NBA

NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 4/1/13

As the season winds down, young guns like Greg Smith are receiving more time.

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
Josh SmithF37.03$14,8002.50
Blake GriffinF36.33$13,7002.65
Greg MonroeC33.5$12,9002.60
Brandon JenningsG31.48$12,1002.60
Kyle LowryG27.78$10,5002.65
George HillG26.73$10,2002.62
Wesley MatthewsG24.03$9,1002.64
Jamal CrawfordG23.05$8,7002.65
Greg SmithC-F23.08$8,0002.89

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!

Learn More About Premium

The Best of the Best

Josh Smith - The reasons to start Josh Smith should be obvious. He is playing the Cleveland Cavaliers, after all, those poor souls who sit 27th in defensive rating, 29th in defensive effective field goal percentage (eFG%), and 25th in defensive rebound percentage. Less obvious, though, is Smith's extra value added for blocks: his 19th-best 4.0 percent block rate goes nicely against the team that has been blocked the second-most in the NBA.

Blake Griffin - The Pacers are an extremely tough team to play against: their league-best defensive rating and 25th-quickest pace are solid indicators of a down game. However, Griffin's cost has lowered almost across the board, not helped by a swollen left calf and no double-digit rebounds since St. Patty's Day. We expect a regression to the mean here soon; Griffin's 8.4 rebounds per game shows a potential bounce back soon. With few other top priced options, he's absolutely worth the risk for the potential high reward.

Nicolas Batum - The opposing Utah Jazz are locked in a tight playoff race, but somebody might want to tell Gordon Hayward: he sits with a high 110 defensive rating and has allowed opponents to shoot .525 eFG% against him this season. Especially with LaMarcus Aldridge out, Batum will be expected to pick up the scoring slack tonight. Given his 17 points against Utah just last Friday, he should be up for the challenge.

Top Mid-Range Values

Brandon Jennings - Well, I mean, Charlotte's .501 eFG% allowed to opposing point guards is actually the best defensive mark among any position on the floor. But that means holy cow, this defense is bad. With their dead-last defensive rating and effective field goal percentage, Jennings should be able to both get his own shot and dish out to others. Jennings' penchant for steals (117, 13th in the NBA) should be helpful too with Charlotte's fourth-highest offensive turnover rate.

George Hill - Hill supposedly has a hip strain, but it doesn't seem to have bothered him recently. With three straight games of at least 30 minutes played (and one of those being 38 minutes), I have no qualms about Hill's 34.7 projected minutes. Chris Paul does have an absurdly solid defensive rating and steal rate, but Hill's value comes with the assists as well. The Clippers have allowed at least their season average 1.03 points per possession in each of their last five games.

Greg Smith - Especially late in the season, you'll be able to find value with young players that are getting extended playing time with teams out of the playoff picture. Smith certainly falls in that category: he has received at least 25 minutes of playing time in each of his past three games while starting at power forward. Over that time, Smith has averaged 12 rebounds and 9.7 points per game. Against Orlando's 26th defensive rating and 23rd offensive rebound percentage, the opportunity to repeat those numbers will be there.