Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: NBA DraftKings Rankings, Picks for March 31
It's a four-game slate Tuesday night, including a TNT doubleheader. At 5 p.m. ET, San Antonio travels to Miami for a finals rematch. Then at 7:30, the Warriors play the Clippers at Staples.
Unfortunately, there'll be no Chris Bosh or LeBron James suiting up for the Heat, and the Warriors will be cautious about playing their stars for extended minutes. But Heat/Spurs and Dubs/Clips have grown into two of the most fun rivalries in today's NBA.
Point Guard
1. Chris Paul ($9,600) vs. Warriors
2. Shelvin Mack ($3,300) at Pistons
3. Reggie Jackson ($8,700) vs. Hawks
4. Tony Parker ($5,900) at Heat
5. Steph Curry ($9,300) at Clippers
I know, weird place to start, considering the immense star power between CP3 and Steph in the nightcap. But Dennis Schroder injured his toe in last night's win over the Bucks, and the Hawks are playing in the second game of a back-to-back.
Atlanta can gain nothing because they've already clinched everything—playoff spot, division and conference. And Jeff Teague had to log extra minutes because his German backup got hurt last night.
Mack is a competent backup (and an excellent third-string point guard) who averages 12.7 points, 6.7 assists, 3.1 boards and nearly two made threes per 36 minutes, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
If he plays 20 minutes Tuesday (a conservative estimate), he'll exceed value.
Shooting Guard
1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($5,900) vs. Hawks
2. Kent Bazemore ($4,200) at Pistons
3. Danny Green ($5,800) at Heat
4. Klay Thompson ($7,100) at Clippers
5. J.J. Redick ($6,500) vs. Warriors
Caldwell-Pope, or "KCP" as he's been so affectionately referred to throughout his young NBA career, is on a mini tear for the Pistons.
*Side note: The nicknames in the NBA are getting really lame. We can do so much more with this (relatively) unique name. Why not refer to him as "the Former Cardinal," "Ken'trey'vious," or my personal favorite because I'm a huge Parks and Rec fan, "Councilman Pope?"
Before last game's mini-regression against the plodding Heat, according to DraftKings, Councilman Pope averaged just shy of 32 fantasy points per game over a six game stretch. The Pistons are playing an undermanned and mostly uninspired Hawks team on the second night of a back-to-back.
Small Forward
1. C.J. Miles ($5,200) at Nets
2. Matt Barnes ($5,200) vs. Warriors
3. Kawhi Leonard ($8,100) at Heat
4. Andre Iguodala ($4,600) at Clippers
It's not a great night to spend up for small forwards. Kawhi plays the Heat, and Iggy and Harrison Barnes have been sharing minutes pretty evenly; that's why C.J. Miles took the top spot at the position.
According to DraftKings, Miles is averaging over 31 minutes and 25.6 fantasy points per game in his last 10 games. Per RotoGrinders, Brooklyn allowed the ninth-most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards over the past three weeks.
Power Forward
1. Blake Griffin ($8,600) vs. Warriors
2. David Lee ($3,800) at Clippers
3. Marreese Speights ($3,300) at Clippers
4. David West ($5,400) at Nets
Draymond Green announced that he wasn't going to play Tuesday for a very unique reason, according to the Bay Area News Group's Diamond Leung: "Blake-itis."
If Green is ruled out, David Lee is a must-start and Mo Speights is a potential utility play. Both see a massive uptick in minutes when Green sits, and both have immense offensive talent.
Lee, believe it or not, is the Warriors' highest-paid player. He built a reputation for years as a guaranteed double-double every night. Unfortunately, another reputation sunk Lee—that of his terrible team defense.
In last year's Sloan Conference, Lee's defense, or lack thereof, was famously mocked. Fortunately for DFS players, Lee can still be a great start even if he misses a couple defensive assignments. Plus Blake should have a field day against the apathetic conference champions.
Center
1. Andre Drummond ($8,900) vs. Hawks
2. Andrew Bogut ($4,700) at Clippers
3. Brook Lopez ($7,800) vs. Pacers
4. Tiago Splitter ($4,500) at Heat
5. DeAndre Jordan ($8,400) vs. Warriors
Drummond is pricey. His cost has skyrocketed since Greg Monroe went down with an injury on March 14. That's mostly due to his increase in minutes, points and rebounds. Check out Drummond's splits with and without Monroe in the lineup.
Drummond will be faded Tuesday by most DFS players because of Atlanta's top ranked defense against opposing centers, but I expect him to have a huge night against (mostly) backup frontcourt players.
