Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: NBA DraftKings Ideal Lineup Picks for Jan. 26
There are currently seven games on the NBA schedule for Monday night. Juno (this is a pun, of course) that already.
We will await word about the schedule being reduced by two amid the winter storm warnings for the Northeast, as Sporting News' Ray Slover reported. The Sacramento Kings at the New York Knicks and the Portland Trail Blazers at the Brooklyn Nets are on the schedule for 7:30 p.m. ET games.
"Dangerous snowstorm heads for Northeast; Knicks, Nets games in jeopardy http://t.co/MdpnnbzsXv
— NY Knicks Update (@NYKnicksUpdate) January 26, 2015"
Leave players from those four teams out of your lineups, regardless. Our Bleacher Report analysis for Monday's DraftKings daily fantasy games will focus on the other five matchups.
PG Trey Burke, Utah Jazz ($5,100)
Burke's best performances have come at home of late. He scored 19 against Brooklyn on Saturday and 20 against the Los Angeles Lakes on Jan. 16. That is great production off the bench and the type of performances that should earn the burgeoning second-year star more minutes.
The best news, in addition to his modest price among point guards, is the Boston Celtics are just 21st against the position. Burke should do well against the likes of Evan Turner, playing out of position at the point, hot-and-cold Avery Bradley and rookie Marcus Smart.
- Jameer Nelson, Denver Nuggets ($4,800)
- Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia 76ers ($8,300)
SG Dion Waiters, Oklahoma City Thunder ($4,900)
His price is back under $5K, so we are going to take it coming off a Sunday of boos, as ESPN.com's Royce Young tweeted. The Minnesota Timberwolves are 30th against shooting guards, so this should be a good night for Waiters to trump his modest season numbers and price.
"Dion Waiters on getting booed: "I don't pay it no mind man. It is what it is. Boos, no boos, I can't focus on that type of stuff."
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) January 25, 2015"
We should expect the younger legs of Waiters to be used heavily on a back-to-back, too. Both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant played 40 minutes Sunday.
- Eric Gordon, New Orleans Pelicans ($5,700)
- J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers ($4,300)
SF Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves ($6,800)
This is our play of the day. The rookie hasn't even cracked 20 points since his career-high 31 on Jan. 17, but he is facing the Thunder on a back-to-back and has the legs of a teenager, literally, at just 19 years of age.
Wiggins is a 30-plus-point player who can be had before he goes into full-blown star mode in the second half of the season. His price is in the right spot right now.
- Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets ($5,600)
- Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz ($3,500)
PF Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz ($7,400)
Favors hasn't been good of late, but it has dropped his number to a reasonable rate, particularly when you consider the Boston Celtics are thin among big men right now and amid a busy West Coast trip.
The Celtics are on a back-to-back and should be digging into their rotation to defend Favors, who is overdue after his return to the starting lineup Saturday. Favors is a nice buy at the price against the 30th-ranked team versus power forwards, per DraftKings.
- LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers ($9,500)
- Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers ($5,000)
C Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies ($8,400)
Gasol is coming off a mere nine-point performance against the 76ers on Saturday. He should rebound nicely against the Orlando Magic, a team that is just 26th against fantasy centers at DraftKings. Expect him to get his 20-10 here.
- Omer Asik, New Orleans Pelicans ($4,400)
- DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers ($7,800)
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.
