FanDuel NBA daily picks: Fantasy basketball lineup – February 7
High Salary PG
Kemba Walker, CHA vs BKN ($8900): Walker was battling illness, in addition to tough defenses, at the end of last week. He played only 25 minutes on Wednesday against the Warriors, sat out Friday’s practice, and was listed as questionable before playing at the Jazz on Saturday. This contributed to his poor games, as he averaged only 20.7 fantasy points in those two outings. However, he had averaged 40.8 fantasy points in the five games leading up to his illness, and if he’s fully recovered that would be closer to his expected value moving forward. On Tuesday he faces a Nets defense that has allowed the most fantasy points to point guards on the season, but that has played better of late in allowing only the 12th-most fantasy points to PGs over the last 10 games. ****
Damian Lillard, POR at DAL ($8600): Lillard apparently tweaked his ankle over the weekend, but he is still listed as probable to play on Tuesday. He has pretty much settled into his level over the past month since returning from injury, averaging 23.7 points, 5.6 boards and 4.9 assists over his past 15 games. Playing next to C.J. McCollum seems to have capped Lillard’s floor and peak values, as he has produced no fewer than 32.4 and no more than 46.9 fantasy points in his last 10 games. The positive is that the 46.9 points peak came in his last outing against the Thunder, but the negative is that his last outing against Tuesday’s opponent the Mavericks was closer to the lower end with 32.8 fantasy points. The Mavericks are tough on opposing point guards, allowing the fewest fantasy points to the position over both the entire season as well as the last 10 games. ***
Yogi Ferrell, DAL vs POR ($6100): Ferrell’s production, as always, ties directly to the availability of Deron Williams. Williams was a game-time decision on Monday before ultimately having to miss his sixth straight game with a toe injury. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said he is hopeful that Williams could return “sometime soon”, and when he does return it likely eats into Ferrell’s value. But if Williams sits again, Ferrell continues to be the player that has averaged 19.3 points, 4.5 assists, 3.0 boards, 2.3 combined blocks/steals and 2.0 turnovers in 37.5 minutes as a starter over the last four games. On Tuesday, Ferrell will face his first NBA back-to-back, but against a Trail Blazers defense that he just torched for his career-high 32 points on Friday night. No Williams: ****; With Williams: **
High Value PG
Patrick Beverley, HOU vs ORL ($5600): Beverley has produced between 16.6 and 26.9 fantasy points in nine straight games. Before that stretch he would throw in an occasional game in the mid-to-upper 30s of fantasy points, but for the last several weeks he has been very consistent. On Tuesday, Beverley faces a Magic defense that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to point guards and the eighth-most to shooting guards over the past 10 games. **