Daily Fantasy Basketball 2014: Best NBA FanDuel, DraftKings Lineup for Dec. 17
After a relatively quiet Tuesday night, the NBA is back Wednesday with 10 games.
Atlanta at Cleveland and Memphis at San Antonio stand as two crucial real-life games, but the joy of daily fantasy basketball has our attention turned more toward potential high-scoring contests like Dallas at Detroit, Orlando at Boston and Houston at Denver.
Let's take a look.
FanDuel ($60,000 Budget)
| PG | Rajon Rondo, BOS | vs ORL | 8,400 |
| PG | Jeff Teague, ATL | at CLE | 7,200 |
| SG | Eric Bledsoe, PHO | at CHA | 8,000 |
| SG | Danny Green, SA | vs MEM | 5,100 |
| SF | Trevor Ariza, HOU | at DEN | 6,200 |
| SF | Khris Middleton, MIL | at POR | 4,900 |
| PF | Blake Griffin, LAC | vs IND | 9,700 |
| PF | Donatas Motiejunas, HOU | at DEN | 6,000 |
| C | Rudy Gobert, UTA | at MIA | 4,400 |
Point Guard: Rajon Rondo ($8,400) and Jeff Teague ($7,200)
The price of $8,400 for someone who has scored two points or less in five of his last nine games is a little steep, but Rajon Rondo gets it done in assists (10.6 per game), rebounds (7.5) and steals (1.7) like no one else in the league. Against an Orlando Magic team that has allowed a 1.786 assist-to-turnover ratio (third worst in the NBA), he's going to run wild.
Jeff Teague is having the best season of his career, and Kyrie Irving isn't always concerned with playing defense. He feels like a bargain as the 12th-most expensive point guard.
Shooting Guard: Eric Bledsoe ($8,000) and Danny Green ($5,100)
Eric Bledsoe has struggled a bit over his last couple of games, but it's hard not to like the increased usage as long as Goran Dragic (back) is out.
Even when Danny Green isn't scoring, which doesn't happen much anymore, his ability to rack up blocks and steals gives him an extremely high floor. He's sort of like Draymond Green-lite, and he costs less than J.J. Redick, Jodie Meeks and Jamal Crawford.
Small Forward: Trevor Ariza ($6,200), Khris Middleton ($4,900)
In his last 10 games, Trevor Ariza has logged more than 40 minutes eight times. He also leads the league in three-point attempts and racks up 1.7 steals per game. As ClutchFans.net's David Weiner noted, that kind of volume isn't likely to change.
Arizona is an extremely low-risk pick.
Using Khris Middleton feels a little guilty after Jabari Parker was diagnosed with a torn ACL, but someone will have to take a good portion of the talented rookie's 29.5 minutes and 10.5 shots a game.
Middleton, who played some power forward, scored 14 points and hit the game-winner after Parker went down, is a good bet to do so. It's hard to predict Jason Kidd's lineups, but it's an easy gamble at $4,900.
Power Forward: Blake Griffin ($9,700), Donatas Motiejunas ($6,000)
The value at power forward isn't great, and Blake Griffin is good at basketball.
Donatas Motiejunas didn't suffer from Dwight Howard's return on Saturday, tallying 25 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes. With Howard questionable, roll him out there against the same weak Denver Nuggets frontcourt.
Center: Rudy Gobert ($4,400)
At $4,400, Rudy Gobert is a borderline must-own for as long as Derrick Favors remains sidelined. The French Inspector Gadget—you know, because of his Go-Go arms—has been a rebounding and blocking machine on a per-minute basis, and the bigger workload hasn't changed that. He's averaging 9.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks in the three games without Favors.
DraftKings ($50,000 Budget)
| PG | Brandon Jennings, DET | vs DAL | 6,600 |
| SG | Dwyane Wade, MIA | vs UTA | 8,100 |
| SF | Tobias Harris, ORL | at BOS | 7,200 |
| PF | Dirk Nowitzki, DAL | at DET | 6,100 |
| C | Rudy Gobert, UTA | at MIA | 5,000 |
| G | Danny Green, SA | vs MEM | 5,500 |
| F | Donatas Motiejunas, HOU | at DEN | 5,500 |
| UTIL | Wilson Chandler, DEN | vs HOU | 6,000 |
Similarities: Gobert, Green, Motiejunas
Point Guard: Brandon Jennings ($6,600)
Watching Brandon Jennings play basketball can be incredibly exciting. Watching Brandon Jennings play basketball can also be incredibly frustrating.
Either way, he's a high-usage player, he's relatively cheap and he's up against the Dallas Mavericks, who play a fast pace and allow a healthy 102.6 points per game.
Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade ($8,100)
In two games without Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade is averaging 21 shots per game. As long as he plays (something certainly worth paying attention to on a back-to-back), the offense is all his.
Also, the Utah Jazz are second to last in the NBA in defensive rating.
Small Forward: Tobias Harris ($7,200)
Tobias Harris continues to look like 2012-13 Tobias Harris, averaging 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. He doesn't get much notoriety, but he's having an All-Star campaign.
Against the Boston Celtics, a team that will push the pace and forget to play defense, he presents tremendous value.
Power Forward: Dirk Nowitzki ($6,100)
Dirk Nowitzki costs the same as David West. He costs less than Markieff Morris, Greg Monroe and the ice-cold Jared Sullinger.
Don't overthink it. He's still a central part of this offense, and while he doesn't do a whole lot outside scoring and rebounding, he's a steal at $6,100.
UTILITY: Wilson Chandler ($6,000)
Over his last seven games, Wilson Chandler is averaging 33.4 minutes, 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.9 steals per game.
He shot the ball poorly against Houston on Saturday but still finished with 22.75 DraftKings points. Consider that his floor.
