NBA

NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 4/15/13

With so many stars sitting, tonight's an excellent chance to exploit low-cost, high-opportunity players.

We know that people play all sorts of fantasy platforms, not just from from our friends at StarStreet but on other platforms such as DraftStreet, FanDuel, and Draft Kings as well. So once again, we have four optimized rosters, all for you, the numberFire reader. One is for free here; the others can be found in our Premium section.

As always, the full tables for today's action are available at our Daily Fantasy Projections page. Make sure to check it out to see where the best values are for your team.

StarStreet Optimized Roster

PlayerPositionProjected FPCostValue
Kevin DurantF45.93$18,0002.55
Russell WestbrookG40.5$15,7002.58
Tim DuncanF38.28$14,9002.57
David LeeF-C36.5$14,3002.55
Maurice HarklessF24.08$8,1002.97
Reggie EvansF24.43$8,0003.05
Chris CopelandG24.35$7,5003.25
John HensonF29.05$7,5003.87
Mike MillerF18.43$6,0003.07

Fan Duel, Draft Kings, and DraftStreet Optimized Rosters

For the optimal rosters for the other main players, be sure to check out our brand new Daily Fantasy Optimized Rosters for our Premium members. We know that you're killing it with our picks; maybe now you'll help us continue to help you win each night, every night.

Access to the optimal rosters is immediate, and you'll have it constantly updated for the latest injury news and updates from around the league. The best news of all? For new subscribers, you can use the promo code WELCOME and get it 50% off what was already the reduced price. Think of the savings!

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The Best of the Best

Kevin Durant - With Melo and LeBron both bench-ridden, Durant remains the lone Grade A option to take advantage of today. The Thunder still have the No. 1 overall seed to play for, after all, so expect no mercy against the Kings. Not that the Thunder would miss out on scoring anyway; the Kings sit No. 29 in both defensive rating and defensive rebound percentage and No. 27 in defensive effective field goal percentage (eFG%). This one's a piece of cake.

Tim Duncan - Scoring's easy like Sunday morning when you're facing David Lee: he has allowed opponents to shoot .541 eFG% against him at the center spot this season. Tim Duncan is the latest to have a chance to take advantage. He does have at least 17 points in each of his past five games, so you know he's on fire. If you do play him, though, watch out for any potential late-in-the-day rest from Coach Pops. Today is the second of a back-to-back set for the Spurs, and Duncan played 34 minutes in yesterday's game.

Jrue Holiday - Jose Calderon isn't exactly the most defensively-oriented player anyway, but with him out of the lineup, the Pistons may be even worse off. Will Holiday be guarded by Brandon Knight or Rodney Stuckey? I'd say it doesn't matter: the two both hold a 111 defensive rating, tied for the worst on the entire Pistons team. Many of the top-level guards aren't playing today (Wade, D-Will, Jennings), which makes Holiday even more attractive across the board.

Top Mid-Range Values

Chris Copeland - Chris Copeland has five 20 point games this season. Chris Copeland has at least a dozen points in each of the Knicks' past five games. Chris Copeland may very well be one of New York's top scoring options tonight with everybody and their brothers resting in preparation for the playoffs. Chris Copeland is facing the Bobcats and their dead-last defensive rating. Play Chris Copeland, please.

John Henson - His cost is low across the board because, well, he's John Henson. But with Larry Sanders out once again, he's John Henson Who Will Be Playing Around 30 Minutes, and that's good enough for me. Maybe he won't get the 25 rebounds that he snagged just a few games ago, but a double-double is well within his reach. Helping out matters is both Denver's No. 2 quickest pace and the fact that Block Master Kenneth Faried won't be playing against him tonight.

MarShon Brooks - Brooks isn't actually on any of our optimized rosters today, but it's my party, and I'll write about him if I want to. Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Gerald Wallace all may be out for tonight's game against the Wizards, and scoring has to come from somewhere. With Garrett Temple and Cartier Martin splitting time at SG for the Wizards, that scoring may just come from Brooks. He does have a 22.5 percent usage rate when he's on the floor, and in his one start this season, he scored 27 points in 39 minutes.