Fantasy Basketball: My DFS Plays for Wednesday January 25th
Hey All!
With the NFL season pretty much over, I haven’t been focusing on fantasy football at all, and have turned my attention to daily fantasy basketball on DraftKings. Wanted to try and keep writing while applying for jobs, and figured writing about my picks a couple times a week would help that greatly. Anyway, I modeled this piece off of what ESPN fantasy will release occasionally for daily players. I picked nine or ten players at each position that I liked, and broke them up into categories based on their cost to add them to your lineup. I’m making my lineup from a mix of these players that I really like, and I won’t tell you my exact lineup for various reasons.
Anyway I hope you all are doing well and I hope you enjoy this DFS article!
Point Guards
Stars Plays:
Russell Westbrook @ NO $12,800: The Triple-Double Machine looks to have a great matchup against the Pelicans, who rank in the bottom third of the league defensively against point guards. You can’t go wrong with investing in Brodie.
Isaiah Thomas vs HOU $9,300: Even with a tougher than usual matchup against Patrick Beverley, Thomas has been playing at as close to an MVP level as you can get while not being named Westbrook or Harden. This game has the highest over-under of the day, and Thomas has scored over forty-six fantasy points for the last five games, so look for Thomas to perform well.
Damian Lillard vs LAL $8,600: Dame is a good option this week as the Lakers are the third worst in defending point guards and DeAngelo Russell won’t be playing. Dame has scored forty plus fantasy points in both games against the Lakers this season, so he is a very safe bet to meet this level of production again.
Stephen Curry @ CHA $8,500: Even in the midst of a tough road trip, Curry will be returning to his hometown of Charlotte, where he always plays big. I have this list of star point guards in order of who I would pay for, so I’d go Dame over Steph today.
Kyrie Irving vs SAC $8,200: Irving has been on a scoring tear lately, and he gets another good matchup against the Kings, who he scored twenty-six points against a couple weeks ago. Look for him to continue this hot scoring stretch.
Solid Plays:
Goran Dragic @ BKN $7,300: Dragic is a great value play today as he faces the Brooklyn Nets, who rank dead last in defending the point.
Mike Conley vs TOR $7,200: Conley gets a good matchup against Toronto who is coming off a back to back and ranks in the bottom half of the league in defending the point guard.
Cheap Plays:
Jordan Clarkson @ POR $4,900: With Russell out, Clarkson should be in line for a lot of minutes and the Blazers allow a lot of points. This game is the second highest over-under of the day, so look for cheap plays in this matchup.
Cory Joseph @ MEM $3,900: Cory Jo isn’t as great as an option as Clarkson is, but he has a very low price and with DeRozan out, the former Spur should be in line for twenty-five minutes, and he looked good last night against the Spurs.
Shooting Guards
Star Plays:
James Harden @ BOS $12,300: I like Harden better than Westbrook in a game where there will be a ton of scoring and shots on both sides. Pay up for Harden if you can.
Jimmy Butler vs ATL $9,100: Butler hasn’t been as aggressive shooting the ball lately, but since all of the game for Chicago flows through Butler and Wade, Butler has sustained a very consistent production level.
C.J. McCollum vs LAL $7,800: Like his backcourt partner, McCollum has also been very good against the Lakers this year. The Blazers rank in the bottom half of the league in defending guards, and I actually like McCollum a bit more because he has a lower price tag and will likely be matched up against the smaller Lou Williams.
Solid Plays:
Nicolas Batum vs GS $7,400: Batum should be in line for a strong outing against the Warriors, who typically use Klay Thompson to guard the point and Steph to guard the shooting guard, which presents Batum with the easier matchup.
Lou Williams @ POR $5,800: Lou Will has been putting up points in bunches for the Lakers, and with Russell sidelined, Williams should be in line for a strong workload against the Blazers who allow a lot of fantasy points to opposing guards.
Eric Gordon @ BOS $5,300: Gordon has been kind of inconsistent lately, but this has dropped his price tag. This game has the highest over-under in the slate, so this is a cheap price for a player who can very easily drop twenty plus.
Cheap Plays:
Iman Shumpert vs SAC $4,000: Shump gets starters minutes and is an often recipient of open shots with the defense focusing on Lebron, Kyrie, and Love.
Norman Powell @ MEM $3,600: Powell played really well last night against the Spurs, and with Derozan out again today, Powell should be in line for a strong workload.
Small Forward
Star Plays:
Giannis Antetokounmpo vs PHI $10,600: The Greek Freak has scored forty or more fantasy points in each of his last seven games, and should have a very strong rebounding and assist night against the 76ers here at home.
Lebron James vs SAC $10,000: If you’re paying up for a high priced Small Forward tonight LeBron is your guy. The Cavs are really struggling and are looking desperate for wins. Bron dished out fifteen assists the last time these two teams played, so stack up on LeBron and other Cavalier players.
Kevin Durant @ CHA $9,400: Kevin Durant should be a solid play tonight as the Warriors look to bounce back after losing in Miami. The Hornets are in the bottom third in the league in defending the small forward, and this game has a high over-under, so look for KD to be a great option if LeBron is a little too much.
Solid Plays:
Carmelo Anthony @ DAL $7,300: Melo has been scoring with ease the last couple games, and now gets a good matchup with a banged up Dallas team who is the worst rebounding team in the league. Melo should be able to fill up the stat sheet sufficiently in this one while the Knicks are scrapping for wins at this point of the season.
Harrison Barnes vs NY $6,200: Barnes had an off day against the Lakers on Sunday but he’s scoring twenty points per game and is taking a lot of shots.
Jae Crowder vs HOU $5,600: Crowder should get a sufficient number of shots and rebounds in this game where scoring and shooting will be abundant.
Cheap Plays:
Terrence Ross @ MEM $4,500: Ross had a really hot second half against the Spurs yesterday, but know that he won’t put up much else on the stat sheet. Powell might be the safer bet.
Wayne Ellington @ BKN $3,900: Ellington is starting with Tyler Johnson out, and is getting a lot of shots up right now. If you need a cheap play, someone who should get up twelve to fifteen shots against the worst team in the league is not a bad option.
Power Forward
Star Plays:
Paul Millsap @ CHI $7,800: Millsap didn’t play much when the Hawks played Chicago last week, but since he has shot the ball much more and better. Look for Millsap to play his very typical game and be a sure bet at power forward.
Kevin Love vs SAC $7,800: I like Love more than Millsap tonight as Love will get a ton of shot attempts with Lebron driving and kicking a lot against Sacramento. The Kings are also the second worst rebounding team in the league.
Solid Plays:
Julius Randle @ POR $6,700: The Blazers rank the worst in the league against power forwards this season, so Randle should be a good pick to score and rebound tonight.
Ersan Ilyasova @ MIL $6,000: Ilyasova has consistently had thirteen to sixteen shot attempts per game and should help spread the floor against the Bucks.
Zach Randolph vs TOR $5,400: Zbo has been a force off the bench and the Raptors are still trying to figure out their rotation at power forward.
Cheap Plays:
Al-Farouq Aminu vs LAL $5,000: Aminu has scored thirty-three and thirty-eight fantasy points respectively in his last two games against the Lakers as he rebounded incredibly well, grabbing over ten boards in both games.
Ryan Anderson @ BOS $4,500: Anderson is a very cheap option in the highest over-under today who will get a good number of shot attempts and can help rebound for Houston.
Center
Star Plays:
DeMarcus Cousins @ CLE $10,800: Boogie almost got a triple double when he played Cleveland a week and a half ago, and he will be their main option in this game.
Anthony Davis vs OKC $10,400: The Brow expects to be active today against the thunder, and he should dominate the power forward matchup and score in bunches.
Hassan Whiteside @ BKN $7,900: I love Whiteside in this game because there will be a lot of missed shots in the game on both sides, and his matchup Brook Lopez doesn’t rebound well, so Whiteside could very well have a twenty-twenty game in this one.
Solid Plays:
Marc Gasol vs TOR $7,500: Gasol has been scoring super effectively and had put up forty plus fantasy points each of the last four games.
Al Horford vs HOU $6,800: Horford has been consistently taking twelve to fourteen shots per game and should have a ton of opportunities at rebounding tonight with the abundance of shots that will be thrown out.
Brook Lopez vs MIA $6,300: Even though Lopez hasn’t been rebounding well, he has been scoring a bunch and has a great matchup against the Heat who rank in the bottom third of the league in defending against bigs.
Cheap Plays:
Enes Kanter @ NO $5,400: Kanter has a good matchup against the Pelicans who rank in the bottom third in the league in defending centers. Kanter should continue to get a ton of shots in the paint and get a lot of rebounding opportunities.
Nerlens Noel @ MIL $4,300: Okafor has been ruled out for today’s game as well with Embiid also out, so Noel will have all the minutes and and should fill the stat sheet.
Clint Capela @ BOS $4,200: Capela’s minutes have been trending upward and Harrel’s have been trending downward. Capela has the size advantage over Horford, so he should get a lot of easy dunk opportunities and lots of rebounds.
