NBA Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Picks March 30

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy column focused on providing analysis for the upcoming NBA FanDuel slate. The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big pay day!

As always, thank you for reading and continuing to provide great feedback on how Picks and Pivots can better serve you each day while building your roster. Follow me on Twitter @2lockSports and feel free to pose questions each day as you work to construct your DFS roster on FanDuel!

Looking ahead to tonight’s slate which kicks off at 7:30PM EST with 9 games, only two teams are on the tail end of back to backs as the Warriors head to Utah to take on the Jazz and the Wizards continue their West Coast swing in Sacramento. With so many “fresh” bodies and playoff positioning still on the line, you can expect some high scoring fantasy totals on this slate! So let’s get started…

Point Guard

Goran Dragic – ($6,900) – Last game out I wrote Dragic up and he was scratched last minute with an illness, but he is traveling with the team to take on the Lakers, and assuming he is cleared to play, makes for a great option tonight. Over the last 3 weeks one of the most consistent players in NBA DFS has been Dragic as he has hit 5x value over 50% of the time. Outside of a clunker against the Spurs, Dragic has averaged 37.5 points per game in in 4 of his last 5, good for over 5x value. The Lakers present one of the best matchups to opposing PG’s on the year, so if Dragic is healthy fire him up. If Dragic is ruled out due to illness, SG – Josh Richardson ($5,100) would likely start in his place. He put up 31.5 points in his previous start versus Brooklyn, so that makes an interesting pivot play.
Emmanuel Mudiay ($5,600) – The mid-tier price point at PG is loaded with 16 options between 5-8k. One player that may get overlooked is Mudiay, as his playing time and production have been inconsistent with the emergence of DJ Augustin. However, last game out, the impressive rookie played 35 minutes and put up 31.7 points while Augustin took a back seat. Mudiay comes with a lot of risk, as over his last 4 games he has had games of 31.7 and 47.2 but also games with 18.1 and 9.9. With players like Shelvin Mack and Toney Douglas at similar price points, Mudiay may get overlooked and makes for an interesting GPP pivot.

Shooting Guard

Wes Matthews ($4,900) – I honestly thought I was done writing up Matthews on Monday night as I expected his price to increase with the expanded role. Interestingly while the prices of players like Raymond Felton and JJ Barea increased, Matthews stayed the same, which is fine by me. Wes has averaged 27.5 points over his last five games, giving us solid 5x value while being locked into major minutes. Let the Wes Matthews Fan Club roll on!
SG – Khris Middleton ($6,900) – Earlier in the season, Middleton was in the midst of a breakout year but he has fallen back to earth since the middle of March, bringing his price down in the process. What intrigues me about Middleton tonight is he gets a great matchup against the up-tempo Suns and Middleton has flashed 40+ point upside throughout the year. My hope is gamers stay away from him based off his recent struggles and allows us to take a shot on a bounce back game at a low ownership percentage.

Small Forward

Carmelo Anthony ($8,600) – Analyzing DvP trends is one of the key ways I look to identify building blocks each night. On the season the Mavericks have been a middle of the road matchup against opposing small forwards however, over the last 10 days, they have been the 4^th best matchup to SF’s seeing an increase in points allowed spike 22%! The injury to Chandler Parsons is clearly allowing opposing small forwards to pile up points and Melo has a very reasonable price point for such an elite talent.
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($9,200) – One way I will look to pivot and differentiate my lineup tonight is to double up on the elite small forwards as the Greek Freak is back priced below 10,000 and gets a highly favorable matchup against the Suns. I love targeting high upside players at non elite prices(below 10k), so I will look to roll out a few lineups pairing up these two elite talents and hope to get a big time scoring night.

Power Forward

Willie Cauley-Stein ($5,000) – The price has jumped from $3,500 however WCS has averaged 34.8 points over his last 3 games, good for 7x value. Keep an eye on the status of DeMarcus Cousins, as if he is out again, the upside increases even more for the rookie!
John Henson ($4,300) – Henson’s role has increased drastically the last 2 games and he has put up 36.6 and 34.5 fantasy points. As @MattyMcMatt17 points out in his latest Fanduel Economics column, Henson has put up top 10 PF numbers this week and you can utilize him at a bargain basement rate.

Henson may find himself very popular with his recent surge and with other Bucks players among my targets, one possible pivot is Dwight Powell ($4,100). Powell entered the starting lineup last game, shifting Dirk Nowitzki to center and Zaza Pachulia to the bench and proceeded to put up 30 points in 30 minutes. If Powell is confirmed again as the starter, I will look to get exposure to Powell across a variety of lineups.

Center

Hassan Whiteside ($8,500) – Over his last 5 games, Whiteside has been averaging just short of 42 points per game and gets to take on the Lakers Wednesday night. The Lakers on Monday gave up 41 points to Rudy Gobert as he racked up 19 boards in only 28 minutes. I don’t see anyone who can stop Whiteside from racking up boards and blocks and Gobert’s performance feels like the floor for Hassan with significantly more upside.

Next: Milwaukee Brewers 2016 Fantasy Outlook

Best of luck tonight gamers! As always keep an eye out on the late breaking news throughout the day as the season winds down and players start to take games off!