NBA Fanduel Top 5 Plays For February 14th
By Bruce Lamb
NBA FanDuel – February 14 Top Plays
Back in action tonight after a few days off as I attended a Spring Homecoming/Hall of Fame induction at my Alma Mater, Coker College. It was a great weekend to see a bunch of old college buddies, but that time prevented me from doing any research for NBA FanDuel DFS. Things are back to normal now and I’m ready to tackle these last few slates before the NBA All-Star break. This is a tough time of year to play NBA as we have a lot of late scratches and the slates go from big to small and back to big again. Tonight we have a 3 game slate so I’ll be more tournament heavy with my bankroll and play about 80% tournaments and 20% in cash games.
Lock is an hour later than normal tonight and 2 of the 3 games tip-off at 8pm EST. I hope we have all the information we need before all the games tip-off so no one ends up using someone who doesn’t play. The first two games of the night have the Toronto Raptors facing the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers traveling to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves. Toronto is a 7 point favorite with the total at 205.5 and the Cavs are a 3.5 point favorite with a 218.5 total. The final, and most appealing game of the night has the Sacramento Kings at the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are a 1 point favorite in this one with the total at 217. Let’s get right into it and see who I’m paying up for and who I’m fading in GPP’s.
NBA Fanduel – Top GPP Spend and Fade
LeBron James $11,500
James is the most expensive player on the board tonight by a slim margin over Cousins. With Kevin Love already being ruled out we should see James take control tonight and have a really good game. The Kings and Lakers have so much value and potentially a lot of value with the Bulls, it will be possible to have James and 1 other high-priced stud and still have a nice looking lineup. James lit up the Wolves on February 1st with 58.6 FDP’s and I think he has a similar game tonight. I would not be surprised if he has the most FDP’s tonight.
Karl-Anthony Towns $10,400
This move is purely because I favor Cousins tonight over Towns despite the savings. I just like the floor and ceiling of Cousins more. In his last 8 games Towns has eclipsed 50 FDP’s just 3 times with his high total in that stretch being 52.3 FDP’s. He did score 51.4 FDP’s in his last meeting with the Cavs and could very well score that again, or he could score below 40 which is what he did in his last game against the Bulls. I just like the ceiling of Cousins over that of Towns and I’m willing to risk the higher price of Cousins in his game against the Lakers which is the much better match-up. Now let’s take a look at my cash game lock and GPP flier.
NBA Fanduel – Cash Game Lock and GPP Flier
Darren Collison $5,700
Collison is on fire over his last 3 games scoring an average of 38.83 FDP’s. Tonight he has a great match-up with the Lakers and he should see a full run with all the injuries in the Sacramento back court. The Lakers rank near the bottom of the league against the PG position and have given up an average of 45.61 FDP’s to them. I think this game stays close and Collison has a nice game to reach value at his relatively cheap price. He helps make some of the more expensive guys on the slate fit and I’ll for sure have him in my cash game lineups tonight.
Nick Young $4,600
I like attacking Sacramento at the SG position and think Young will be lower owned than Lou Williams tonight. Young is pretty risky but on such a short slate you have to take some risks. He has scored over 30 FDP’s in 3 of his last 6 games and Sacramento has given up 50.13 FDP’s over their past 4 games. I think he’s worth the risk tonight in this prime match-up in what should be a close, high scoring game. I won’t have much exposure to him but he will be in one of my tournament lineups. Now let’s look at tonight’s PayMaker.
NBA Fanduel – Top PayMaker
DeMarcus Cousins $11,400
I will have 100% Boogie Cousins tonight. He is expensive, but he should pay off his price tonight against the Lakers. You can easily make him fit in either format tonight and he has one of the best match-ups in the slate. The Lakers give up the 2nd most FDP’s to the center position and the most to the PF position.
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The only thing that can stop Boogie tonight is himself. His floor is 50 FDP’s and his upside could have him score the most fantasy points on the slate tonight. It’s possible to pair him with LeBron if you go the stars and scrubs approach or you can have him as the only stud you pay over $10k for and use a more balanced approach. I will likely do both tonight and see what happens. Get him in your lineups!
I will be dialing it back a little over the next couple nights as the All-Star break approaches due to the size of the slates and the risk of star players sitting out after lock. The NBA has been different these past few weeks as some nights you don’t cash when you score over 300 points and on some you will cash when you score 275.
If you want to be successful long-term you must practice good bankroll management and avoid the temptation to try to win big. You must be able to recognize the slates you have the most success with and spend a little more on those nights, and pull back on slates you usually struggle with. A lot of people don’t realize that learning how to stay away is actually a win in itself. Good luck tonight!
Best of luck tonight in your NBA FanDuel contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR all day on Twitter for late breaking lineup news and roster updates!