Daily Fantasy Basketball 2014: Best NBA FanDuel, DraftKings Lineup for Dec. 10
Two-thirds of the NBA will lace up on Wednesday night, giving daily fantasy players plenty of lineup choices.
Gamers are still discerning early patterns, but the season's sample is now substantial enough to gauge them with enhanced accuracy. It's becoming easier for savvy managers to pick their pray by exploiting the association's most vulnerable opponents.
FanDuel and DraftKings feature few drastically different price tags on Wednesday, so expect some repeats on each site's optimal lineup.
FanDuel ($60,000 Budget)
| PG | Jeff Teague | PHI | 7,300 |
| PG | Patrick Beverley | at GS | 5,300 |
| SG | Wesley Matthews | at MIN | 6,100 |
| SG | Danny Green | NY | 5,400 |
| SF | Nicolas Batum | at MIN | 6,700 |
| SF | DeMarre Carroll | PHI | 5,200 |
| PF | Pau Gasol | NO | 9.300 |
| PF | Dirk Nowitzki | BKN | 7,500 |
| C | DeAndre Jordan | at IND | 7,200 |
The lineup's first draft featured a heavier dosage of the San Antonio Spurs, but a glance at the schedule instigated some alternations. They'll play the second of back-to-back games on Wednesday night before hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Gregg Popovich is never shy about resting his veterans, so keep a close eye on his lineup. Danny Green, however, can handle the grind at age 27, and he continues to stuff the stat sheet with career highs in nearly every category.
It's not a daily lineup without playing someone against the Philadelphia 76ers, so Jeff Teague and DeMarre Carroll get the nods against a squad last in turnovers and near the bottom in three-pointers allowed.
The 76ers are fun to exploit, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are a greater embarrassment defensively. They allow 110.2 points per game on an NBA-worst 50.1 field-goal percentage. LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard will cost a pretty penny, but perimeter sharpshooters Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum are affordable options.
Batum has underwhelmed this season, averaging a mere 9.0 points per game, the worst mark since his rookie campaign. The small forward discussed his shooting woes with The Oregonian's Joe Freeman.
"I look at everything," he said. "I can't stop playing. And that's what I do. My shot's not going. But it happens. I can't go back, so I've got to keep shooting. And I've got to keep being me."
Despite his scoring woes, he contributes across the board, so see if he can catch the hot hand against an abysmal defense. Matthews, meanwhile, is as steady as they come, scoring double-digit points in every game this season.
The roster's biggest splurge, Pau Gasol is averaging 22.1 points and 13.9 boards over his last seven contests. With Brook Lopez banged up, the Brooklyn Nets lack the interior force to halt his hot streak, making the resurgent big man worth the price of admission.
Dirk Nowitzki has not looked sharp of late, but that's why the superstar only has a $7,500 going rate. Showing no signs after a six-game hiatus, Patrick Beverley delivered 19 points, five three-pointers and six rebounds on Saturday. De'Andre Jordan continues to offer double-digit boards while swatting shots at a ferocious rate, and he happened to cost the perfect amount to complete this squad.
DraftKings ($50,000 Budget)
| PG | Jeff Teague | PHI | 8,200 |
| SG | Wesley Matthews | at MIN | 6,200 |
| SF | Draymond Green | HOU | 6,300 |
| PF | Ryan Anderson | at DAL | 5,900 |
| C | Al Horford | PHI | 7,200 |
| G | Kyle Korver | PHI | 5,900 |
| F | Robert Covington | at ATL | 4,300 |
| UTIL | Danny Green | NY | 6,000 |
Teague, Matthews and Green work their way over to this lineup as well. A late casualty from the FanDuel unit, Kyle Korver makes his way into the proceedings after draining 17 shots from behind the arc in five December slates.
Atlanta's Al Horford also joins the fray, as the 76ers surrender the most rebounds. The big man scored a season-high 25 points on Monday night, hopefully a harbinger of things to come after a slow start.
Entering Tuesday night, no team yielded a higher percentage of threes (39.9) than the Dallas Mavericks. Ryan Anderson, whose sole mission is to spread the court and shoot threes, will lick his lips at that stat as Dallas devotes all its attention to containing Anthony Davis down low.
While Draymond Green trails only Carmelo Anthony in FanDuel's catalog, seven small forwards carry a higher price than him on DraftKings. Looking at his recent play, FanDuel has the right idea.
Getting the most minutes of his career, Green is flourishing in a prominent role, shooting 45.5 percent with 13.3 points, 7.7 boards, 3.1 assists, two three-pointers and over a block and a steal per contest.
The third-year pro's newfound prowess rockets him up the fantasy hierarchy. During a 31-point outburst against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, he netted a season-high seven deep balls. As shown by NBA.com, he did so from all around the court.
Now an everyday starter for the soaring Golden State Warriors, Green is a great DraftKings find on Wednesday night. While he averages 32.0 points per game on the site, Kawhi Leonard scores 32.3 a tilt at a $7,700 allotment.
Going dumpster-diving to afford steady contributors across the board, let's test Robert Covington's hot streak at a minimal cost. Recently receiving prominent minutes off the bench, the 23-year-old has scored 63 points over the past three games, converting three long-range daggers in the last four bouts.
Fantasy owners love the threes, but head coach Brett Brown is impressed with the youngster's overall offensive game, as relayed by the team's Twitter account.
Unless the 76ers are worried about him jeopardizing their quest for lottery balls by scoring too well, Covington will continue to get minutes on a bleak roster. When someone with this much fantasy upside costs as much as Mike Dunleavy and Matt Barnes, take the flier.
