NBA

NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 11/30/15

Kawhi Leonard has played at an MVP level early this season, and he should stay hot tonight against the Bulls.

If you've never played daily fantasy basketball before, it's time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you're able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every NBA night.

Today's lineups can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the night completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until tip-off, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.

Let's get to it.

The Best of the Best

Kawhi Leonard - If not for the existence of Stephen Curry, Leonard would likely be considered the early season favorite for the MVP award. The young Spurs' star is averaging 22 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game with a 25.6% Usage Rate. He has contributed the third most Win Shares in the league so far this season (3.3), and ranks second in our player power rankings with a whopping 20.4 nERD, ranking only behind the aforementioned Curry. Leonard's ability to fill up the stat sheet keeps his floor high and his matchup against a Bulls' defense that has given up the seventh most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards this season gives him tremendous upside tonight. While his price tag has increased over the past few games, Leonard is still very much in play tonight at just $9,100 on FanDuel and $8,600 on DraftKings.

Blake Griffin - Griffin has been outstanding to open up the 2015-16 season, averaging a career-best 25.1 points to go along with 8.5 boards and 4.7 assists per game. He leads the league in field goal attempts (304) by a wide margin, ranks ninth in the league in Usage Rate (30.7%) and currently sits fourth in the NBA Player Efficiency Rating (28.6). Tonight, the Clippers' star draws a plus matchup against a Portland squad that ranks 20th in the league in Defensive Rating (105.3) and has allowed the third most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards over their last seven games. Griffin makes an elite play in all formats tonight.

Top Mid-Range Values

Deron Williams - Coach Rick Carlisle removed his early season minutes restriction from Williams two weeks ago and the Mavericks' point guard has been on fire since. Over his last eight outings, Williams is averaging 15.3 points, 5.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game with a Usage Rate of just under 20% over that span. He draws an outstanding matchup against Rajon Rondo and his terrible 107 Defensive Rating in what Vegas expects to be the highest scoring game on tonight's slate with a massive 214 over/under. Williams is dollar for dollar one of my favorite plays on the board tonight at just $6,500 on FanDuel and $6,100 on DraftKings.

Zaza Pachulia - As I have mentioned time and time again in this column, the Kings are one of my favorite teams to target in daily fantasy. The rank 27th in the league in Defensive Rating (108.7), have allowed the most points per game to opposing teams in the league (109.1) and play at the second fastest pace in the NBA. As I discussed earlier, their game against the Mavericks is expected to be a fast-paced shootout. With that in mind, nearly all Mavericks' starters are in play and, outside of the point guard Williams, Pachulia is my favorite. The Mavericks' veteran center is averaging 10.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this season. He has logged double-doubles in five of his last six games and gets a the pleasure of facing off against a Kings' front court that has allowed the sixth most fantasy points per game to opposing centers this season and may be without their star big man DeMarcus Cousins. Do not hesitate to plug the Mavs' big man into your lineup in all formats tonight.

Basement Ballers

Jerryd Bayless - Bayless replaced Michael Carter-Williams in the starting lineup last game and scored 11 points to go along with 6 boards and 6 dimes in an absurd 43 minutes of action. He has played very well when on the floor all season long, averaging 13.8 points, 4.2 assists 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals on a per-36 minute basis this year and will likely see minutes in the upper-30s once again tonight, assuming he draws another start. He gets a great matchup against rookie Emmanuel Mudiay and a Nuggets' squad that has allowed the ninth most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards over their last seven outings and should have little trouble reaching value at just $4,500 on FanDuel and $4,900 on DraftKings.

Gerald Green - Luol Deng has already been ruled out for tonight's game against the Celtics, which means Green will draw his third consecutive start for Miami tonight. The Heat swingman has been impressive in his two other starts this season, averaging 20.5 points with 3.5 boards in 32.4 minutes per game. He draws a strong matchup against a Celtics defense that has allowed the sixth most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards this season -- including third most over their last seven -- and should see more than enough playing time to eclipse value at his low price of $4,000 on DraftKings and $3,700 on FanDuel.