Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: NBA DFS DraftKings Optimal Rankings for Dec. 30
Let's play a little High, Medium and Low with Wednesday's NBA DraftKings schedule. We'll look at each position—excluding the utility spot and generic guard and forward slots—and we'll tab the most valuable high, medium and low-cost players available.
Let's define high as $7,500 or more, and we'll call low less than $6,000. Obviously, medium will be anything between $6,100 and $7,400. For each position, we'll offer a projected fantasy point total for Wednesday. A closer analysis at one player per position is included in the text below.
Point Guards
| Rajon Rondo | $8,400 | Philadelphia | 50 |
| Jarret Jack | $6,500 | Orlando | 35 |
| Derrick Rose | $5,900 | Indiana | 44 |
Derrick Rose ($5,900)
The Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose has seemingly found his confidence and aggression over the last three games. During that span, Rose is averaging 21.3 points per game. More importantly, he's shooting 48 percent from the field, per Basketball Reference.
His assist numbers aren't quite there, but right now he looks like a lock for 20 points per night. For less than $6,000 in DraftKings salary, that will almost certainly pay dividends. There's even a chance Rose goes off for an even bigger game against the Pacers at home.
Back on November 16, Rose had his third-best fantasy performance of the season against Indiana. On the strength of 23 points, six assists and two steals, Rose put up 41.5 fantasy points. That game took place in Chicago, where Rose is averaging 5.5 more fantasy points more than he is on the road.
Rose and the Bulls will again host the Pacers on Wednesday, and a big game is on the horizon for the former league MVP.
Shooting Guards
| C.J. McCollum | $7,700 | Denver | 50 |
| Kobe Bryant | $6,100 | Boston | 37 |
| Devin Booker | $3,900 | San Antonio | 30 |
C.J. McCollum ($7,700)
With Damian Lillard still out or potentially limited for Wednesday's game against the Denver Nuggets, per Casey Holdahl of PortlandTrailBlazers.com, the team will probably still be leaning heavily on C.J. McCollum as its primary scorer. He's been up to the task, but he's done much more than just score of late.
In his last game on Sunday, the third-year guard went nuts on the Sacramento Kings in a 98-94 Blazers' road victory. McCollum just missed a triple-double as he scored 35 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, dished nine assists and had four steals, per Basketball Reference.
The fantasy result was a paltry: 74.3 points. Because the Blazers also have a road game on Thursday against the Utah Jazz, it stands to reason the team could hold Lillard out again. In that case, McCollum should be in position to shine against a team that allows 103.9 points per game, per ESPN.com.
Denver also played the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night at home, thus the Blazers are catching them on the end of back-to-back games.
Even if Lillard plays, McCollum won't be in that much of a diminished role. McCollum has been a major part of the team's offense all season. He is a good bet to be a solid fantasy producer.
Small Forwards
| Kawhi Leonard | $8,600 | Phoenix | 46 |
| Omri Casspi | $6,200 | Philadelphia | 39 |
| Tony Snell | $3,600 | Indiana | 29 |
Tony Snell ($3,600)
There's good reason to believe Tony Snell will get significant playing time on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. He's coming off his best game of the season on Monday against the Toronto Raptors.
Snell scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He sank four threes and scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter, per Basketball Reference. The performance rendered 36.3 fantasy points.
After a game like that, head coach Fred Hoiberg shouldn't hesitate to put Snell in the game either as a starter or perhaps the first man off the bench at small forward.
Another reason Snell could see some increased burn is because he may be in the midst of a showcase for an interested trade suitor. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical said in his podcast (one-hour mark) that "executives around the league and people have told him the Bulls are determined to add a talented wing player."
That need was created because of Snell's less-than-impressive play early in the season. The Bulls may be interested in moving Snell along with some of their frontcourt players to gain that asset. Whether that's true or not, Snell's confidence should be at an all-time high after such a strong game.
With Rose attacking and Jimmy Butler's ability to drive and create, Snell should see opportunities to shoot it from three. He's making 42 percent of his shots from beyond the arc this season. Chicago is at home against the Pacers as well, and Snell has averaged 4.4 more fantasy points in the United Center than he has on the road.
Role players almost always play their best at home.
Power Forwards
| Draymond Green | $9,300 | Dallas | 49 |
| Thaddeus Young | $7,200 | Orlando | 39 |
| Bobby Portis | $3,700 | Indiana | 25 |
Draymond Green
An appropriate nickname for the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green would be Old Reliable. The do-it-all star for the defending champions is one of the most consistent fantasy performers in the NBA. So far during the 2015-16 season, Green has had under 30 fantasy points just six times, per Basketball Reference.
He's had 40 or more 17 times. Occasionally, he'll go off for a monster performance. He's had four games with 60 or more fantasy points.
On Wednesday, Green and the Warriors travel to Big D to take on the Dallas Mavericks for the first time this season. The Mavericks have been playing well of late; they are on a three-game win streak. There's a decent chance Dallas could hand Golden State its second loss. Win or lose, Green has proved he will stuff the stat sheet and deliver for DK players.
Centers
| DeAndre Jordan | $7,500 | Charlotte | 46 |
| Marcin Gortat | $7,100 | Toronto | 38 |
| Kelly Olynyk | $5,200 | L.A. Lakers | 29 |
DeAndre Jordan ($7,500)
The Los Angeles Clippers' DeAndre Jordan has six double-doubles in his last 10 games, per Basketball Reference. During that span of games, Jordan has produced less than 30 fantasy points just once.
On Wednesday, Jordan and the Clippers will be on the road against the Charlotte Hornets. With Al Jefferson still seemingly getting acclimated since his return to the court, the Hornets are a bit thin on the inside.
As a team, the Hornets aren't a bad rebounding bunch, but Jordan is among the elite individual rebounders in the league. He trails only the Detroit Pistons' Andre Drummond for the league lead, per ESPN.com. Of all the higher-priced centers in action on Wednesday, Jordan is in the best position to produce a double-double.
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All DraftKings salaries per official website.
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