NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 2/10/16
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
Stephen Curry (FD: 10,800, DK: $11,000) - Curry currently has a strangle hold on the MVP race, leading the league in scoring at 29.9 points per game and sitting atop our player power rankings with a 26.2 nERD. Tonight, he draws an outstanding matchup against a Suns' defense that ranks 28th in the league in Defensive Efficiency according to our metrics and has given up the second most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards on the year. He makes a strong play in all formats despite a potential blowout.
DeMarcus Cousins (FD: 10,600, DK: $11,100) - Cousins comes into tonight as hot as any player in the league, averaging 30.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game in 19 games since the calendar flipped to 2016. Boogie also leads the league with a 35.5% Usage Rate, and should see another massive workload tonight against a 76ers front court that has given up the third most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the year. He is our top overall projected player on the board.
DeAndre Jordan (FD: 8,500, DK: $7,900) - In 20 games without Blake Griffin this season, Jordan has posted 13.4 points with 15.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.4 assists in 35.3 minutes per game. He has grabbed at least 11 rebounds in nine straight games, and gets the pleasure of facing off against a Celtics' front court that ranks 20th in the NBA in rebounding differential (-0.9) and has struggled to slow down opposing big men all season long.
Top Mid-Range Values
Al Horford (FD: $7,300, DK: $6,600) - Horford comes into tonight red hot, averaging 19.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.3 blocks in 36 minutes per game over his last three outings. Meanwhile, Chicago, who has allowed the fourth most fantasy points per game to opposing centers when healthy, will be without two of their best defensive players in Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah once again tonight. Hereford should have little trouble taking advantage of his plus matchup against the short-handed Bulls.
Nicolas Batum (FD: $7,000, DK: $7,300) - Batum has been virtually unstoppable as of late, filling up the stat sheet with 19 points, 8.8 boards and 7.3 boards in 39.3 minutes per game over his last four outings. He is coming off of two near triple-doubles while playing 44 minutes in each of his last two games and should see all the minutes he can handle once again tonight against Monta Ellis and his career 109 Defensive Rating.
Zach Randolph (FD: $6,300, DK: $6,500) - Marc Gasol is out indefinitely due to a broken foot, which means the Grizzlies will likely play a lot of small ball with Randolph as the starting center for the foreseeable future. Z-Bo is averaging 17.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists on a per-36 minute basis and should see minutes in the mid-30s tonight against a Brooklyn squad that has allowed the fifth most fantasy points per game to opposing centers this season.
Basement Ballers
Matt Barnes (FD: $5,000, DK: $4,800) - With Gasol out and Randolph sliding over to center, Barnes will see a lot of action both at small forward and power forward moving forward. He's posted 12.2 points, 7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and a block per 36 minutes this season, and will likely see minutes in the 30s in a plus matchup against a Nets' team that ranks just 27th in the league in Defensive Efficiency.
Gary Harris (FD: $4,600, DK: $4,300) - Harris has seen a ton of playing time for the banged-up Nuggets lately, playing at least 35 minutes in each of his last four games and 40-plus minutes in three of those games. Although a matchup with Detroit is less-than-ideal, Harris will more-than-likely see minutes in the upper-30s once again, and any player seeing that much playing time is hard to ignore at less than $5,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings.
Anthony Tolliver (FD: $3,600, DK: $3,200) - With Ersan Ilyasova doubtful for tonight's matchup with the Nuggets, Tolliver could be in store for his second 30-plus minute workload in his last three games. He gets a great matchup against a Denver defense that has allowed the seventh most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards on the year and is near minimum salary across the industry.
