NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: PlayDraft Top 30 – 1/14/19
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Welcome to the Monday 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 six-game slate starting at 7:30 ET. Remember to follow me on Twitter, as I will try to tweet out updated rankings throughout the day as news drops. If you are unfamiliar with DRAFT Daily Fantasy, the 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. The players will be listed in their ranked order.
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. Let’s get to it! Click the bar below to proceed!
NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Guards – 1/14/19
1. James Harden – (61.4) – (2)
A clear-cut top two pick today, Harden continues to rack up stats like no other. He was a rebound shy of back-to-back triple-doubles, but he still finished with an incredible 74.8 DP, as he approached 40 points once again with 38.
Harden is averaging 73.33 DP over the last three games, and the only thing keeping him from being the top pick today is the match-up difference. Harden will face the Grizzlies, one of the better defensive teams in the league, and Anthony Davis just has a much better match-up against the Clippers.
2. Damian Lillard – (40.3) – (5)
Portland is on the second leg of a back-to-back traveling from Denver to Sacramento, but this pace up spot for the Blazers has me targeting Dame in the second round. Lillard had a rough stretch there for a bit, but he seems to be getting passed it. He posted 51.3 DP on Friday against Charlotte, as four blocks and three steals certainly helped that bottom line.
While I am more likely to go forward, forward in the first two rounds, I have been able to get Lillard in the second round once or twice due to him being just the fifth highest projected guard. While I have him ranked fifth, it doesn’t seem necessary to grab him in the first round.
3. Donovan Mitchell – (41.6) – (6)
Mitchell has been going in the first round, as high as fourth overall thus far in my drafts. He has gone over 50+ DP in the last two games, while the Jazz deal with injuries. I can’t argue with the production, but those games were against the Bulls and the Lakers. Utah is at home tonight and still eight point favorites against Detroit, but I think this will be a tougher test for Mitchell defensively. Drafting him doesn’t work with what I am trying to do today, so this is a pass for me.
4. DeMar DeRozan – (43.3) – (8)
Another hard pass, DeRozan somehow is the 2nd highest projected guard of the night. He is coming off of another fairly lackluster game, as his production and DP continue to be all over the place. This isn’t a bad game to target with the game total at 223, but if I draft a Spur today it will be LaMarcus Aldridge. DeRozan is also going late first / early second round with the high projection. No thanks.
5. Jrue Holiday – (40.7) – (11)
Now we are talking. Holiday struggled a bit when Elfrid Payton returned, but all seems to be getting back to normal. After a tough fought 33 minutes against Memphis in which he posted 37.8 DP, he followed that with 40.9 against the Cavs and 45.7 in the last outing against Minnesota. This is my top game to target, and if I can get Holiday at the end of the second round with a fair amount of forwards left for the third, I will definitely consider it.
6. Mike Conley – (38.2) – (13)
Another solid third round target, Conley gets a plus match-up against a Rockets team with no Chris Paul. He has been kind of inconsistent, but he has posted two 40+ DP games in the last three. In my opinion, when targeting guards late, always look for guys like Conley. He is in a great spot, and is a guy who will take 15 shots a night, and contribute with assists and steals as well. Any player who takes a ton of shots is always something to think about in the later rounds.
7. Kemba Walker – (38.7) – (14)
8. DeAaron Fox – (34.6) – (18)
9. Kyrie Irving – (32.7) – (20) – (Questionable)
10. D’Angelo Russell – (33.7) – (21)
11. CJ McCollum – (30.8) – (22)
12. Elfrid Payton – (26.4) – (24)
NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Forwards – 1/14/19
1. Anthony Davis – (65.1) – (1)
Hard to ignore what Harden is doing. But again, this match-up is not only better, the forwards at the end of your drafts are going to be complete dart throws, and you can draft a much better lineup by taking The Brow. Davis has posted at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in three straight games, and dropped 81 DP against the Cavs last Wednesday. Today will be a battle if you do not get pick one or two. So my take is get these forwards before we are choosing between guys like Marcus Morris and Jaren Jackson Jr.
2. Blake Griffin – (41.3) – (3)
Griffin really struggled last Wedneday against the Lakers, failing to get a rebound, and only posting 24 DP in 37 minutes of action. It was enough to get him rested on Thursday against Sacramento, only to have him ready to go in his return to Staples Center to face his old Clippers squad. Revenge was certainly a factor on Saturday night, as Blake went off for 44 actual points, and finished with 69.1 DP. Nice.
3. LaMarcus Aldridge – (44.1) – (4)
Aldridge does have the higher projection than Griffin, and I have seen it go either way in my drafts. Either way you prefer, these are usually picks three and four, unless someone sneaks in Donovan Mitchell which I have also seen happen. LMA had the monster 79.8 DP performance in the double overtime game with OKC, but returned to his normal form in the second leg of the home-and-home meeting with the Thunder, posting 35.3 DP. Charlotte is fairly tough inside defensively, but this match-up is maybe slightly better than Griffin’s against Utah. I give the slight edge to Blake here, but it could go either way.
4. Julius Randle – (40.8) – (9)
I was able to last Randle with the last pick of the second round in a draft that I also got Davis. If Holiday would have been there I would have been more than happy to grab the trifecta today. We only have a six game slate, so why not target the best offense in the best spot as much as possible? Points are going to be coming from everywhere in this one, as the over/under creeps towards 240 throughout the day.
5. Montrezl Harrell – (35.4) – (10)
I hate this Clippers forward situation when it comes to DRAFT. It is always seems to be a crapshoot, but if there is one thing to be thankful for, it is the fact that Harrell is still a forward and not a center. When it comes to Harrell vs. Tobias Harris for me, all you have to do is look at game logs and scratch your head like I do. Then ask yourself.. “Why does this guy not play at least 30 minutes a night?” You will easily see he does pretty well when given solid run, and he is coming off of a 53.8 DP game against the Pistons on Saturday. If I happen to grab a guard in the first two rounds, Harrell is my third round guy with a bullet tonight.
6. Tobias Harris – (36) – (12)
After the three Clippers forwards, it gets really ugly fast. In all honesty, I don’t even want to be in a spot where I have to choose between these guys either. But that second forward is awfully important today compared to that second guard or center, and that means Harris is also a third rounder today. Harris had just 11 points and 10 rebounds last time out against the Pistons as Harrell shined, but once again, there should plenty of points in this one tonight with New Orleans.
7. Danilo Gallinari – (35.8) – (17)
8. Joe Ingles – (30) – (19)
9. Marcus Morris – (26.5) – (23)
10. Derrick Favors – (29.9) – (25)
11. Jayson Tatum – (29.1) – (29)
12. Jaren Jackson Jr. – (26.3) – (30)
NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Centers – 1/14/19
1. Rudy Gobert – (42.7) – (7)
Gobert continues to have a solid season contributing in many ways, but with all the blocks and rebounds, it was nice to see Gobert dish out eight assists on Saturday night against the Bulls. Rudy played 40 minutes in that one, and managed a cool 50.2 DP. The position is pretty thin tonight overall with just six games, and if I take a really good look at all six of these centers, Gobert is not the one standing out for me.
2. Andre Drummond – (42.5) – (15)
When you look at what Drummond and Griffin did to the Clippers the other night, how can you not love Davis and Randle tonight? Things will be tougher for Drummond tonight, as he will battle with Gobert in Utah. This doesn’t set up well for another 20/20 game for Drummond like he had on Saturday, and he will likely be drafted long before where I am comfortable drafting him anyways. Wait on center today, but definitely consider this next target.
3. Jusuf Nurkic – (41.8) – (16)
In the rare case Nurkic drops into the fourth round you have to grab him. He had a huge game on Friday against the Hornets, dropping 56.2 DP with six blocks helping that bottom line. The Blazers were in action last night, but Nurkic only played 25 minutes which should keep him fresh for tonight tilt in Sacramento against the Kings. In case you forgot, back on New Years Day when these teams met, Nurkic was absolutely next level. He finished with 88.1 DP, and posted one of the best lines of the year, with 24 points, 23 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and five steals. I love him late third round, and if I miss out, I am turning to Cauley-Stein with my last pick instead.
4. Willie Cauley-Stein – (33) – (26)
5. Clint Capela – (38.3) – (27)
6. Marc Gasol – (38.2) – (28)
NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings: The Perfect Draft – 1/14/19
In an attempt to spice this up a bit, I have decided a new fun last page. By the time this article is published, I like to have at least 3-5 drafts in already so I have an idea of what to expect when drafting all day. In that sense, I also have in my mind what I feel would be the perfect draft for that particular day. We all love the sample lineups here at FantasyCPR, so this is not only a way to incorporate that, but to also pick my brain even further as to who I want and where I want to draft them.
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I have learned a few things really quick today after a few drafts. First thing, is that you do not want pick five or six today. With just two games in on the slate, it almost looks like the difference of whether or not we cash today will lie in the hands of what pick we get.
James Harden is pretty much unfadeable in other formats, but here on DRAFT, you don’t want to take him first overall today. That spot is for The Brow. There is a lack of depth at all positions really, but I think there are some quality guards to target in rounds three through five. Once again for me, I think getting two forwards as soon as possible is the best strategy, as the bottom three or four guys in the rankings do not look great.
As far as the perfect draft goes, I got the first pick in my last draft and took Davis. I was able to follow that up with Julius Randle, and Mike Conley, who is a solid third round target tonight against the Rockets.
With my second guard, I took C.J. McCollum who has a terrific pace up spot against the Kings. As you can see, most of my top targets today are in the two late games, as both games should be the highest scoring games on the slate.
As far as center goes, I will be waiting for round five today, and nobody will be on my guy. Instead of dealing with Clint Capela and Marc Gasol who will be battling each other. I will be leaning towards Willie Cauley-Stein. He is under projected in my opinion at 33 DP, as he has ripped off three straight games over 40 DP.
NBA DFS - Monday January 14 - Game Stacks to Attack. dark. Next
That is it for today’s NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Rankings for PlayDraft. 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!