Daily Fantasy Basketball: Top Plays for Sunday, March 30th
By John Hillier
Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
HIGH FIVE/low five
Daily Fantasy can be quite the grind! Let us do the grinding for you with “High Five/Low Five”. Each day, we help put you in the money by presenting you with FIVE of the “top-tier” plays, as well as a quick list of FIVE “value plays”. Phoenix Suns’ SG Eric Bledsoe flies high as Sunday’s top Daily Fantasy Basketball play.
Let’s rip it up.
HIGH FIVE:
Point Guard: Goran Dragic, PHX ($7,600): After a slight downturn following the return of Eric Bledsoe, Dragic has picked it back up, scoring over 30 FPs in five of his last six. Included in that run are two 40+ FP games in his most recent contests.
This evening, Dragic will face off against the Los Angeles Lakers, who rank dead last vs. PGs over the last 15 days and just 29th on the season. Vegas expects this to be the highest scoring game of the night, and with a spread of just 8.5 points, Dragic should get all the minutes he’ll need to produce 35+ FPs.
Also consider, Deron Williams, BKN ($7,400), playing up in pace vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are ranked just 26th vs. PGs.
Shooting Guard: Eric Bledsoe, PHX ($7,400): Another Phoenix Suns player, another great matchup. The Lakers have given up the most points in the league to opposing SGs on the season, and with five straight games over 33 FPs, Bledsoe should extend that streak to six. Expect 35 FPs or so.
Small Forward: Paul Pierce, BKN ($5,300): Pierce has been averaging nearly 27 FPs over his last four games, and should be able to produce in that range vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are a league worst vs. SFs over the past 15 days. Pencil Pierce in for 25-30 FPs.
Power Forward: Zach Randolph, MEM ($7,000): Though both Kevin Love, MIN ($10,800) and Carmelo Anthony, NY ($10,200), should be able to put up at least 40-45 FPs, I like the value of Randolph here. Randolph’s opponent, the Portland Trail Blazers, are just 24th vs. PFs in recent weeks and he has had success against them this season. In two contests, Randolph has averaged 20.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.5 assists; which translates to better than 35 FPs per game. Randolph should be able to repeat past performances and put up another 35 FP game against the Blazers.
Randolph’s counterpart, LaMarcus Aldridge, POR ($9,500), is also worth a look. He has produced roughly 35 and 50 FPs in two games vs. the Memphis Grizzlies this year, so the upside is there. That kind of upside, combined with a probable low ownership rate, makes him an excellent candidate for tournament rosters.
Center: Joakim Noah, CHI ($9,400): Boston ranks just 18th on the season vs. centers, but more importantly, Joakim Noah nearly put up a triple-double vs. the Celtics last time out. In that game Noah had 17 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and over 45 FPs. I think similar numbers could be in order this evening, likely making Noah the top scoring center.
Marc Gasol, MEM ($7,300), though lacking the upside of Noah, could be of better value vs. the Portland Trail Blazers. In two games vs. Portland this year, Gasol has averaged 17 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, along with over a steal and a block per contest. Those numbers translate to roughly 35+ FPs per game. I’ll take that for a player whose value threshold is 36.5.
Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
low five:
Point Guard: Greivis Vasquez, TOR ($4,400)/ Shaun Livingston, BKN ($4,700): Both of these players have been consistently producing 20+ FPs and make good value plays. Livingston has been doing so for longer and has a better matchup, which would probably make him my preferred play here for cash games.
Shooting Guard: Terrence Ross, TOR ($4,400): Terrence Ross has been playing big minutes lately and has back to back 32+ FP games. His considerable upside as well as the likelihood that he reaches value, make him a fine play for both cash and tourney games.
Small Forward: Draymond Green, GS ($4,700): With Andrew Bogut likely out and David Lee questionable and likely limited if he does play, Green should continue to see decent run. With the extra run, 25 FPs or so is a reasonable expectation.
Chase Budinger, MIN ($3,900) looks like he’s back in the rotation and could be a nice punt option for tournament.
Power Forward: Marreese Speights, GS ($3,500)/ Channing Frye, PHX ($4,700): Not entirely sure that I trust either of these players for my cash games, and I really only like Speights if Lee is out. That said, Frye does have an intriguing matchup vs. a poor Lakers’ frontcourt, so I would be more comfortable playing him in cash games if I were to go that route.
Center: Miles Plumlee, PHX ($3,600): I don’t think today is the day to punt center, but if you feel inclined, you could do worse than Plumlee. Plumlee will at least have the advantage of playing the Lakers and only needs 18 FPs to reach value.
If you’re real crazy, Robert Sacre, LAL ($3,900) might be to your liking. He’s played 20+ minutes in each of the last four games and produced 20+ FPs in three out of those four.
Thank you and good luck tonight !!!
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