Last night’s lineup was middle of the road, sabotaged by Kobe’s surprise attempt to play. While he only lasted 12 minutes in the contest it was Steve Blake, not Jodie Meeks, who benefitted from Kobe’s short night. Blake scored a tremendous 42 against the Pacers. Anthony Davis had a brilliant start but got into early foul trouble and rode the bench for most the game. Korver and DeRozan were largely ineffective.
After publication I caught word of Kobe’s return and reconfigured my lineup to add Gerald Henderson and Lance Stephenson instead of DeRozan and Korver and was able to win money in a tournament for the first time, plus I placed first in a Double-Up with a lineup that produced 311 points. If only I had used that lineup in a tourney instead I would be a much happier man this morning. Building on that small success I am once again gong to try a more balance lineup rather than stacking superstars and resorting to the hope they mesh with high risk bargain picks.
Here are tonights picks for FanDuel:
Indiana Pacers point guard George Hill (3) is pressured by Miami Heat point guard Mario Chalmers (15) during the first half at American Airlines Arena.Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
PG: John Wall $7900: One of the best lineup picks I made last night. Wall has been putting up 40+ the last few games without Beal in the lineup. He faces a Suns squad that is rather soft so there is no reason to think he can’t do it again. Unfortunately his price went up a bit due to his recent surge but he is still worth the cost.
PG: George Hill $5900: Hill had an excellent game against the Lakers last night. He really turned it on in the second half in what turned out to be a losing effort. Here he will be seeking revenge against a Sixers squad that has been mired in misfortune and slumps all year.
SG: Gerald Henderson $6300: Due to limited number of games tonight the SG crop is particularly weak. Henderson is the top option here. Henderson is really taking hold as the number two scoring option after Kemba Walker, as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is still experiencing growing pains during his rookie campaign and Charlotte’s big men are terrible. Henderson should get plenty of looks tonight and should produce.
SG: Wesley Matthews $5500: Matthews faces a Detroit squad that has been relatively weak against SG all year. Matthews effectiveness depends on if his ability to hit three pointers, but more often than not he will produce a good amount of points.
SF: Paul George $8300: George is relatively affordable at this salary and fits in a lineup where you don’t have to take to many cheap options to make it under the cap. He should be able to dominate the Sixers squad tonight despite them being pretty decent against SF in the past 10 games.
SF: Paul Pierce $7600: Pierce is among the most solid options at SF due to the matchup against the Bobcats. Look for him to have a performance that could equal 40 fdp or more.
PF: Josh McRoberts $3700: McRoberts has emerged as an enticingly cheap fantasy option with solid performances in his two previous games. One came against the same Celtics squad he is facing again tonight.
PF: Tim Duncan $8200: The Cavs are absolutely pathetic against bigs and Duncan is one of the best and most efficient. Duncan is averaging a surprising 2.62 blocks per game, something that can add nice points to his fdp total given his natural ability to score.
C: Roy Hibbert $6500: Hibbert had a limited night yesterday due to foul trouble but he is capable of putting up big numbers. Spencer Hawes most likely will not be able to control him in the paint. Expect big things out of Hibbert in this game.
Total Daily Fantasy NBA Salaries: $59,900
