Good afternoon, Rotoballers! We've got a smaller slate than usual today, with just six games, but there is certainly enough enticing games and matchups to warrant a lineup submission or twelve. Tip off tonight is at 7:00 EST, so get those lineups loaded before you sit down to dinner and keep an eye on the news to see which players might be scratched due to back-to-backs (rest) or health reasons. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 1/11/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays on FanDuel.
Before I get into the player selection and analysis, let's look at the handful of Vegas lines that have posted. From a total point standpoint, the most attractive game right now is the Knicks at Sixers, - which has a line of 210.5 - and a spread of only two points, which increases my interest in potentially stacking that matchup. The Grizzlies - Thunder line piques my interest a little, with a spread line of five points and a total of 205 - but that 205 total wouldn't do a lot to move the needle for me on a more loaded slate.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
John Wall - PG, at BOS ($9,500)
Wall has been turning heads again lately with his brilliant passing, racking up 12 or more assists in three of his last five games. He has been a production monster and is seemingly always going all full speed, often playing in 38+ minutes a night. In other words, his floor is high and so is his ceiling, and with this pricetag and matchup, he's a guy you can't afford not to spend up on tonight. For the season, he owns a Usage rate over 31 and has been productive with his minutes, averaging 1.23 FanDuel points for every 60 seconds he's on the floor. Tonight, he faces a Celtics team that allows more points to opposing point guards than any other team taking the floor Wednesday.
Marcus Smart - PG, vs WAS ($5,200)
If you ignore my suggestion to play John Wall and pay up for Russell Westbrook (who certainly isn't a player I mind paying up for), Smart is a nice option this evening. He provides salary relief, upside, and more recently, consistency in minutes and production. The Wizards aren't known for their defensive prowess and they are on the back-end of a back-to-back. Smart has also exceeded his price implied value in each of last three games, producing a minimum of 33 FanDuel points in each game. That's a very high number for this price range.
Evan Fournier - SG, at LAC ($5,800)
The pool of players to choose from at shooting guard tonight are not the most attractive bunch. As such, I went hunting for a mid-tier (price wise) guy who will get a lot of opportunity in the form of shot attempts. That search lead me to Mr. Fournier, who has returned from injury and attempted at least 13 shots in each contest. He hasn't been hot, and his inconsistency makes him a better tournament option than cash, but the chance is there for a 30+ fantasy point night. Yes, the Clippers are a good defensive team, but they haven't exactly been shutting down opposing shooting guards and Fournier's floor is fairly high with a minutes projection hovering around 32 and a Usage projection above 26.
Also Consider: Victor Oladipo - SG, vs MEM ($5,800)
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Andrew Wiggins - SF, vs HOU - $6,300
Like the case with shooting guards, the top options don't look too enticing so I'm going to save some dollars here and go with upside. Wiggins, for the ceiling that he offers, is a relative bargain here and I think the matchup suits him well. This game will move at a fast pace as Houston likes to push the ball, and Wiggins has the athleticism and motor to run with anyone. Wiggins PER of 15 leaves something to be desired, but the opportunity is there, as his 26.7 Usage rate tells us. I think he's worth taking a flier on tonight in this smaller-than-usual slate.
Kevin Love - PF, at POR - $8,100
Of all the power forwards taking the floor tonight, only those players on the Sixers face a team that allows more points to opposing four's than the Blazers. Simply put, Portland has trouble with stretch fours, especially those of Love's caliber, and I think he could be in for a big evening. For the season, Love has very strong numbers in both the Usage (25.7) and PER (23) departments.
Also Consider: Gorgui Dieng - PF, vs HOU - $5,500
FanDuel DFS Centers
Joel Embiid - C, vs NYK ($7,500)
All things considered, Embiid is my favorite play on the board tonight, regardless of position. He has a fantastic matchup against the Knicks who haven't stopped a big man from producing all year and allow more points to opposing centers than any other team playing tonight. Embiid has also exceeded value in seven of his last 10 games - by an impressive margin of more than seven FanDuel points each night - and is priced very fairly. He is still on a loose 28 minute restriction, but from a production per minute standpoint - he's been a beast, posting 1.34 points per minute.
Also Consider: Montrezl Harrell - C, at MIN ($4,800)
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