NBA

NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 2/5/16

John Wall looks to build off of his monster game against the Warriors Wednesday night with another big outing tonight against the lowly 76ers. Should you use him in DFS?

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.

Oh, and if you're interested, check out our daily fantasy basketball heat chart for today's slate. It's full of information like tonight's Vegas lines, team offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, pace, fantasy points against and so much more.

As for today's picks -- let's get to it.

The Best of the Best

DeMarcus Cousins (FD: $11,000, DK: $11,300) - Boogie didn't show any effects of his previously sprained ankle Wednesday night against the Bulls, pouring in 30 points to go along with 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in 37 minutes of action. He's averaging 31.4 points, 12.8 boards, 3.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks with a 38% Usage Rate over his last 16 games, and gets a great matchup tonight against a Nets' front court that has struggled to slow down opposing big men all season long. Cousins is our top overall projected player on the board.

LeBron James (FD: $10,200, DK: $9,600) - In the seven games since Tyronn Lue took over as head coach, James has averaged 24 points, 7.7 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game, scoring at least 20 points and dishing out at least 6 assists in every single one of those games. He should excel tonight in what is expected to be a very fast paced, high-scoring affair against a Celtics' squad that has allowed the 11th most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards on the season.

John Wall (FD: $9,900, DK: $9,700) - Coming off of a 41-point, 10-assist, 3-rebound, 2-steal explosion against the Warriors, Wall gets a much more favorable matchup against the 76ers tonight. Philadelphia has given up the sixth most points per game (105.4) in the league and rank 21st in Defensive Efficiency according to our metrics, not to mention they play at the sixth fastest pace in the league, which should bode extremely well for Wall who excels in up-tempo games. He should have his way with Ishmael Smith and his 108 Defensive Rating.

Top Mid-Range Values

Nikola Vucevic (FD: $7,900, DK: $7,300) - Vucevic has seen a significant increase in playing time as of late, averaging 35 minutes per game over his last 12 outings and recording nine double-doubles over that span. Tonight, he gets an excellent matchup against the Clippers who have allowed the seventh most fantasy points per game this season and should be in primer position to add another double-double to that total.

Nikola Jokic (FD: $6,200, DK: $5,900) - Jokic has been outstanding when given the opportunity this season, averaging 17.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and a block on a per-36 minute basis. He's seen at least 25 minutes in each of his last four games -- posting 16.5 points, 10.3 boards and 3.3 assists with three double-doubles over that span -- and should push for 30-plus minutes tonight in a tremendous matchup against a short-handed Bulls' front court that has given up the fifth most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the season.

Aaron Gordon (FD: $5,000, DK: $5,600) - Similarly to Jokic, Gordon has been spectacular on a per-36 minute basis this season, averaging 13.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per-36 minutes. He's averaged 31.8 minutes per game over his last five, yet still can still be had for a very reasonable price across the industry. Gordon should have little trouble reaching value tonight against a Los Angeles squad who remain without Blake Griffin.

Basement Ballers

Tristan Thompson (FD: $4,600, DK: $5,200) - Coach Lue has made it very clear that he wants to give Thompson more playing time and it has shown on the stat sheet, as Thompson has averaged 33.8 minutes per game over his last six outings, a full 5.8 minutes above his season average. He draws a strong matchup against a Celtics' front court that has given up the sixth most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards and the 12th most to opposing centers while ranking just 20th in rebounding differential (-1.5) on the year.

E'Twaun Moore (FD: $4,000, DK: $4,200) - Moore is coming off of one of the best performances of his career, scoring 24 points with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes of action on Wednesday against the Kings. He has seen an average of 32.8 minutes per game over his last four, and should see more than 30 minutes of action once again tonight in another terrific matchup against a Nuggets' defense that has given up the third most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards this season.

Wayne Ellington (FD: $3,900, DK: $4,100) - With Rondae Hollis-Jefferson still sidelined, Ellington will once again draw the start and should see a huge workload. He gets the pleasure of facing off against a Kings' squad that has allowed the second most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards and were just destroyed by the aforementioned Moore.