Welcome to the Monday FanDuel NBA edition of Picks and Pivots, a fantasy basketball column focused on helping you find the best core lineup for tonight’s seven 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!
Sunday Night’s winning GPP lineup on FanDuel scored 339.6 points which was well below the season average. Over the first 120 slates, the average winning GPP score has been 377.9 which would mean we need 6.3x value from our roster in order to win big!
Over the first 120 slates, the average winning GPP score has been 377.9 which would mean we need 6.3x value from our roster in order to win big!
Apologies for not being able to get out a Sunday Picks and Pivots article as I spent the entire day traveling but was able to get a lineup out via Twitter prior to lock which put up 318.7 FD points, finishing above the cash line in all contests and was good enough for a top 50 finish in one of the large field FanDuel GPP’s!
We are back for Monday night’s slate which features the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors which should continue to be must watch TV for NBA fans and should offer plenty of DFS options as well! Let’s get into the picks and break down our early roster construction!
FanDuel NBA – Top Point Guard Picks
Russell Westbrook ($13,400) The very first and most critical decision you will have to make tonight is whether you are rostering Russell Westbrook at home against the Golden State Warriors. The question may really be – can you afford to fade him on this slate?
Westbrook has put up 63 FanDuel points in each of his last two games against Golden State and comes into tonight’s contest with 60+ in four of his last six and no less than 50 in any of those games. Ultimately I think there is enough early value (and likely more to come) that allows us to easily fit in Westbrook tonight and I would expect another massive outing from him tonight on his home court against a team I have heard he does not like very much.
Kemba Walker ($8,000) I expect Westbrook to be very popular tonight and the most common roster build with Westbrook is to go high-low at Point Guard so paying up for your second PG spot may actually be a nice way to pivot from the field tonight.
Walker gets an elite match-up against the Hawks and Dennis Schroder, who gets the distinction of being one of the worst individual defenders at the PG position on this slate! The Hawks are ranked 26th in DvP against opposing PG’s this season and Walker has dropped 39 FanDuel points in both earlier season match-ups against them this season.
Game log watchers may look at his two recent poor games and balk at this price but this is a player who has put up 40+ in six of his last 10 games and gets one of the best match-ups on the board tonight!
FanDuel NBA – Top Shooting Guard Picks
James Harden ($12,200) Initially when looking over this slate my first reaction was Westbrook OR Harden, but rather than have to choose, can I actually roster them both?
My gut reaction from a roster build perspective was to try to pair Westbrook with some Warriors players (ie. Curry/Draymond) or do I go with Harden and pair him with Nikola Jokic? The issue in both cases is that I was paying $10k for players like Jokic and Curry, neither of whom have topped 50 FD points in either of their last five games.
So if I am going that route, can I find the extra money to pay up for Harden and pair him with Westbrook on this slate? The answer I believe is yes and I am going to make every effort to keep this core together tonight! Harden takes on a Denver team he just dropped 63 FD points on Saturday night and he now has 63+ FD points in three of his last four.
There are no two safer studs from a DFS perspective and no two players with higher ceilings but rostering both only gives you $5k/per player remaining. There are some very intriguing value spots on this slate that I believe make this a realistic build tonight with insane upside by pairing up The Beard and Beastbrook!
Will Barton ($5,800) Barton let me down due to cold shooting on Saturday night, but he gets the exact same match-up against the Rockets and the exact same scenario with Danilo Gallinari/Wilson Chandler unlikely to suit up so let’s go back to the well!
Barton struggled mightily with his shot on Saturday, going 2 for 13 from the floor but the minutes remained in the mid 30’s and it was only two games ago he dropped 45 FanDuel points on the Clippers when his shot was falling.
Barton is a volatile pick but I absolutely love his upside for GPP play tonight and I hope his off night on Saturday deflates his ownership this evening after he was 40% owned on Saturday!
FanDuel NBA – Top Small Forward Picks
Joe Ingles ($4,200) and Joe Johnson ($3,900) If you are a regular reader of Picks and Pivots you will know that I have been utilizing the double Jazz punt SF stack regularly lately and it simply continues to work so I am going back to it again tonight especially considering the value I need to fit in Westbrook AND Harden.
With Rodney Hood questionable for tonight, it should continue to open up major run for both of these Jazz wings and the prices on both players has barely moved! Ingles has started and played 36 minutes in back to back games for Utah in place of Hood and responded with 22 FD points in each of those starts which would exceed 5.2x value at this price point. Ingles has out up 20+ FD points in four straight and makes for a very safe punt play at SF considering his guaranteed minutes with Hood out.
Johnson has played 28+ minutes in four straight games, averaging just under 22 FD points per game which would exceed 5.5x value at this price point. At these price points it becomes very difficult to pass on the salary relief and demonstrated consistent cash game floor that these players are offering on a night in and night out basis!
FanDuel NBA – Top Power Forward and Center Picks
Ersan Ilyasova ($4,500) With Paul Millsap out with an injury, Ersan Illyasova has stepped into the Hawks lineup and makes for one of the best value plays on the board tonight. Ersan played 27 minutes and scored 34.3 FanDuel points against Portland on the back of 23 real life points. Tonight, Ersan takes on a Hornets team that is ranked 21st in DvP to opposing PF’s and with the expanded run, it is not unreasonable to expect another game returning 7x value at this price point!
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Juancho Hernangomez ($3,700) Another recently anointed starter who has not yet seen his price rise, Hernangomez is another critical value piece within our Stars/Scrubs build tonight. Juancho has started the last two games for Denver, playing 27 minutes a night and has averaged 20 FanDuel points per game which puts him right above 5.4 value at this price point. Keep an eye on the lineup news to confirm that Gallinari/Chandler remain out for tonight but as both have the questionable tag leading into the day, we could see Hernangomez make another start at near minimum salary!
Bismack Biyombo ($4,300) The biggest piece of injury news I am keeping an eye on today is the status of Nikola Vucevic who missed practice yesterday with an ankle injury after playing major minutes on back to back games prior to the weekend.
If Vooch misses this game, Biyombo becomes a major DFS value with the juiciest of match-ups against the Sixers interior. With Joel Embiid out and Jahlil Okafor looking questionable, Biyombo could be facing nothing but Richaun Holmes inside which could mean monster rebounding and block totals tonight.
I will update throughout the day on Twitter as news breaks but if we can get confirmation that Biyombo is starting, fire him up in all formats today!
Best of luck tonight in your FanDuel NBA contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the late breaking lineup news and roster updates!