FanDuel NBA: Picks and Pivots
Welcome to the NBA edition of Picks and Pivots, a fantasy basketball column focused on helping you find the best FanDuel NBA lineup! 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 payday!
Follow us on Twitter @FantasyCPR and on Facebook!
Typically, many fantasy basketball players will shy away from diving into preseason action but as we inch closer and closer to the regular season tip-off this is a great way to start to get your exposure to the NBA!
Playing Preseason DFS is an entirely different animal as the minutes and roster constructions can fluctuate wildly and its important to keep up on late breaking news before lineups lock. However, one common misconception is that we need to avoid starters and focus on the unknown bench players to take down a pay-day.
If you look over the winning results for the last few days, you will see that the rosters are predominately made up of NBA stars and high-end NBA starters that are playing 20-30 minutes a game. It is critical to keep an eye on lineups as the day goes on as players are consistently getting days off which opens up value not only from the player pool but leaves a good amount of “dead rosters” in large tournaments as they fail to adjust to late breaking news!
Monday’s Main NBA preseason action kicks off at 7:30PM EST with four games on the main slate and no shortage of superstars to choose from. Without further ado – let’s get into our top picks for the day!
Rajon Rondo ($7,000) After getting the night off on Saturday, Rondo should be fresh and ready to continue his impressive preseason for the Bulls. Rondo has put up 12 points and 6 assists per game while averaging over 25 minutes so far in the exhibition season. In his last game action, Rondo racked up 30 minutes and if we can get any sort of pregame confirmation of expanded minutes than Rondo becomes one of the best PG plays on the slate.
One interesting wrinkle will be to see if the newly acquired Michael Carter Williams gets to play for the Bulls on Monday. If he is available he makes for an intriguing GPP play as the Bulls may give him extended run to get familiar with his new team before the season starts!
Ish Smith ($5,500) With Reggie Jackson on the sidelines, Ish has been the….well you know where this is going. Smith has been one of the Pistons best preseason performers, racking up over 27 minutes per game and seeing his on court performance increase with each contest.
In his last two games, Smith is averaging 14 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds while playing 28.5 minutes a game. Detroit has been one of the best teams to utilize in preseason DFS as their starters continue to get major minutes and on a short slate, this may be one of the best teams to target as a result!
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($8,000) On a short slate and at one of the most shallow positions, locking in the most explosive DFS option of the night is a must. Giannis has taken over as a point-forward in the Bucks offense this preseason and has become a multi-category threat each night as he becomes more comfortable in his role. In the last two games, the Greek Freak has averaging 24.5 minutes per game, 17 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5 assists. The price point is entirely too easy to plug and play here and I will happily let other people play the fade game here while I lock in the best SG on the night!
Nicolas Batum ($6,100) The second shooting guard spot on FanDuel is tough to navigate on this slate as without any injury news I do not see a play that jumps out at me. In those situations, I am happy to build a safe floor and that is exactly what I will do by taking Batum. So far in the preseason, Batum has underwhelmed but we did see flashes in his last game of the multi category upside he can provide on FanDuel. In 27 minutes, Batum put up 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and one blocked shot and considering he has not played less than 23 minutes a game so far, he seems to be a safe bet for production at an otherwise tough spot!
Jimmy Butler ($7,400) Please play Jimmy! After missing the last two games with “general soreness” we await word on whether the Bulls star will suit up on Monday night. Tonight is one of those nights we dread having to roster two small forwards on FanDuel and my hope is that we get confirmation that Butler will suit up. In his last game of action, Butler played 27 minutes while scoring 15 points and racking up 5 assists, 4 boards and 2 steals. If Butler is confirmed, he makes for an easy plug and play!
Sean Kilpatrick ($4,000) I told you SF was ugly! This is absolutely more of a roll the dice play, but the Nets wing man makes for a likely over looked high upside GPP option at this spot. Kilpatrick is a scoring dependent DFS play but is expected to be the focal point of the Nets second unit and in the preseason he is averaging the third most shot attempts (7.5) on the team. I would that most players will look to Bojan Bogdanovic at the same price point so this is a good spot to pivot from the field and differentiate your lineup.
Jabari Parker ($5,700) Parker has been one of my favorite preseason DFS plays and his value remains too good to pass up, especially on a four game slate! Parker is averaging a team high 16.5 points per game over 26 minutes a contests and it is becoming cleat he will be one of the key cogs in this offense all season. Last game out, Parker played 29 minutes and had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, showing that he has the ability to contribute big time fantasy totals across the board. Parker is a must play for me tonight and will use him in all formats!
Blake Griffin ($7,700) Chris Paul is nursing a hand injury and is likely to sit out at least one of the next two games and if so would lead to increased usage by Griffin. So far this preseason, Blake is averaging a team high 17.3 points per game in over 22 minutes a contest. One point of hesitation is that his one “down game” came against this same Jazz team back on October 10 when he was limited to 13 points and 3 rebounds over 21 minutes. I do not believe that small sample size is worth the fade here but keep in mind that this the latest start game so putting in players from this game is generally risky as we will not likely have confirmed lineups prior to lock! My recommendation here is to limit your exposure in this game so you are not left with a goose egg from a last-minute scratch!
Andre Drummond ($7,000) I love Detroit this preseason and Stan Van Gundy has been utilizing his stars like it’s already the regular season and giving DFS players consistent big time targets to roster! Drummond is averaging 29 minutes a game and has a double-double in every single game this season. Just play the man as I do not believe you will sit above the cash line on a short slate without him!
Next: Is James Harden the top Fantasy Basketball Pick?
Keep an eye on the lineup news throughout the day and follow our twitter feed ad we will do the best we can do keep you posted on lineup news closer to lock!