Welcome to the Tuesday FanDuel NBA edition of Picks and Pivots, a fantasy basketball column focused on helping you find the best core lineup for tonight’s five game slate which kicks off at 7:00PM EST!
As a reminder, the concept behind FanDuel NBA Picks and Pivots 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!
Monday Night’s winning FanDuel NBA GPP scores were right over our season long average as it took 380 FanDuel points to take down the $3 shot last night! Over the first 114 slates, the average winning GPP score has been 378.6 which would mean we need 6.3x value from our roster in order to win big!
Over the first 114 slates, the average winning GPP score has been 378.6 which would mean we need 6.3x value from our roster in order to win big!
Monday’s Picks and Pivots lineups put up 286 and 282 FanDuel points which left us a few points shy of the cash line in all formats. The calculated risk to stack the Lakers/Nuggets game backfired as the game got out of hand quickly and the Lakers “Big 3” of Randle/Russell/Ingram failed to play any more than 27 minutes. The value play pivots to Patty Mills/Jamal Murray and Jeremy Lamb paid off big as all three topped 30 FanDuel points which allowed us to pay up for a 55 spot from KAT. Unfortunately getting only 40 points combined from Randle/Russell is really what hurt us but we are back at it tonight.
UPDATE: We now have confirmation from the NBA that both the Nets and Knicks games are ON tonight which really changes the slate for me tonight as it now lets us attack the best match-up on the board as the OKC Thunder take on the Brooklyn Nets.
FanDuel NBA – Top Point Guard Picks
Russell Westbrook ($13,400) With the New York games now available to us, I can tell you that I will be shifting my roster build to stack as much of the Oklahoma City Thunder as possible as they get the best possible match-up with Brooklyn. The fact that this game has only a 6 point spread gives me confidence that we can stack this game without the same blow out risk that the Warriors and their 17 point spread have against Philadelphia.
The Thunder have the second highest team total on the slate, they see the largest pace increase of any team on the slate and are projected to score nearly 10 points higher than their season average. Westbrook has two 70+ FanDuel point outings in his last three games – I am locking him into my lineups tonight and will sit back and watch him put on a show in Brooklyn!
Jrue Holiday ($7,700) If you are looking for a cheaper option at PG, we can look to the New Orleans Pelicans who see the second biggest projected point bump of any team on the slate as they are expected to score more than 7 points higher than their season average.
Holiday has really stepped up his game in recent weeks with two 45+ FanDuel point outings over his last four games and gets an elite match-up against the Portland back-court. Portland has been getting carved up by opposing PG’s over the last two weeks as they are giving up the 5th most fantasy points to opposing PG’s during the last 10 games.
Reggie Jackson ($5,200) Perhaps my favorite bargain play on this slate can be found on the Detroit Pistons as Reggie Jackson is sitting just above the $5k mark due to his inconsistent play.
Jackson has seemingly turned a corner in recent games, playing 30+ minutes in three of his last four games and has put up two 36 FanDuel point outings in those four games which would exceed 7x value at this price point.
Jackson is seeing his offensive usage spike as well as he has between 14-16 shot attempts in five of his last six games and gets to face off against a Cavs team he just dropped 30 FanDuel points on only a few days ago. On a night without much value, Jackson gives us much-needed salary relief with the 7x upside we need in GPP play!
FanDuel NBA – Top Shooting Guard Picks
Jordan Crawford ($3,500) Shooting guard is UGLY tonight if you are not paying up for C.J. McCollum or Klay Thompson so I would look to drop ALL THE WAY DOWN if you are going the bargain route and lock in Jordan Crawford who has been a revelation since joining the Pelicans three games ago!
Crawford has been playing 20+ minutes a game and is averaging 25 FanDuel points per contest which would exceed 7x value at this bargain price point. Crawford has always been a player that was not afraid to shoot and he has stayed true to form, averaging over 11 shots per game off the Pelicans bench. Crawford is a scoring dependent DFS asset but with the consistent minutes and demonstrated production, you will be hard pressed to find a better point per dollar value tonight!
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot ($3,700) If you are looking for some additional cheap SG love, let me introduce you to TLC, the Sixers rookie who was stepped into the starting lineup over the last two games and has played 30 minutes per game while averaging over 21 FD points which puts him at 5.8x value!
The Warriors-Sixers game is not one I am looking to aggressively target on the Golden State side as the 16.5 point spread combined with this being in Golden State AND all the core players coming off rest makes this a massive blowout concern. I do believe however we can target some of the punt plays in this game who we believe will see garbage time run including TLC, Patrick McCaw ($3,500) or Ian Clark ($3,600).
Victor Oladipo ($5,900) With OKC now in play, Oladipo becomes a lock and load for me as the price point is simply too cheap for a match-up with the Nets. Oladipo has back to back 30+ FanDuel point outings giving him a rock solid 5x cash floor with GPP upside as the Nets are ranked dead last in DvP to opposing SG’s on the season.
FanDuel NBA – Top Small Forward Picks
LeBron James ($11,200) Short slate, LeBron on National T.V, no Kevin Love….check, check and check! LeBron is the absolute first player I am locking in tonight as I expect he will be ready to put on another massive performance against the Detroit Pistons who he just dropped 60.6 FanDuel points on a few days ago!
LeBron has 60+ FanDuel points in three of his last five games and when we take off the two NY games on this slate, we are left with a three game slate so we need to work in the players we believe have the best raw point projections. LeBron also has a history against Tobias Harris, and we all know an angry, motivated LeBron can simply dominate at any moment. The King is a fade at your own risk play for me tonight!
Maurice Harkless ($4,500) Outside of LeBron, SF is not an overwhelming position so I am happy to go back to old faithful – Why you gotta be Moe Harkless – for my value SF play tonight! Harkless is not flashy but he plays 30 minutes a night, and is typically around 25 FanDuel points on any given slate. Harkless is the type of “meat and potatoes” kind of DFS play you slot in as your last player who you know won’t hurt you but is also not likely to win you a GPP!
Andre Roberson ($4,000)/C.J. Miles ($3,900) Both Roberson and Miles check the box tonight for cheap SF’s that allow us to stack LeBron AND Westbrook as they play major minutes and see favorable DvP match-ups against the New York squads. I lean slightly towards Miles as he has double digit shot attempts in four of his last six attempts which gives him much higher offensive upside than the low usage Roberson.
FanDuel NBA – Top Power Forward and Center Picks
Thaddeus Young ($4,800) Within a Westbrook/LeBron roster build we are going to need to find value and I think Power Forward is a great spot to drop down in order to fit in those two studs tonight!
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Thad is back to playing 30+ minutes a night for the Pacers with 34+ minutes in two of his last three games while racking up 20+ points in each of those contests. The match-up against the Knicks is one Thad has excelled in this year with two of his three meetings resulting in 35+ FanDuel points so for under $5k he makes a great point per dollar bargain play!
Taj Gibson ($4,000) Taj Gibson has been ruled IN for the Thunder tonight and will start against the Nets which immediately put him in play! The minutes are still sitting in the low 20’s so I would keep your expectations in check but any time we can get a starter against the Nets we have to take notice! Although he was a member of the Bulls at the time, Taj did drop 14 points and 11 boards against this Nets team earlier this year in only 24 minutes so the upside is there even with under 30 minutes of court time!
Richaun Holmes ($4,500) The Power Forward spot is quite bare at the value levels but I do like the upside that Richaun Holmes provides at only $4.5k tonight. Holmes has put up 7x value in two of his last eight games, including a 32 FD point outing against this very same Golden State team just a few weeks ago. Holmes is locked into 20-25 minutes a night and could see a bump in minutes tonight in a potential blowout in Golden State!
Andre Drummond ($8,000) It will be very interesting to see how the ownership at Center breaks down tonight as I think this is the position that determines where you fall relative to the cash line.
We have the opportunity to roster DeMarcus Cousins at only $9,000 or Jusuf Nurkic at only $6,600 so will Drummond get overlooked sitting at $8k? Honestly I hope so because I think he may be the best play of all of them going up against a Cavaliers team he just dropped 20 points, 16 rebounds and 42.2 FanDuel points against.
Drummond has put up 40 or more FD points in each of his last two games against Cleveland and comes into this game with 42 or more in three of his last five. Within my roster build, I can get a nice correlation to my LeBron James play with a Reggie Jackson/Andre Drummond stack and will look to employ that in my rosters tonight!
Best of luck tonight in your FanDuel NBA contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter as we keep you up to date on tonight’s latest lineup news and roster updates!