Daily Fantasy Basketball 2014: Best NBA FanDuel, DraftKings Lineups for Dec. 16
There are just six NBA games on the slate for Tuesday, making daily fantasy a difficult proposition.
With 12 teams in action, there are obviously a limited amount of choices. That means a lot of similar lineups, meaning normally inconsequential decisions could potentially swing important matchups. There's essentially nothing worse than losing money because you picked Jason Thompson instead of Kris Humphries.
Alas, daily fantasy is an undeniably alluring game, and as long as there are players on the court it will be tough not to fill out a lineup.
Let's take a look at my DraftKings and FanDuel squads for the day.
DraftKings ($50,000 Budget)
| PG | John Wall, WAS | vs MIN | 10,600 |
| SG | Tim Hardaway Jr., NY | vs DAL | 4,700 |
| SF | Draymond Green, GS | at MEM | 6,500 |
| PF | Jason Thompson, SAC | vs OKC | 5,200 |
| C | Rudy Gobert, UTA | at NO | 5,000 |
| G | Bradley Beal, WAS | vs MIN | 6,000 |
| F | Dirk Nowitzki, DAL | at NY | 6,300 |
| UTIL | Andrew Wiggins, MIN | at WAS | 5,500 |
Doling out over a fifth of your salary to one-eighth of your roster can be risky, but John Wall is worth it. Taking yet another step forward in his fifth NBA season, the explosive point guard is averaging a ridiculous 17.7 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.
That would be the definition of filling up the box score, and as the Wizards' official Twitter feed noted, he has only increased those numbers in the last week:
Wall has poured in over 51.0 (!) DraftKings points per game in his last six and is playing at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have allowed the second-most points in the NBA. Yes, please.
Although not quite in the same way, Draymond Green has also been stuffing the stat sheet. Fueled by 36.1 minutes per game, the breakout star is averaging 16.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks over his last eight.
It will be a physical battle against the Memphis Grizzlies, but his production outside of the scoring column makes him matchup-proof. With the way he's been playing, $6,500 is a steal (his FanDuel price is $1,000 more).
Dirk Nowitzki, Bradley Beal and Andrew Wiggins make up the next tier. None are sure things on a nightly basis, but all are either the first or second offensive options on their teams and receive around 30 minutes per night.
Moreover, Nowitzki and Beal should have little trouble lighting up the New York Knicks and Timberwolves—26th and 28th in defensive rating, respectively—like Christmas trees.
Then we have our value picks.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (18.7 points per 36 minutes) and Rudy Gobert (11.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 3.5 blocks per 36) have been very effective in limited action and are now getting the minutes with respective injuries to J.R. Smith and Derrick Favors.
The Knicks' PR Twitter feed (Smith is No. 8) and the Associated Press' Jon Krawczynski provided some injury updates:
"No.7 (recovery), No.0 (illness), No.8 (l.plantar fascia), No.9 (sore r. ankle), No.21 (left shoulder) & No.1 (recovery) did not practice.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) December 15, 2014"
Check back before the 7 p.m. ET deadline, but as long as Smith and Favors are sidelined, Hardaway Jr. and Gobert provide unmatched value as starters.
Finally, Jason Thompson continues to be a consistent double-double threat in DeMarcus Cousins' absence.
FanDuel ($60,000 Budget)
| PG | Russell Westbrook, OKC | at SAC | 10,100 |
| PG | Jrue Holiday, NO | vs UTA | 8,000 |
| SG | Tim Hardaway Jr., NY | vs DAL | 4,000 |
| SG | Tyreke Evans, NO | vs UTA | 7,500 |
| SF | Draymond Green, GS | at MEM | 7,500 |
| SF | Luol Deng, MIA | at BKN | 6,100 |
| PF | Serge Ibaka, OKC | at SAC | 7,200 |
| PF | Jason Thompson, SAC | vs OKC | 5,200 |
| C | Rudy Gobert, UTA | at NO | 4,400 |
Similarities: Hardaway Jr., Green, Thompson, Gobert.
Instead of Wall, we're going with Russell Westbrook in this lineup. He's $100 more but just dropped 28 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals in 27 minutes against the Phoenix Suns and has been virtually unstoppable since returning from his hand injury.
As ESPN's Royce Young implied in a tweet, very few players have been better on the court:
Whether the Sacramento Kings play four defenders—an actual suggestion from owner Vivek Ranadive for the new coaching staff—or five, Westbrook is nearly a lock for a minimum of 40 FanDuel points.
Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans are contingent on the health of Anthony Davis, who is questionable per the Deseret News' Jody Genessy:
When The Brow was out against the Golden State Warriors, Holiday and Evans each hit 30 points with a bunch of secondary stats. If he remains out, this offense will be their playground once again.
Luol Deng is in a similar position. Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts are out, and Dwyane Wade is questionable with an illness. Should the latter sit out, the onus could be on Deng to hoist up about 25 shots. It may not be pretty, but it shouldn't be difficult to reach value at $6,100.
Lastly, we have Serge Ibaka. He's the third wheel offensively with Westbrook and Kevin Durant back, but he should have free reign against a Boogie-less Kings frontcourt.
