Welcome to the Saturday FanDuel NBA edition of Picks and Pivots, a fantasy basketball column focused on helping you find the best core lineup for tonight’s three 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!
Friday Night’s scores were off the charts with the winning GPP lineup scoring 407.5 FanDuel points which brought the cash line up to 325 in many tournaments! Over the first 131 slates, the average winning GPP score has been 378.9 which would mean we need 6.3x value from our roster in order to win big!
Over the first 131 slates, the average winning GPP score has been 378.9 which would mean we need 6.3x value from our roster in order to win big!
For a slate that we initially felt was underwhelming it became quite intriguing as the day went on as tons of value opened up with allowed us to go with a Stars/Scrubs approach that landed our Picks and Pivots lineup at 332.3 FD points and most importantly above the cash line. Kemba Walker (47), Nicolas Batum (33), Klay Thompson (40) Nikola Jokic (54) and DeMarcus Cousins(63) came through with big games as our core lineup helping push us into the green!
Saturday’s slate is….well….ugly. FanDuel has two games on the standalone early slate and three on the main slate. Three game slates this late in the season, especially with the spread out start times, can be very dangerous to play so be careful with your bankroll here. Maybe save a few bucks and put those towards Opening Day in Major League Baseball! That does not mean we will be taking the day off however and we are here to help you finish the NBA season strong!
FanDuel NBA – Top Point Guard Picks
Damian Lillard ($9,500) With the horrendous news that Jusuf Nurkic will be out for the next two weeks, the Trail Blazers will be forced to hold onto the 8th spot in the Western Conference leaning on their superstar point guard, Damian Lillard.
With Nurkic off the floor, Lillard sees his usage increase to 33% on the season and tonight he gets an elite match-up against the Phoenix Suns who are ranked 27th in DvP against opposing PG’s on the season. Portland has the highest projected point total of any team on the main slate and gets the biggest pace boost in addition! Portland is expected to score nearly 9 points more than their season average and in a pace up environment like this, I expect Lillard to put on a show.
Lillard is coming off a massive 53 FanDuel point performance in his last game against Houston and I would expect him to approach similar totals tonight. Portland is listed as a 12 point favorite in this game but with the playoffs on the line and Nurkic on the sidelines, I am less worried about the blowout here as Lillard is going to be on the floor for massive minutes to ensure a win!
Ricky Rubio ($8,100) Two nights ago, Picks and Pivots started their article with Rubio and Lillard as our PG’s and had one of our best nights in weeks so let’s go back to the well shall we!
This spot for Minnesota is shaping up very similar to Thursday in that they have one of the highest team totals on the slate, projected to score nearly 6 points more than their season average but have an 11 point spread which may keep people away. We saw how this played out against the Lakers and its important to note that the Wolves continue to have one of the tightest rotations in the NBA, playing their starters for massive minutes each night even with the playoffs out of reach.
Rubio has put up 50+ FanDuel points in two of his last four games, playing 38+ minutes in three of his last four games! On this slate I am happy to pay up again at PG and lock in the 50+ upside of both Rubio and Lillard and let others chase the more volatile value options!
FanDuel NBA – Top Shooting Guard Picks
Devin Booker ($8,000) On Thursday the status of Devin Booker was up in the air all day which made him a great GPP play, in fact I actually mentioned on Twitter prior to lock that if you were multi-entering, he made for a great play. Well I don’t multi-enter so I did not take my own advice and regretfully saw Booker go off at 3% ownership and landed on the winning YOLO GPP lineup!
Tonight the SG position is ugly so I think paying up for Booker is a no-brainer as he has the safest floor of any SG on the slate and the demonstrated highest ceiling! What I love about Booker from a DFS perspective is the sheer volume of shot attempts he is taking – 22,17,40, 26 – over his last four games.
The Suns have nothing left to play for but they are running their young guys out for massive minutes and Booker should continue to take as many shots as he can. On a three game slate, I am not willing to fade the upside that Booker possess and with so few “pay up” spots, I think it makes sense within your roster build to make room for Booker at SG!
Allen Crabbe ($4,100) With Jusuf Nurkic out for Portland, expect the bench players to all see a slight bump as they need to find creative ways to generate offense outside of Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Crabbe is a great DFS punt play as he is a lock for 28-30 minutes off the Portland bench and has double-digit shot attempts in two of his last thee games. Crabbe has put up 30+ FanDuel points in two of his last three games which would exceed 7x value at this price point! On a small slate we are going to have to find creative value options to separate ourselves in GPP’s and Crabbe is my favorite option at SG as he may get overlooked as has shown a recent clear path to crushing value!
FanDuel NBA – Top Small Forward Picks
Andrew Wiggins ($7,300) Heading back to Minnesota with a full on stack of the Wolves “Big 3”, I am locking in the best Small Forward on the slate with Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins is playing nearly 40 minutes a night for Minnesota and has 30+ FanDuel points in six of his last eight games.
On small slates it is important to remember that raw points matter and sometimes locking in the best player at the position regardless of multiplier is the prudent roster move! Wiggins would need 44 FD points to hit 6x value, a number he has only hit once in the last month so I am looking at Wiggins to deliver me a solid 5x value as the most consistent option in a sea of volatile SF dart throws!
Terrence Ross ($4,400) With Devin Booker back, I am off of T.J. Warren at his inflated price point. I am not going to pay $5k for Rondae Hollis Jefferson and I am not chasing Maurice Harkless ($4,000) even though he won me many dollars on Thursday night.
That leaves me with Terrence Ross as my top value option at SF as he and the Magic get an elite match-up with the Brooklyn Nets! Ross is averaging 26.2 FanDuel points per game over his last six outings which would put him right at 6x value at this price point. His recent performance and the match-up against the Nets makes him an easy plug and play at SF!
FanDuel NBA – Top Power Forward and Center Picks
Skal Labissiere ($4,300) and Meyers Leonard ($3,500) Power forward is punt city for me on this slate as I am looking to pay up in other spots tonight!
Labissiere is one of my favorite value plays on the slate as he is playing big minutes for the Kings, with 33+ minutes of court time in each of his last two games while putting up 22 FD points per contest. The Kings are a mess right now from a DFS perspective as they are seemingly short-handed each night but Skal is one of the few players with guaranteed minutes and the Kings will need his size on the floor to contend with the Minnesota big men!
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Leonard is the “beneficiary” of Jusuf Nurkic going down as he will likely be the starting center for Portland for the rest of the season. Leonard is never a fun roster but if we can get a starter for minimum price, we simply have to take notice. Looking back at his game log, in the last two games he got 25 minutes of run, he was able to put up 20 FD points which would be 6x value at this price point. Tonight, that is simply all we are looking for so we will keep an eye on the lineup news and hope we get confirmation prior to lock that Leonard is starting for Portland.
Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,600) The big-ticket item on this slate is Karl-Anthony Towns who is priced $1k higher than anyone else on this slate but I think we can find enough value to fit him in and he makes for a great correlation play with Ricky Rubio at PG.
Towns is coming off a streak of 48+ FanDuel points in four of his last five outings and we saw what dominant centers can do to Sacramento last night as Boogie Cousins went bonkers against his old team. Tonight I am stacking the Wolves “Big 3” with Damian Lillard/Devin Booker in all lineups and will mix and match my value plays prior to lock!
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!