Monday night’s picks didn’t go as planned. Even though less than 25% of the teams in my tourneys had one of the high scoring surprises of the night (Jeff Green) I really never seemed to stand a chance. Dwayne Wade disappointed and ended up with less than his counterpart LBJ. Both Anthony Davis and Paul George had pedestrian stats and Kyle Korver was a wash. The lineup ended up with a middle of the road score. Not terrible but not anywhere near money.
Mar 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) brings the ball up the court during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight I am anticipating the GS-SA, HOU-UTA, and ATL-MIL games to be the contests to watch. I am, against better judgement, staying away from the Heat players as I think Cleveland, due to injuries, the Cavs just don’t have the talent to compete and will likely be blown out with the Heat stars resting most of the second half. $9900 for a 35 point LBJ performance is a safe pick but too costly on a night he may not play an entire game.
Here’s what I am gong with tonight in FanDuel contests:
PG: John Wall $7600: Wall faces off against the Suns squad he posted 38 fdp against a few games back. Wall has been really solid of late and the Wizards have bumped themselves from being the lowest scoring team in the NBA with their recent uptick in scoring. Wall has shaken off his injury rust by now and is playing incredibly well which should extend through tonight.
PG: Brandon Jennings $7700: Jennings, not Monta Ellis, has been the one most effected by the arrival of JJ Reddick via trade. However the impact is not that major and the Bucks backcourt is playing incredibly well, Ellis leading the way. Jennings is a very safe bet to net 30+ tonight against the Hawks.
SG: James Harden $9400: It was tough choice between Harden and Monta Ellis here. Monta has been spectacular but Harden is at home and has had some rest before this game. The hope is that Monta is out of gas after two high octane performances these past couple nights. Both players will put up great numbers tonight, but Harden should end up on top.
SG: Gordon Hayward $6100: Hayward has responded very well to starting and is one of the primary scorers for the Jazz as they look to spread out the scoring from just their bigs, which has seen Al Jefferson and Paul Milsap lose production and value. If the Jazz come to score tonight the Rockets are more than generous enough on D to give them an abundance of points. Gordon could post another 30 fdp night no problem.
SF: Maurice Harkless $4700: Harkless is the king of fast starts. This guy seems to be at 18 points by the end of the 1st quarter in recent games. Then, whether due to fouls, minutes, or the Magic getting blown out, he seems to tail off. The banged up Knicks, even with Carmelo’s return, shouldn’t be able to run away with this game, giving hope that Harkless can sustain four quarters worth of crazy hustle and good scoring.
SF: Kawhi Leonard $6000: Leonard had a brilliant game against the Cavs and ended the night with 48 fdp. He has been a major contributor since Tony Parker got injured and he faces a Warriors squad that is 29th against SF for the season.
PF: Tim Duncan $8300: I’m taking the Spurs two best options tonight because this game should be close and end with a high score. Duncan also crushed the Cavs with 50+ fdp and there is no worry he will be rested anytime soon because the Spurs need him even more with Parker out. They still have to play for playoff seeding and want to hold on to their top spot in the west.
PF: Josh McRoberts $4500: “McBob” is a fan duel favorite, a sudden solid contributor for the hapless Bobcats squad. His salary has risen a bit due to his recent stats, but at 4500 he still is a bargain if he can continue being around the 28-30 fdp range.
C: Andrew Bogut $5600: Bogut is back, sort of. The back-to-back games and minute restrictions have been lifted and he seems relatively healthy. The problem is with the abundance of scoring options the Warriors have, he hasn’t been able to find his slice of the pie and has had multiple nights of scoring under 10 points. However he makes up for the low scoring with many blocks and rebounds and therefore has great bargain value as he can easily end with 30 fdp, which for 5600 is not a bad wager.
Total Daily Fantasy NBA Salaries: $59,900
