Daily Fantasy Basketball 2014: Best NBA FanDuel, DraftKings Lineup for Dec. 5
After Thursday's relatively quiet slate, the NBA features 12 games on Friday.
Some will see that as a blessing—yes, look at all the games to choose from!—and some will see it as a curse—oh no, look at all the games I have to choose from! Either way, it makes for a ton of choices when it comes to daily fantasy basketball.
That in mind, let's take a look at my lineups for both FanDuel and DraftKings.
FanDuel ($60,000 Budget)
| PG | Kyle Lowry, TOR | vs. CLE | 9,100 |
| PG | Rajon Rondo, BOS | vs. LAL | 8,200 |
| SG | Monta Ellis, DAL | vs. PHO | 7,800 |
| SG | Ben McLemore, SAC | vs. IND | 4,500 |
| SF | Trevor Ariza, HOU | at MIN | 6,200 |
| SF | K.J. McDaniels, PHI | vs. OKC | 4,900 |
| PF | Jared Sullinger, BOS | vs. LAL | 7,000 |
| PF | Donatas Motiejunas, HOU | at MIN | 5,600 |
| C | Gorgui Dieng, MIN | vs. HOU | 6,600 |
If you're going to stack a game on Friday night, make it Los Angeles at Boston. Both teams are in the top seven in possessions per 48 minutes and bottom five in defensive rating, per NBA.com. The over/under, according to Odds Shark, is a whopping 216.
Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger, Boston's two most consistent fantasy contributors, are no-brainers.
Phoenix at Dallas should be another high-scoring track meet (Odds Shark puts the over/under at 214.5), and Monta Ellis is scorching right now. Even at $7,800, The Count of Monta Cristo is good value.
Speaking of scorching, I present Kyle Lowry:
In the three games without DeMar DeRozan, Lowry is averaging a silly 31.7 points, 8.7 assists and 2.0 steals. Rotoworld's Michael Gallagher put it simply:
And against a Cleveland Cavaliers team traveling from New York on a back-to-back? Yes, please.
Another one of my favorite plays is K.J. McDaniels. Oklahoma City is a tough matchup, but the athletic rookie's ability to score, rebound and rack up the defensive stats makes him a fantasy gold mine. Now that he's getting minutes, he absolutely has to be used for as long as he's under $5,000.
Feel free to play most of the Rockets with confidence. Minnesota has the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA (and the worst by far over the last 10 games) and just lost to the 76ers. Trevor Ariza gets tons of minutes, and Donatas Motiejunas has been steadily improving on the offensive end without Dwight Howard or Terrence Jones in the lineup.
On the flip side of that, Gorgui Dieng (averaging 8.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks with Nikola Pekovic sidelined) will also benefit from Houston's depleted frontcourt.
Finally, we have Ben McLemore. He doesn't do much besides score, but as he continues to play around 40 minutes per game, it's easy for him to reach value at $4,500.
DraftKings ($50,000 Budget)
| PG | Rajon Rondo, BOS | vs. LAL | 7,800 |
| SG | Kobe Bryant, LAL | at BOS | 9,400 |
| SF | Donatas Motiejunas, HOU | at MIN | 5,200 |
| PF | Dirk Nowitzki, DAL | vs. PHO | 6,200 |
| C | Kyle O'Quinn, ORL | at UTA | 3,600 |
| G | Greivis Vasquez, TOR | vs. CLE | 4,600 |
| F | Jared Sullinger, BOS | vs. LAL | 7,600 |
| UTIL | Danny Green, SA | at MEM | 5,500 |
Similarities: Rondo, Motiejunas, Sullinger.
We're going even heavier with Los Angeles at Boston in this one, adding Kobe Bryant to the mix. Mamba may not be efficient, but his usage rate (USG %) is the second highest of his career, approaching 2005-06 levels. Even if it's not always pretty, he'll continue being a daily fantasy stud muffin. Or something like that.
Plus, there's always the chance he and Rondo let each other score all night:
Dirk Nowitzki's price feels like a huge mistake. He's rested after taking a day off for, well, rest. He's averaging 20.0 points (on 20.0 shots; again, high usage trumps efficiency in daily fantasy) and 7.8 boards over his last five, and he costs only $6,200. That's less than David West and Terrence Jones.
He cost $7,300 for Tuesday's game against Chicago. Am I taking crazy pills here? What's going on? Why is the big German so cheap? Is this some kind of Cyber Monday extension?
Kyle O'Quinn got ejected for a Flagrant 2 on Wednesday, but he's still a legit double-double threat who makes defensive contributions as long as Nikola Vucevic remains out.
Greivis Vasquez is starting and playing well (16.6 points, 5.2 assists in his last five) in the wake of DeRozan's injury. Keep using him at his current dirt-cheap price.
Lastly, I wouldn't usually advise using anyone in the San Antonio at Memphis game, as both teams play tremendous defense. But Danny Green can overcome low-scoring games, as he averages an incredible 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
Over his last 10, he's very quietly scoring 29.9 DraftKings points per game. You won't find anything close to that at $5,500.
