Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: NBA DFS DraftKings Rankings for November 4
Some may have believed that Russell Westbrook's ($10,500) torrid fantasy pace from last season couldn't continue with Kevin Durant returning to the Oklahoma City Thunder lineup. Through four games, Westbrook has been just as spectacular this season.
He's averaging a video game-like 30.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 9.3 assists and two steals per contest. How does that translate to DraftKings? The Thunder point guard is averaging 57.4 fantasy points per game (FPPG). The only player in the NBA averaging more is the Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry ($10,100) at 59.8.
Both men are in action on Wednesday night, but when ranking the top point guards to covet, I'm leaning toward Westbrook. Both the Thunder and the Warriors are facing undefeated teams at home. Golden State hosts Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers, while OKC welcomes in Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors.
I like Westbrook's matchup just a little bit more.
Lowry is a good defender, and he'll make Westbrook work on the other end as well, but the Raptors don't have an elite shot-blocker in the middle. While Toronto has held teams to just 39 percent shooting from the field, they haven't faced a player as adept at attacking the basket as Westbrook. I think he still gets his numbers on Wednesday, despite Toronto's perimeter defense.
The Clippers defense has held opponents to 40 percent shooting from the field, and the presence of center DeAndre Jordan could help to keep Curry on the outside. That's usually of no consequence to Curry and the Warriors, because he's such a deadly long-range bomber. However, because he's been shooting the ball so well through four games, you figure he has to cool off at some point.
ESPN.com's Chris Broussard likens Curry's run to that of another Bay Area legend:
On the season, he's made 49 percent of his threes and just under 60 percent of his shots overall. Curry will still play well against the Clippers, but it's more likely he comes back to Earth as a shooter than it is that Westbrook's overall game fails him against the Raptors.
Here's the rest of the top-five point guard rankings and a prediction of the five best performers at the other positions for Wednesday night's game.
| 1 | Russell Westbrook | Toronto | $10,500 |
| 2 | Stephen Curry | L.A. Clippers | $10,100 |
| 3 | Eric Bledsoe | Sacramento | $7,700 |
| 4 | John Wall | San Antonio | $9,300 |
| 5 | Kyle Lowry | Oklahoma City | $7,900 |
Naturally, you won't be able to grab all of the top players because of salary constraints, but the higher on the flagpole you can go, the better chance you have to win your respective DraftKings contest.
Shooting Guard
| 1 | Victor Oladipo | Houston | $7,700 |
| 2 | Brandon Knight | Sacramento | $6,700 |
| 3 | James Harden | Orlando | $10,000 |
| 4 | Bradley Beal | San Antonio | $6,300 |
| 5 | DeMar DeRozan | Oklahoma City | $7,400 |
James Harden ($10,000) is overpriced at this point. He has struggled mightily from the outside so far this season. He's shooting a dreadful 16 percent from three-point range and averaging 44.8 FPPG.
That's not a proper return on investment. Harden appears in my top five, but he's not the No. 1 guy. He and the Houston Rockets host the Orlando Magic, and the latter's Victor Oladipo is the best option at shooting guard on Wednesday.
At a salary of $7,700, he comes much cheaper than Harden, and he's been just as effective averaging 41.3 FPPG this season. Playing against one of the best shooting guards in the NBA will push Oladipo to rise to the occasion.
Small Forward
| 1 | LeBron James | New York | $9,900 |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | Toronto | $9,500 |
| 3 | Paul George | Boston | $8,000 |
| 4 | Kawhi Leonard | Brooklyn | $7,800 |
| 5 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Philadelphia | $6,900 |
There could be a hesitancy to tab LeBron James ($9,900) because of his salary and because the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing a New York Knicks team they could very well blow out. That logic makes sense, but Cleveland hasn't pulled away from teams the way we might expect so far this season.
They did have the blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the second game of the season, but they also beat the Philadelphia 76ers by just seven points on Monday. James played 33 minutes in that game and nearly had a triple-double with 22 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. That was good for 61.8 fantasy points.
Against the Knicks and friendly rival Carmelo Anthony, James figures to be his normal bullish self. Don't count on a disappointing fantasy performance from King James in this one.
Power Forward
| 1 | Blake Griffin | Golden State | $9,600 |
| 2 | Kevin Love | New York | $7,600 |
| 3 | Greg Monroe | Philadelphia | $8,100 |
| 4 | Paul Millsap | Brooklyn | $7,900 |
| 5 | Draymond Green | L.A. Clippers | $7,100 |
Blake Griffin ($9,600) has been up to the challenge whenever the Clippers have faced the Warriors in the past. For his career, Griffin has averaged 22.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game against the Clippers' division rivals, per Basketball Reference.
Don't think for a minute that those numbers were compiled against mediocre Warriors teams. That includes a line of 24 points, 9.3 rebounds and five assists in three games against the champions last season.
Because of his playmaking, I give Griffin the slight edge over the Cavs' Kevin Love ($7,600), but you may still think hard about drafting Cleveland's power forward because of the $2,000 salary difference. Ultimately, he could provide the most bang for your DK buck.
Center
| 1 | Rudy Gobert | Portland | $7,000 |
| 2 | Al Horford | Brooklyn | $7,400 |
| 3 | DeAndre Jordan | Golden State | $7,800 |
| 4 | Brook Lopez | Atlanta | $6,800 |
| 5 | Dwight Howard | Orlando | $6,900 |
Look out for the Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert ($7,000) as a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He anchors the league's best defense, cleaning the boards and swatting away shots in the process.
He has a very affordable DK salary, and the Jazz are facing a Portland Trail Blazers team that is among the worst offensive rebounding clubs in the NBA. Coming into Wednesday's game, the Blazers are averaging just eight offensive rebounds per game, per ESPN.com.
Because the Jazz are holding teams to a league-low 37 percent from the field and are giving up just 7.7 offensive rebounds per game, there should be plenty of caroms available for Gobert to retrieve.
He hasn't had fewer than 11 boards in any game this season. With the Sacramento Kings' DeMarcus Cousins out with an Achilles injury, per Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, there's no high-priced center to reach for, thus players in Gobert's price range are the best play at center in DraftKings contests.
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