FanDuel Daily Picks: Fantasy Basketball Lineup, January 19
Small Forward
High Salary: LeBron James is the top money SF with good reason since he’s back to being LeBron after missing a couple weeks due to injury. In each of his three games back, LeBron has posted over 45 FanDuel points and will be asked to carry the Cavs offense again tonight against Chicago. He usually rises to the occasion, so he makes a good play tonight if you can fit him in your budget.
High Salary: If you can’t get LeBron’s big salary under your cap, look at Rudy Gay of the Kings who takes on the Blazers in the late game today. Portland has allowed the third-most FanDuel points to opposing SF on the year and the fourth-most over their last five games. Gay has had success against Portland this season dropping 40 points on them to go with eight rebounds and an assist in their earlier meeting. Recently, Gay has been battling a knee injury, but he played 34 minutes on Saturday after resting Friday, so it looks like he won’t be limited by it for now. Gay has posted at least 25 FanDuel points in his last four games (not counting his injury-shortened outing against Dallas), and I think he’s in line for a big night tonight against the Blazers.
Bonus Blend of Salary/Value: Timberwolves SF Andrew Wiggins has quickly become the focus of the Minnesota offense and is emerging as a great fantasy option. On Saturday, he scored 31 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks totaling 53.8 FanDuel points. He has produced at least 25 FanDuel points in nine of his last ten games and has been over 30 in seven of those contests. Today, he’s in a tough matchup against Charlotte, but he should still be able to continue his production and is a solid value at 7,700.
High Value: Tonight, the Bucks are back home after a quick trip to London and Khris Middleton will be back to stuff the statsheet as a cheaper version of Draymond Green. Middlton has scored in double-digits in each of the Bucks last five games and has added either five assists, five rebounds, or both in each of Milwaukee’s last three while adding multiple steals in eight straight games as well. Middleton has produced at least 20 FanDuel points in eight games in a row and is a nice option at 5,400 tonight against the Raptors.
High Value: Clippers SF Matt Barnes has burst onto the scene over his last seven games as an internal answer to what the Clippers have been struggling to find from the wing. Barnes has scored in double digits in six of those seven games and has continued to pull in rebounds and swipe steals at a good rate. He has 25 FanDuel points or more in five of his last six games and is coming off a huge 26-point, 20-rebound game against Cleveland which resulted in 46.5 FanDuel points. Today against the Celtics, Barnes should again play heavy minutes and put up a very usable fantasy line especially since he only costs 5,100.
High Value: For an extra high-value pick, consider the Suns SF Gerald Green who leads the Phoenix charge off the bench tonight against the Lakers. Green can have some down games, but he’s a solid sub-5,000 option. He has over 15 points in three of his last five games, and he has also had success against the Lakers who the Suns take on tonight. In a game that could get lopsided, Green should get plenty or run, and he should be able to post a decent line if you have to go cheap at SF tonight.
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