Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: DraftKings Rankings, Picks for March 16
These days, drafting Russell Westbrook on your DraftKings fantasy team means you have to have an impeccable eye for the best low-cost bargains with almost every other pick. Westbrook carries a salary of $12,600 on Monday when his Oklahoma City Thunder battle the Dallas Mavericks on the road.
It's true, Westbrook has been a man possessed as of late. He's had six triple-doubles in his last 10 games and no less than 46.25 fantasy points in the same span.
He undoubtedly deserves a spot in the top-two positional rankings below, but there's a serious catch if you draft him.
| PG - Russell Westbrook - Oklahoma City Thunder | $12,600 | Dallas Mavericks |
| PG - Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors | $9,600 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| SG - Klay Thompson - Golden State Warriors | $7,300 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| SG - Dwyane Wade - Miami Heat | $7,500 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| SF - LeBron James - Cleveland Cavaliers | $10,900 | Miami Heat |
| SF - Chandler Parsons - Dallas Mavericks | $6,200 | Golden State Warriors |
| PF - LaMarcus Aldridge - Portland Trail Blazers | $8,900 | Washington Wizards |
| PF - Derrick Favors - Utah Jazz | $8,300 | Charlotte Hornets |
| C - DeMarcus Cousins - Sacramento Kings | $9,800 | Atlanta Hawks |
| C - Enes Kanter - Oklahoma City Thunder | $6,100 | Dallas Mavericks |
With Westbrook eating up a quarter of your team's salary, there just isn't enough virtual dough left to tab any of the other big name stars and still fill out your roster with guys who have a great chance of cracking 20 fantasy points.
It can be done, but do you really want to put that much pressure on the rest of your picks. Resist the NBA's most dynamic, productive and exciting player for the good of the rest of your fantasy team.
Here's a look at an optimal lineup for Monday's games that doesn't include Westbrook. Check out more detail on the four players highlighted in the table.
| PG | Stephen Curry | L.A. Lakers | $9,600 |
| SG | Rodney Stuckey | Toronto Raptors | $6,900 |
| SF | Chandler Parsons | Oklahoma City Thunder | $6,200 |
| PF | Brandon Bass | Philadelphia 76ers | $5,300 |
| C | Enes Kanter | Dallas Mavericks | $6,100 |
| G | Evan Turner | Philadelphia 76ers | $5,500 |
| F | Jae Crowder | Philadelphia 76ers | $4,900 |
| UTIL | Gerald Henderson | Utah Jazz | $5,500 |
Stephen Curry ($9,600) vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The only point guard who has a higher salary than the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry is Westbrook; but there is a $3,000 gap between the two. Is $9,600 still a hefty salary? You bet it is, but it's workable considering Curry is phenomenal and is facing the Los Angeles Lakers' less-than phenomenal defense on Monday night.
In three games this year, Curry has lit up the Lakers like a Christmas tree. He's averaging 27.7 points, 10.3 assists and 53.1 fantasy points per game.
For his career, Curry has played against the Lakers 17 times. In those games, he's averaging 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 2.8 three-point field goals made. Let Curry anchor your squad on Monday.
Rodney Stuckey ($6,900) vs. Toronto Raptors
The last time the Indiana Pacers met the Toronto Raptors, Rodney Stuckey poured in 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds on Jan. 27. It was his first 20-point game in a month. That performance seemed to light a fire under Stuckey and encourage Pacers head coach Frank Vogel to incorporate Stuckey into the offense more.
Since then he's had five 20-point games and three with more than 30. Stuckey has scored in double figures in eight straight games and in 13 of his last 14. He is the Pacers' top scoring option off the bench. He has the green light to shoot when he's in the game, and he's been especially aggressive over the last month.
Stuckey is a dependable option on Monday night.
Enes Kanter ($6,100) at Dallas Mavericks
It appears as if Enes Kanter is hitting his stride with his new Oklahoma City Thunder teammates. After the 22-year-old big man put up 18 points and 18 rebounds at home against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman broke down Kanter's numbers over the last four games:
Serge Ibaka didn't play on Sunday, and we don't know if he'll return for Monday's game. Even if he does, you'd have to think Thunder head coach Scott Brooks would detract from Steven Adams' minutes as opposed to Kanter's.
Much of what Kanter is doing effectively comes from his torrid pace on the offensive glass. In his last four games, he is averaging a sick 7.25 offensive rebounds per game.
On Monday, the Thunder just happen to be facing a Dallas Mavericks team that allows the most opponent offensive rebounds per game at 12.3, per Team Rankings.
All signs point to another monster game on the glass for Kanter.
Gerald Henderson ($5,500) at Utah Jazz
The Charlotte Hornets have two stat-sheet stuffers in Gerald Henderson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. I've had success with both in my lineup almost every night in which the Hornets play.
Usually, I decide which one to take based on how tough their defensive assignment figures to be. MKG will likely draw the Utah Jazz's Gordon Heyward, thus he figures to have the toughest job on defense.
Henderson's improved outside shot is another reason to look his way. The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell couldn't have said more with such a short tweet:
Henderson has been able to maintain his three-point percentage above 30 percent in his last three seasons after beginning his career as a woeful shooter from downtown. He's averaging 18.5 points in his last two games and is worth the very affordable $5,500 salary slot.
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