lakers, you gotta love the possibilities.

Small Forward

James Johnson ($3900, 16.0 USG) – If you’re late to the James Johnson party, you might have had a rough weekend cashing in daily fantasy.  Ever since being inserted into the  starting lineup on Friday, he’s averaging 32 minutes and 27.5 DK points.  Johnson gets you peripherals but when his shot is on like it was on Sunday (10 points in the 4th quarter), you’re getting a major bonus.  At only $3900, he makes for a great value play on a day where the small forward position is thin.  Also, with Chandler Parsons being cleared to play more than 30 minutes, he has value appeal with upside.

Power Forward

Luis Scola ($4100, 20.3 USG) – Another position that’s seriously lacking some quality options.  With salary relief being so scarce, we’re looking for a matchup to exploit.  Scola is coming off a terrible game against the Kings (8.5 DK points in 26 minutes) so chances are his ownership percentage should be low, but I like the fact that being the starter, he gets first crack at a Dallas team that’s 28th in DvP.  Scola’s usually a guy that can start off red hot given certain matchups, and that will often dictate his game flow.  I can see that scenario unfolding tonight.

Center

Joffery Lauvergne ($4400, 20.5 USG) Nikola Jokic ($4000, 19.2 USG) – These two have been pretty much splitting minutes right down the middle so I’ll let you flip a coin and decide where to go here.  Both of them are just so cheap and facing a Lakers team that gives up 53 DK points per game to opposing centers (2nd worst).  I don’t think you can go wrong with either one quite honestly but if you ask me which one I’d prefer, I’d choose Jokic for cash (more consistent) and Lauvergne for GPP’s (way more upside).  This is the game of the night to target, being the only game projected to go over 200 points so I don’t mind getting as much cheap exposure as possible.

Featured Image Credit: By photo taken by flickr user ReneS (flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

author avatar
Chris Fedail