NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: PlayDraft Top 30

OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 06: A detailed view ot the official Spalding NBA basketball held in the air by referee Lauren Holtkamp #7 during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on February 6, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball /

Why do you need another NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games! On demand snake drafts and auctions make for a fast, fun, and unique DFS experience.

Welcome to the Saturday edition of NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball rankings for DRAFT.com, otherwise known as PlayDraft, from FantasyCPR. This article will cover my favorite targets for the eight-game full slate starting at 3:30 ET. Following the targets, I will give my Top 30 Rankings for the day. Remember to follow me on Twitter. I will be tweeting out updated rankings throughout the day. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access the desktop site here!

I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, for NBA, you simply roster two guards, two forwards, and a center. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 8-man drafts that start upon filling. In the DRAFT lobby, you will find me in the six-man and eight-man contests, which payout to the top two spots. I also frequent the 6-man auctions, and dabble in the multi-day GPP’s as well.

If you play in a six-man contest, 30 players will be drafted. I will give my top plays at each position, with 12 guards, and 12 forwards, followed by the top six centers. After each target, will be their projection from DRAFT, and my overall ranking for that player at the moment.

We have plenty of NBA articles for your research here on FantasyCPR, and most of those will go through injuries, slate match-up’s, vegas info, and all of the value plays you may need for whatever site you may be playing at. We are throwing that all out the window here in this one, and simply ranking the top plays in order. After each player, I will give a brief blurb about where they may fall in your drafts today and why.

Before we get to the rankings for today, let’s briefly talk some strategy for NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball on PlayDraft.

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NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: PlayDraft Strategy

It isn’t as easy as picking the best available player sometimes. In fact, it is pretty rare that that is the case. There is a general rule of thumb for NBA on DRAFT, and if you implore this simple strategy it should go a long way for you.

First, do your pre-draft rankings. Before you do any draft you should get these close to where you think you will want them if you plan on doing multiple drafts. The first thing you should establish when doing this, is how deep each position is.

Take today for example. Center is usually pretty deep, and today that looks to be the case. Nikola Jokic has a projection of over 50 DP at the moment, but I don’t think I could take him in the first round. There are more than six centers in play tonight in my opinion, and you might want to address that forward position early.

More often than not, guard is deep and forward is not. The smarter players will put a premium on forwards when this is the case, and today looks like one of those days, although guard is not very deep either. If you start to play daily, you will notice this more and more, because it all depends on the games, and which players are in action on that given night.

After that brief strategy overview, let’s dig into my rankings for today.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 16: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder breaks away to the basket for a dunk after a steal against the LA Clippers at Staples Center on January 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Guards – 1/12/19

1. Russell Westbrook – 58.1 – (2)

First or second pick in all of your drafts today. I put the premium on the forward spot today so The Brow is ranked one, but I would not pass on Russ today with pick two.

2. DeMar DeRozan – 44.1 – (6)

Squaring off against Westbrook and the Thunder, the Spurs have a tough test on the road. These teams just met two days ago, and DeRozan put up his exact projection today with 44.1 DP. I doubt we will see another double overtime thriller, but the points should be flying in this one.

3. Kyrie Irving – 40.9 – (7)

Irving is yet to have a big game since returning three games ago from his eye injury. He got his first full allotment of minutes on Thursday, and was able to put up 38.5 DP in 35 minutes. The Magic are returning from a 1-5 road trip, so I think they keep this one close in effort to defend their home court. This is a target game for me, and I love Irving in the second round today.

4. Kemba Walker – 40.4 – (12)

Another great player struggling as of late, I am pretty much passing on Walker today, despite the fantastic match-up. If he is there in the third round then I am all for it, but I would rather go Forward in the second round in most spots. The Hornets will face the Kings in Sacramento tonight, and the game total in that one currently sits at 234. Targeting players in this game is not a bad idea at all.

5. Donovan Mitchell – 41.1 – (13)

Mitchell has had back-to-back 33 point games, as the Jazz backcourt continues to try to get healthy. Utah is on a back-to-back as they will host the Bulls at home, but with all of the injuries the Jazz are suffering through Mitchell is definitely a solid third round pick once again tonight.

6. DeAaron Fox – 36.3 – (14)

Fox has now put together three straight 30+ DP games after a brief slump, and he should fair well tonight against Kemba Walker defense. If Fox is there in the fourth round or so I would grab him over the remaining lower ranked guards.

7. Mike Conley – 36.3 – (17)

8. Jrue Holiday – 37.9 – (19)

9. Jamal Murray – 32.4 – (25)

10. Jeff Teague – 29.4 – (27)

11. Lou Williams – 29.6 – (29)

12. Kris Dunn – 30.8 – (30)

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 07: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans dunks the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies at Smoothie King Center on January 07, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Forwards – 1/12/19

1. Anthony Davis – 58.7 – (1)

This is already a great match-up against Minnesota, and they could be without Karl-Anthony Towns tonight, who rolled his ankle last night but returned to the game. He is questionable for tonight, but there has to be some optimism considering the injury did happen in the first quarter, and he returned and finished the game. Forward gets very, very thin fast today. Just look down and see Josh Jackson ranked 11 and you will see what I mean. Draft Brow #1.

2. Paul George – 46.3 – (3)

PG-13 has cooled off a little bit since his recent stretch of fire, and now he has sort of taken a back seat to Westbrook for the time being. This is still possibly the top 1-2 fantasy punch there is in the NBA right now, and both should be able to put up 45+ DP tonight easy.

3. Blake Griffin 43.3 – (4)

Because we are thin here, Griffin gets a big boost. Detroit will get a pace up in Los Angeles against the Clippers, as he returns to the place where he started his career. This is the first time Griffin has faced his former team at Staples Center since being dealt to the Pistons, and you have to love a good revenge narrative

4. LaMarcus Aldridge – 39.7 – (8)

Aldridge may be sitting down here at eight overall, but I have no problem grabbing him in the first round due to lack of depth here. After a quiet start to the season, Aldridge has been on a bit of heater as of late. It took two overtimes, but LMA is coming off of his best game of the season in which he put up 79.8 DP. Same match-up tonight as the Thunder will host the Spurs.

5. Julius Randle – 38.3 – (9)

I am way higher on Randle than most, and his numbers are usually all over the place. Randle struggled against Memphis five days ago, managing just 24.8 DP in 33 minutes. Usually a point-per-minute player, that is a rough game for him. The Pelicans were last in action on Wednesday, and Randle saw the return of Nikola Mirotic eating into his minutes a bit. Nine overall might be a little high, but again, I don’t want to be picking through whats left of the forwards at the end of my drafts.

6. Tobias Harris – 34.6 – (15)

If Towns is out tonight, Wiggins will get a bump up past Harris here, as I am never really a fan of trying to figure out the Clippers. Montrezl seems to have better overall fantasy production when he gets some solid minutes, but he rarely does. Harrell averages 31.9 DP in 25 minutes, but Harris does most of the actual scoring for this team, averaging 21 points and 8 rebounds on the season. I hope I already have my forwards by now.

7. Andrew Wiggins – 33.3 – (16)

8. T.J. Warren – 34.1 – (22)

9. Aaron Gordon – 32.5 – (23)

10. Montrezl Harrell – 32.2 – (24)

11. Josh Jackson – 30.9 – (26)

12. Danilo Gallinari – 33.9 – (28)

DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 23: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets plays the Orlando Magic at the Pepsi Center on November 23, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Centers – 1/12/19

1. Nikola Jokic – 50.2 – (5)

After the three forwards go I will consider Jokic, but I will not take him as high as his projection suggests he should go. Center is easily five deep if Towns plays tonight, and even though The Joker is as hot as it gets with two straight triple-doubles, you can still land a guy like Nikola Vucevic much later in your drafts. I may have some Jokic exposure in auctions today, but I don’t think I will have much in my drafts.

2. Andre Drummond – 45.4 – (10)

Drummond has had a rough couple of games, but should be able to rack up some boards tonight against the Clippers. He shot poorly in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Wednesday going just 2-12 from the floor, and wasn’t much better in the second leg of the back-to-back against the Kings on Thursday, as he was only able to muster up 24.2 DP. He should make for a good third round pick if he falls that far.

3. Rudy Gobert – 43.7 – (11)

The short-handed Jazz destroyed the Lakers last night with an eight-man rotation, and even though another blowout is expected tonight against the Bulls, you have to think some of these guys may be a little tired. Gobert was a beast last night, grabbing 18 rebounds in 31 minutes of action, en route to 46.6 DP. Obviously Towns rockets up the rankings if we get early enough word he is in, but if you head to the DRAFT lobby now use some caution.

4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 48 – (18)

5. Nikola Vucevic – 43 – (20)

6. Willie Cauley-Stein – 33.3 – (21)

NBA DFS Picks and Pivots – Saturday January 12. dark. Next

For the few of you who have asked for me to write about DRAFT for NBA, let me know if this format works for you. Remember to give me a follow on Twitter, as I will plan to tweet out any updates to the rankings should we come across any injury news. Thank you for reading this and be sure to check out all of our amazing FREE content here at FantasyCPR!

NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: PlayDraft Top 30 – 1/12/19

By Chris Aliperto | Jan 12, 2019