Daily Fantasy Basketball 2014: Best NBA FanDuel, DraftKings Lineup for Nov. 28
Most of America's fantasy sports demographic spent Thanksgiving eating like kings and agonizing over professional football's triple-header. Friday offers the chance for NBA fans to get back into the swing of things on the hardwood with daily fantasy.
FanDuel and DraftKings offer fantasy enthusiasts the chance to commit to one team for one day under a certain budget. It can even be lucrative to those who are able to assemble the very best lineups.
Let's take a look at two ideal lineup scenarios, one each from FanDuel and DraftKings, that could be deployed to contend for the sites' top prizes.
FanDuel ($60,000 Budget)
| PG | Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors | vs. Dallas | 8,400 |
| PG | Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns | at Denver | 6,600 |
| SG | Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors | at Charlotte | 7,900 |
| SG | Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs | vs. Sacramento | 4,900 |
| SF | Gerald Henderson, Charlotte Hornets | vs. Golden State | 3,800 |
| SF | Jeff Green, Boston Celtics | vs. Chicago | 6,800 |
| PF | Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons | vs. Milwaukee | 6,900 |
| PF | Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Pelicans | at Atlanta | 5,900 |
| C | Al Jefferson, Charlotte Hornets | vs. Golden State | 8,600 |
| Total | 59,800 |
The NBA is loaded at the point guard position as much as it has been in recent memory. Those who are late to jumping aboard the Kyle Lowry bandwagon can't help but notice his efforts now.
Lowry has stuffed the stat sheet, with averages of 18.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game so far this season.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey described to Eric Koreen of the National Post what makes Lowry such a great all-around player with supreme instincts—and made a gaudy comparison in doing so:
"Some players have that and some players don't. We had Gary Payton in Seattle. He reminds me so much of Gary in those situations. He can't tell you the technique he used. He just gets it done. Loose ball on the floor? He's just going to come up with it. Charge to be taken? He's going to get it. Last night it was a blocked shot. At his size? He got it. He just finds a way in those situations to get it done. It's just the DNA of Kyle.
"
Friday sees an East-leading Toronto squad match up with the Dallas Mavericks at home. Considering the Mavs have the likes of Devin Harris and J.J. Barea to match up with Lowry, he should light it up at the Air Canada Centre.
For the other point guard spot in FanDuel, Goran Dragic is a great value play. The Phoenix Suns star faces a Denver Nuggets team that is 27th in scoring defense and the same opponent Dragic had 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals against in his last outing.
As hot as Stephen Curry has been for the Golden State Warriors, what with 68 combined points in his past two games, the other half of the Splash Brothers backcourt, Klay Thompson, is due for a monster performance.
Sam Amick of USA Today hints that all eyes will be on Curry:
But Thompson will emerge as the star. Charlotte Hornets newcomer Lance Stephenson was benched for the entire fourth quarter of the team's most recent loss—its seventh straight. The Dubs' Friday opponent doesn't have anyone to match up with Thompson at the 2.
Almost by default, someone will have to step up for Charlotte to remain competitive with Golden State's high-octane offense.
That falls on Gerald Henderson, who can create mismatches at the 3 and score on either Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green. Henderson, the cheapest player in this FanDuel lineup, has scored in double figures twice in the past four games after failing to do so before then in 2014-15.
Manu Ginobili should spark the San Antonio Spurs in a big Western Conference matchup with the Sacramento Kings when he comes off the bench to torch the underdogs' second unit.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports notes how the Kings may be lacking some serious personnel on the perimeter:
Even though the Chicago Bulls have a reputable defense, Boston's Jeff Green—the leading scorer in the NBA's fifth-ranked offense as of Thursday—is among the most versatile players in the game and is capable of erupting at any time.
Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe documented a recent development that should add fuel to Green's fire:
As for the FanDuel big men, it's hard not to love Ryan Anderson. As the sixth-man extraordinaire for the New Orleans Pelicans, Anderson is a three-point sniper off the bench who averages seven attempts per game and is worth deploying in a favorable matchup situation.
Atlanta is among the worst defensive teams in the Association, so Anderson should be in for a big evening at Philips Arena.
Greg Monroe is a rare bright spot on the Detroit Pistons' dysfunctional roster, headlined by the likes of youngster Andre Drummond and erratic players like Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings.
Monroe is a double-double machine whose combination of size and athleticism will give the Milwaukee Bucks problems while Larry Sanders is preoccupied with Drummond down low.
Drummond had 23 points and 10 rebounds when the two teams played last; Monroe had a proficient game (7-of-10 shooting, 15 points, eight rebounds) and will get more looks this time around.
Speaking of near-guaranteed double-double players, Al Jefferson falls into that category for Charlotte. Jefferson can score even on Andrew Bogut or any other center Golden State throws at him—and he'll have to without much offensive help flanking him.
DraftKings ($50,000 Budget)
| PG | Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets | vs. Phoenix Suns | 8,600 |
| SG | Nick Young, Los Angeles Lakers | vs. Minnesota | 4,100 |
| SF | Trevor Ariza, Houston Rockets | vs. Los Angeles Clippers | 6,000 |
| PF | Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs | vs. Sacramento | 7,900 |
| C | Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic | at Indiana | 8,800 |
| G | Greivis Vasquez, Toronto Raptors | vs. Dallas | 3,300 |
| F | Markieff Morris, Phoenix Suns | at Denver | 6,700 |
| UTILITY | O.J. Mayo, Milwaukee Bucks | at Detroit | 4,500 |
| Total | 49,900 |
A lesser budget and one fewer player gives DraftKings a little bit of a different dynamic in its standard formats. In the lone point guard spot, the other floor general in the Phoenix-Denver matchup is the way to go in Nuggets speedster Ty Lawson.
If not for a 4-of-16 shooting effort, Denver may not have lost 120-112 when the two teams last met on Wednesday. But Lawson still found a way to be effective, converting all eight free throws and dishing a game-high 12 dimes with just two turnovers.
ESPN's J.A. Adande noted how Lawson is often able to use his quickness to his advantage to get to the rim and make up for poor shooting nights amid Denver's overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers this last Sunday:
Former NBA point guard Baron Davis appreciates Lawson's game, too:
The Lakers are struggling this season but have at least been more competitive since Nick Young began playing. Young has never seen a shot he doesn't like and makes a reasonable amount of three-pointers to justify a modest fantasy investment in a West basement battle with Minnesota.
To make up for anything Young lacks as a defender, Houston Rockets swingman and ex-Laker Trevor Ariza should compensate for that.
Ariza has struggled a bit as a shooter, yet he should get open looks with the Los Angeles Clippers starting Reggie Bullock in place of Matt Barnes at the moment. It's also feasible to expect Ariza to lock down Bullock and whoever the Clippers put against him on the wing, thanks to a stellar 92.3 defensive rating (h/t NBA.com).
AZCentral.com's Paul Coro points out how Suns standout Markieff Morris seems to simply have the Nuggets' number:
Morris went off with 15 points, 10 boards, seven assists, four blocks and three steals in Phoenix's prior win over Denver this season, too. That offers a glimpse of the upside the 25-year-old has, and it should be a sign of what to expect in Friday's rematch.
The Spurs tend to break opponents' will. Kings stud center DeMarcus Cousins is truly rising to prominence this year. His highlight so far may have been putting up 25 and 10 in a 94-91 home victory over San Antonio on November 15.
But the volatile, still-developing Cousins will get a master class from "The Big Fundamental" in Tim Duncan amid one of Friday's marquee games. Duncan is going to help the Spurs get revenge on their home court and improve on his 15-point, eight-rebound outing the last time around, when he also tallied five blocks.
And for the final big plug-in, Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic gets to face an Indiana lineup that just played without both Roy Hibbert and David West. Expect Vucevic to post around 15 rebounds, and don't be surprised by 20 or more points.
For much of the same reasons Lowry will have strong stats in FanDuel, his backup Greivis Vasquez has proven to be a spark-plug playmaker throughout his time in the NBA. Vasquez should feast on the Mavs and create plenty of opportunities for his teammates.
O.J. Mayo just entered the Milwaukee Bucks' starting lineup, and rightfully so. The veteran can score in bunches, is an underrated passer and is a versatile combo guard who can catalyze a fast break. A bigger Pistons lineup won't match up well with Mayo and the Bucks' smaller starting five.
