Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: DraftKings Optimum Lineup Picks for March 25
As standard fantasy basketball players put their entire season's work on the line this week, daily players can treat Wednesday like another day at the office.
Most head-to-head yearly leagues have kicked off the fantasy postseason, which means a few bad days and/or untimely injuries will sink months of success. Take it from someone who owns Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Ricky Rubio, Greg Monroe and Jamal Crawford in a dynasty.
Major hindrances in those formats, injuries instead generate opportunities in daily contests. Here are a couple of Wednesday's DraftKings recommendations for a full batch of 13 games.
Point Guard
| Chris Paul | at NYK | $9,900 | Jeff Teague | at ORL | $6,200 | |
| Elfrid Payton | vs. ATL | $7,700 | Zach LaVine | vs. LAL | $5,100 | |
| Ty Lawson | vs. PHI | $7,000 | Jeremy Lin | @ MIN | $4,800 |
A cheaper superstar alternative to Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul has averaged 58.3 DraftKings points over his past three bouts. He can't match Westbrook's insane triple-double output, but he has generated three straight 20-10 tallies.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, the $13,200 man is the only one better at balancing high doses of points and dishes.
Lob City is back in full throttle with a healthy Blake Griffin, so count on a strong outing at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, who own the Eastern Conference's worst defensive rating.
Keep a close eye on Ricky Rubio's status. An ankle injury has kept him out of action for the past week, and Zach LaVine has capitalized. Over those three games, the rookie averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Point guards make the Los Angeles Lakers look like the Monstars before stealing NBA players' talent. According to 82games.com, opposing point guards managed 25.1 points and 9.4 assists per game before Westbrook shredded them last night. If given the start, LaVine won't need Michael Jordan's secret stuff to soar.
Shooting Guard
| Eric Bledsoe | vs. SAC | $8,200 | Randy Foye | vs. PHI | $4,800 | |
| J.J. Redick | at NYK | $6,500 | Bojan Bogdanovic | at CHA | $4,000 | |
| Danny Green | vs. OKC | $5,800 | Ben McLemore | at PHO | $3,600 |
Both the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings play at a top-10 pace, and Sacramento possesses a bottom-five defense. Add in a questionable Brandon Knight, and it should be a big night for Eric Bledsoe.
He's pricey at $8,200, but the upside justifies the risk of Bledsoe falling short of value. Even so, Phoenix's top scorer has a high floor given the great matchup and his 12.8 shot attempts per game.
After missing Sunday's game with the flu, Randy Foye should return after partaking in Tuesday's practice. Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post provided the update on Twitter:
Ruining the Will Barton value bandwagon, Foye has emerged as Melvin Hunt's preferred shooting guard. In his last seven games, he posted 16.1 points and 3.4 three-pointers per game, receiving 30-plus minutes in each of the previous four tilts played.
Small Forward
| Kawhi Leonard | vs. OKC | $8,100 | Matt Barnes | at NYK | $4,900 | |
| Rudy Gay | at PHO | $7,700 | Wesley Johnson | at MIN | $4,200 | |
| Mike Dunleavy | at TOR | $4,200 | ||||
| Dorell Wright | at UTA | $3,500 | ||||
| Joe Ingles | vs. POR | $3,200 |
Upon returning last night, Rudy Gay is a top small forward choice against the Suns, who surrender the fourth-most DraftKings points to the position. Gay continues to light up the scoreboard in George Karl's offense, scoring 25.1 points per game in March.
Wesley Johnson is tough to trust, but he scored double-digit points in three consecutive games before settling for nine on Tuesday night. The Minnesota Timberwolves rank last in defensive rating and third-last in DraftKings points allowed to small forward, so he's worth a try while clocking regular minutes on a nightly basis.
For the same $4,200, Michael Dunleavy is even more of a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. He dropped 21 points on the Toronto Raptors on Friday, but he has since scored 11 in two games combined before heading to Canada for the rematch.
Power Forward
| Anthony Davis | vs. HOU | $11,200 | Ed Davis | at MIN | $4,700 | |
| Nerlens Noel | at DEN | $7,800 | Robert Covington | at DEN | $4,500 | |
| Paul Millsap | at ORL | $7,500 | Adreian Payne | vs. LAL | $3,900 | |
| Kenneth Faried | vs. PHI | $7,400 | Ryan Kelly | at MIN | $3,000 |
The Denver Nuggets allow 45.2 rebounds and a league-high 6.1 blocks per game, causing them to relinquish the most DraftKings points to power forwards. This all works directly in Nerlens Noels' favor in a matchup he's meant to conquer.
Staying in Denver, Kenneth Faried will also get his on the other end. Along with the Dallas Mavericks, the Philadelphia 76ers are one of two teams who allow more rebounds than Denver. Since the 76ers and Nuggets rate No. 4 and 6 in pace, respectively, something doesn't have to give on the glass.
Faried has become a scoring menace for Hunt, registering 15.5 points per game during March. Power forwards score 20.3 points per contest against the 76ers, per 82games.com, so a 15-10 evening is a tame projection for the Manimal.
Center
| DeMarcus Cousins | at PHO | $9,600 | Gorgui Dieng | vs. LAL | $6,400 | |
| Marc Gasol | vs. CLE | $7,500 | Jonas Valanciunas | vs. CHI | $5,600 | |
| Enes Kanter | at SA | $7,200 | Jusuf Nurkic | vs. PHI | $4,200 |
DeMarcus Cousins posts comparable season rates to non-Westbrook studs in action, but he costs less due to lingering calf concerns. Although Cousins will provide elite production, he's not a must-play with so many strong choices available.
Enes Kanter keeps dominating for the Oklahoma City Thunder. After stomping the Lakers for 25 points and 16 boards, he's averaging 21.6 points and 12.6 boards through his last eight games, all but one of which was a double-double.
For the second straight night, Jonas Valanciunas gets a great matchup in the Chicago Bulls after facing the Detroit Pistons. And Marc Gasol is always a steady play for around 35 DraftKings points.
Everyone else from the Denver-Philadelphia matchup has received love, so let's finish the rundown with Jusuf Nurkic. A daily darling during his resurgence, the rookie has lost steam with erratic, underwhelming results.
But for what it's worth, he delivered two solid efforts against the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, producing a combined 54.25 DraftKings points. An undersized opponent in Philadelphia makes him an intriguing upside gamble at $4,200.
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Advanced stats courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
