Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: Best NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup for Jan. 22, 2015
It is not a great night for big points, but it can be a great night to pick up some sleepers in daily fantasy.
The Los Angeles Clippers look like the stacking team to ride, given they're the biggest favorite on the board at 12 points over the Brooklyn Nets. The other West Coast game of the night, the Boston Celtics at Portland Trail Blazers, has the highest total at 203, per Odds Shark.
The status on LaMarcus Aldridge (hand) is up in the air, which creates some opportunities for the Celtics to take advantage and the Trail Blazers to dip deep into their bench. You can find some daily fantasy value there.
PG Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers ($9,600)
He is coming off a stinker against the Celtics on Monday, but we should expect him to rebound against a Nets team that is 22nd against point guards. Paul has had a few days to rest at home, which should help.
The good news is you're certain to be getting him in the lineup. He has played in all 42 games this season, as the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch reminded him Wednesday:
"It's crazy you said that, because I actually thought about that yesterday. ... It's a pretty good feeling, to tell you the truth, but it's still a long ways to go. One of my goals has been to play 82 games because that's really hard. ...
If you look over the course of my career, any game that I've missed it's been because I can't help the team. So if I can play, I'm always going to play.
"
The Nets are going to be the ones with tired legs Thursday. They are coming off a back-to-back, having beaten the Sacramento Kings 103-100 on Wednesday. Also, Deron Williams (ribs) is out, according to the Nets' official Twitter account.
- Marcus Smart ($4,400)
- Derrick Rose ($7,300)
- Tony Parker ($5,800)
SG Evan Turner, Boston Celtics ($5,300)
He is just now coming out of a slump since moving to point guard, registering a double-double last time out. There is a lot more to give here, which makes him a solid buy while his price is suppressed. He is getting big minutes, and the Celtics should get some garbage-time points at Portland.
He is also feeling the pressure from the emergence of 20-year-old point guard of the future Marcus Smart of late. Turner and Smart should be getting more and more time together on the floor, which should lead to better production for both.
- Avery Bradley ($4,000)
SF Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers ($5,000)
Sticking with Clippers here, Barnes is getting big minutes, playing 30 or more in each of the past seven games. The time caught up to him last time out against the Celtics, but we like him for an offensive rebound against the underachieving Nets on a back-to-back on the West Coast.
Barnes has averaged 15.7 points per game in this stretch, despite that dud, and the uptick isn't lost on power forward Blake Griffin, per Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times:
"It's great, it's great for our entire team. When he's playing like that, his aggressiveness alone is great for us, but when he's making shots like that, taking shots, making big stops, guarding whoever it is from the other team, it's huge for us and it takes a lot of pressure off of all of us.
"
- Dorell Wright ($3,000)
- Nicolas Batum ($4,300)
- Gordon Hayward ($7,800)
PF Jared Sullinger, Boston Celtics ($6,600)
He has taken a big step forward this season and is one of the game's emerging big men. He should be capable of logging more minutes with a couple of days of rest. We are looking for an 18-point, 10-rebound performance here as the Celtics play a Blazers team that has been squeezing in a lot of games lately. The Blazers have played five games in seven days.
The Celtics will look fresh here, starting with their big man—especially with LaMarcus Aldridge (hand) and Robin Lopez (hand) likely to be out. Aldridge needs another MRI on his hand Thursday, according to The Oregonian's Joe Freeman.
- Thomas Robinson ($3,000)
C Chris Kaman, Portland Trail Blazers ($4,400)
The Blazers are tired, but they are also thin with the aforementioned injuries to their big men. Kaman is getting minutes he wouldn't ordinarily get. As is Meyers Leonard. We like the Celtics to take the action inside, creating a lot of fantasy scoring opportunities on both sides.
- Meyers Leonard ($3,000)
Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.
