Daily Fantasy Basketball 2014: Best NBA FanDuel, DraftKings Lineup for Dec. 18
Full disclosure: I stay far away from daily fantasy basketball on Thursday nights.
With only a handful of games—four on this particular Thursday, which isn't terrible—on the slate, it becomes difficult to pick out a lineup. You're almost assuredly going to have to pick some players you don't like, and even when you do, there end up being a lot of similar lineups.
Still, some like having less options and digging a bit deeper for value, so let's take a look at a couple potential lineups for the quiet night.
FanDuel ($60,000 Budget)
| PG | Brandon Knight, MIL | at SC | 7,200 |
| PG | Derrick Rose, CHI | vs NYK | 7,000 |
| SG | Jimmy Butler, CHI | vs NYK | 8,100 |
| SG | Tim Hardaway Jr., NYK | at CHI | 4,900 |
| SF | Kevin Durant, OKC | at GS | 9,600 |
| SF | Trevor Ariza, HOU | vs NO | 6,200 |
| PF | Ryan Anderson, NO | at HOU | 5,800 |
| PF | Nikola Mirotic, CHI | vs NYK | 5,400 |
| C | Omer Asik, NO | at HOU | 5,400 |
Since his return from injury, Kevin Durant is averaging 21.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks in 29.4 minutes. Only a player of his caliber could be obviously rusty and average those numbers.
But he's starting to show glimpses of returning to MVP form:
A 40-point, 10-rebound outburst is coming, and it wouldn't be surprising if it came in the biggest game of the season against a Golden State Warriors team that loves to push the pace.
The New York Knicks are 26th in the NBA in defensive rating and without Iman Shumpert, their best perimeter defender. Jose Calderon and Tim Hardaway Jr. are going to be guarding Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler.
It's a tantalizing matchup. Rose has been playing more aggressive lately, averaging 18.5 shots over his last four, while Butler is a strong bet for 40 minutes and a full stat line as he makes the case to be an All-Star.
Rose put it simply, via Bulls.com's Sam Smith:
I like players on missions.
The Knicks frontcourt is similarly soft, so Nikola Mirotic presents solid value as the team's third big man if Taj Gibson's newest ankle injury keeps him out.
On the other side of the ball, it's tough not to like Tim Hardaway Jr.'s combination of high usage and low price, even in the tough matchup. He's a chucker, no doubt, but he's a talented one who is averaging 32.9 minutes, 17.8 points and 4.5 rebounds with J.R. Smith sidelined the last four games. Smith is out again Thursday, making Timmy Jr. a no-brainer at $4,900.
Milwaukee at Sacramento is a sneaky bet to be a high-scoring game. Jason Kidd's Bucks are ninth in the NBA in pace, while Pete D'Alessandro and Vivek Ranadive made a sudden midseason firing just so the Kings would play faster.
Moreover, as Rotogrinders.com's Gabriel Harber noted, Brandon Knight's offensive role figures to grow without Jabari Parker:
In Parker's first game out, Knight led the team with 24 points and 19 shots against the stingy Portland Trail Blazers. This is a better matchup.
Trevor Ariza is one of the safest picks you'll find on a daily basis because he's relatively cheap ($6,200) and regularly surpasses 40 minutes.
Ryan Anderson is back to the bench with the return of Anthony Davis, but his ability to stretch the court will cause problems against interior bigs Dwight Howard and Donatas Motiejunas.
Finally, the center position is thin after the expensive options, and Omer Asik is really the only viable option. He's a rebounding machine, so that's nice.
DraftKings ($50,000 Budget)
| PG | Brandon Knight, MIL | at SAC | 6,900 |
| SG | Jimmy Butler, CHI | vs NY | 7,200 |
| SF | Draymond Green, GS | vs OKC | 7,500 |
| PF | Donatas Motiejunas, HOU | vs NO | 5,500 |
| C | Steven Adams, OKC | at GS | 4,300 |
| G | Tim Hardaway Jr., NY | at CHI | 5,400 |
| F | Serge Ibaka, OKC | at GS | 6,600 |
| UTIL | Trevor Ariza, HOU | vs NO | 6,500 |
Similarities: Knight, Butler, Hardaway Jr., Ariza
Draymond Green's DraftKings price skyrocketed by $1,000 after Tuesday, which is unfortunate, but he's still well worth his current price.
There's just no downside to the third-year breakout star. Against the Memphis Grizzlies, he scored four points and still finished with 36.0 DraftKings points thanks to 10 rebounds, six assists, five blocks and a steal. He's playing a ton of minutes with David Lee and Andrew Bogut sidelined, and his versatile skill set leads to stacked box scores.
At power forward, Motiejunas' role hasn't really changed with the return of Howard. He's still starting and getting around 30 minutes, which is plenty valuable at $5,500.
The selection of Steven Adams represents the scarcity at center. However, he is quietly averaging 25.5 minutes, 8.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over his last four, and the Warriors are thin up front with Green, Marreese Speights and Festus Ezeli the only available big men.
Finally, Serge Ibaka's price has been dropping, probably because his role has diminished with the return of Russell Westbrook and Durant. But here are his numbers with the two stars in the lineup: 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 25.7 DraftKings points.
I'll take that in a heartbeat for $6,600.
