Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: NBA DraftKings Studs and Duds for March 25
The Los Angeles Clippers will be at Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks and that means DraftKings candy for the road team.
With the Clippers still jockeying for position in the Western Conference playoff race, the league's most underrated center DeAndre Jordan will put together a productive stat line. Over the last four games, opposing centers are averaging 20 points and 10.7 rebounds per game against the Knicks.
With New York's interior defense lacking and DeAndre the Giant leading the NBA in dunks with 210, the Clippers center seems sure to slam the Knicks in the Big Apple. Pay the $8,300 and let Jordan anchor your DK squad.
A little further north, the Chicago Bulls invade Canada to take on the Toronto Raptors in a crucial game within the Eastern Conference playoff race. Throughout the month of March, Nikola Mirotic has been the Bulls' most dangerous offensive weapon.
Mirotic is averaging 21.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in March in just 31 minutes per contest. He's been able to put up those numbers while not shooting well from three-point range. Through the month, Mirotic has only made 25 percent of his threes.
What Mirotic has done consistently is get to the free-throw line. Through the month he's shooting 7.8 free throws per game and making 83 percent of those attempts. On March 20, Mirotic hung a career-high 29 points and 11 rebounds on the Raps. As ESPN Stats and Info point out, Mirotic is doing it when it counts.
Even with Taj Gibson returning to the lineup, Mirotic has maintained his spot in the Bulls' rotation and role as the team's go-to scorer in the fourth quarter. Mirotic's DK salary is up to $7,300, but he is worth it. The 24-year-old rookie is a stud and should remain productive for the remainder of the regular season.
Here's a look at two more players you can build your lineups around on Wednesday.
More Studs
Russell Westbrook ($13,200) at San Antonio Spurs
Will Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder be playing the second half of a back-to-back? Yes. Does that matter to Westbrook? Absolutely not.
With no days rest, Westbrook is averaging 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game this season. He's one of the only players in the league that the opponent, location and situation seem to have little-to-no effect on his performance. Westbrook is going to produce above-average fantasy numbers almost every game.
It's just a matter of if DK fantasy owners are willing to pay the high cost to have the OKC dynamo in their lineup.
Anthony Davis ($11,200) vs. Houston Rockets
The New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis is nearly on Westbrook's level as an automatic fantasy stud. He certainly qualifies on Wednesday as the Pelicans host the Houston Rockets and their hobbled frontcourt.
Dwight Howard is expected back but will be played limited minutes, per Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. Terrence Jones is out for the Rockets, and that will make it even tougher for Houston to contain Davis.
In two games against the Rockets this season, Davis is averaging 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. The Unibrow is a can't-miss pick for a less crippling salary hit than Westbrook.
The Duds
Kevin Love ($6,900) at Memphis Grizzlies
Because of the amount of scoring the Cleveland Cavaliers have and Kevin Love's struggles to find himself in the offense on a nightly basis, he's tough to draft for just under $7,000.
Normally, stretch-4s would match up well against the Memphis Grizzlies' big frontcourt, but that wasn't the case for Love in the early-season meeting between the two teams.
He had just eight points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes of action. For his career, Love hasn't had his best games against Memphis. In 15 games, he's averaging 17 points and 10.4 rebounds, with all but one of those games coming while he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even for a T'Wolves team that was far less talented than the 2014-15 Cavs, Love's scoring average against Memphis is 20th when ranked with his numbers against the rest of the NBA. Even worse, his rebounding total against the Grizzlies is just his 27th-highest average against all NBA teams.
I'd go for another power forward in the same price range and leave Love out of my lineup on Wednesday.
Josh Smith ($6,000) at New Orleans Pelicans
With Howard returning to the lineup and Donatas Motiejunas playing decently in place of Jones, Josh Smith's minutes and production could see a slight decrease. He was a strong contributor over the last four games, but there's no way to know for sure whether Howard's return will mean a drastic or subtle minute reduction for Smith.
Even if Smith stays in the 20-30 minute range, he could find himself matched with Davis on Wednesday. That would present an issue for Smith on both ends of the floor. In the spirit of caution, it would be smarter to draft a player whose minutes are more predictable.
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