FantasyScore Daily Fantasy Basketball Primer: Monday 4/13/15
With only three days left in the regular season, why not give daily fantasy basketball a try before the playoffs start? More specifically, why not play over at FantasyScore.com?
FantasyScore has tons of games to choose from -- including regular freerolls going on now -- and compete in for real cash prizes. And the best part is that you have zero season-long commitments -- you can draft a new team tomorrow if you want.
With a huge, 12-game slate tonight in the NBA, it's a perfect time to try it out. And to help you, we're giving out our FantasyScore optimized lineup, which you can find below.
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Davis | F | 51.63 | 9400.00 | 5.49 |
| James Harden | G | 47.58 | 9300.00 | 5.12 |
| Blake Griffin | F | 47.35 | 8800.00 | 5.38 |
| Hassan Whiteside | C | 42.73 | 7000.00 | 6.1 |
| Ishmael Smith | G | 32.33 | 5000.00 | 6.47 |
| Danilo Gallinari | F | 28.73 | 4500.00 | 6.38 |
| Omri Casspi | F | 27.8 | 3800.00 | 7.32 |
| C.J. McCollum | G | 24.35 | 2200.00 | 11.07 |
With the playoffs right around the corner, there's a distinct line drawn between those teams who are battling for playoff position and those who no longer have anything to play for in the regular season, both of which can lead to excellent value in daily fantasy. All three of the Pelicans, Rockets and Clippers have important games with playoff indications tonight, which means they will likely rely heavily on their superstars to carry them to a big win tonight. With this in mind, our algorithms recommend you play one All-Star from each of those three teams tonight -- Anthony Davis, James Harden and Blake Griffin.
Davis has been one of the best players in fantasy basketball all season long. He has averaged 24.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and a league-leading 2.9 blocks per game this season and currently ranks third in our player power rankings with a 18.9 nERD. The Brow draws an elite matchup against a Timberwolves squad who has allowed the seventh most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards this season in a must-win game for New Orleans. Look for the Pelicans' star to see a massive workload tonight and to dominate Minnesota on both ends of the floor en route to a monster fantasy outing tonight.
Unlike the Pelicans, the Rockets are already locked into a playoff spot. That said, they are still fighting for the second seed in the Western Conference and would love to guarantee home-court advantage until the Western Conference Finals. As usual, this means they will be forced to lean heavily on Harden, especially considering Dwight Howard will be taking the night off. The Beard is on the short list for the MVP award this season after averaging 27.5 points, 6.9 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game this season and is one of the only two players who ranks higher than the aforementioned Davis on our player power rankings -- Harden ranks second with a 19.2 nERD. The Rockets' star has amassed a massive 31.3% usage rate this season and should be the focal point of Houston's offense once again tonight. Harden makes an excellent play in all formats.
After missing 15 games following elbow surgery, Griffin has been back for several weeks and has looked as good as ever. In his 14 games since his return, the Clippers' big man is averaging 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while posting a whopping 30.1% usage rate. Tonight, Griffin gets the pleasure of facing off with a Nuggets team who has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards in what is expected to be the highest scoring game on tonight's slate with a massive over/under of 218. Considering his price is still relatively diminished at $8,800 following his injury, Griffin is dollar for dollar my favorite play on the board tonight.
As I mentioned early, those teams who have already been eliminated from playoff contention can still provide plenty of DFS value. Omri Casspi and Ishmael Smith are perfect examples.
With Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins both shut down for the remainder of the season, Casspi has become the go-to-guy for the Kings offensively. Over his last seven games, Casspi has posted 19 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 33.7 minutes per game and is coming off of a 22-point, 7-assist, 7-rebound outing against Denver. The Kings' forward will likely see minutes in the mid-30s again tonight and should have little trouble reaching value against the lowly Lakers.
Despite playing for one of the league's worst teams, the veteran guard Smith has played very well as of late. In 13 starts for the 76ers this season, Smith has averaged 14.5 points, 6.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game, and has picked up an even heavier workload since Isaiah Canaan was lost for the season. He draws a great matchup against former Sixer Michael Carter-Williams and should see all the minutes he can handle tonight. Smith makes a very solid play tonight given his $5,000 price tag.
