January 25, 2017

Daily fantasy basketball lineups picks for FanDuel on 1/25/17 by Kevin Luchansky. The top NBA DFS rosters advice on FanDuel value picks and DFS sleepers.

Good morning, Rotoballers, and welcome to a big slate of NBA Wednesday daily fantasy competition. We've got a juicy 10 game schedule on deck tonight, with the Main contest starting at 7:00 EST. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 1/25/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays on FanDuel.

Before we dissect my top options for the evening, let's gander at a few Vegas lines that could be of interest - especially to those of us who might want to stack a team or entire game. From an over/under or point total projection standpoint, there are three games that absolutely jump off the board with monster numbers - Rockets at Celtics (229.5), Warriors at Hornets (222.5), and Lakers at Blazers (220). Of those three, the Rockets at Celtics is the most attractive, due to the pace of play and a spread under three points. Let's get to it, shall we?

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FanDuel DFS Guards

Damian Lillard - PG, vs LAL ($8,300)

Lillard is back to being Mr. Consistency over the past 2-3 weeks, and his salary has yet to catch up to his production. As such, he's a pretty good bargain tonight and a great candidate to hit and exceed value. In his last 10 games, he's exceeded value six times - including his three most recent - and yet his price is $600 cheaper than what it was on January 15th. This game is projected to be high scoring, which should lead to plenty of opportunities to score for the backcourt pair of Lillard and CJ McCollum, and the matchup itself is very attractive. Lillard's opponent, the Lakers, happen to be very poor defensively against opposing point guards, allowing the second most points of any of the 20 teams taking the court tonight. For the season, Lillard has a strong 23.2 PER and a very attractive Usage rate just a tick over 30.

Dion Waiters - SG, at BKN ($6,000)

I can't believe I'm writing up Dion Waiters as (one of) my top shooting guard options for tonight, but hey, anything is possible in 2017. In all seriousness, I think Mr. Waiters has a chance to do some damage tonight and absolutely crush value - just like he's been doing for the past week or so. Waiters has put up back to back 40+ Fanduel point performances, and he's just getting started. Waiters has never lacked for confidence and always thinks he's open - two things I really want in a DFS two-guard. Waiters PER of just over 12 on the season leaves a lot to be desired, but his play has been trending upward, and most importantly, the opportunity is there, as showcased by his Usage rate of 25 and Usage projection of 29.2 this evening. The matchup is an excellent one, too, as the Nets allow more points to opposing shooting guards than any other team in competition Wednesday night.

Goran Dragic - PG, at BKN ($7,000)

I'm going to make it a habit to pick on the defenseless Nets tonight, rolling with Waiters backcourt mate in Goran Dragic. Dragic has been playing excellent basketball of late, exceeding his price implied value in eight of the Heat's last 10 games - and absolutely crushing it in his last three. The Heat rely on Dragic to do so much, which gives him an opportunity to fill the stat sheet even when shots aren't falling. As I mentioned already, the Nets are abysmal on defense and they're banged up and under-manned, too.

Also Consider: James Harden - SG, at HOU ($12,100)

FanDuel DFS Forwards

Robert Covington - SF, at MIL - $5,400

Covington is my favorite value play of the evening, as he falls in the lower-to-middle tier price range and has had solid-to-above average production of late. He's exceeded value in seven of his last 10 games - including three for his last three - and tonight he has a matchup that he should really be able to take advantage of. For all the Bucks do well, defending swing men and small forwards is not one of them, as they've allowed more points to opposing small forwards than any other team in action this evening. In the three recent games where he has cruised past value and then some, he's put up double digit shots and grabbed no less than six rebounds. He profiles as a solid cash game option but due to the matchup, he may be worth a flier in tournaments tonight, too.

Julius Randle - PF, at POR - $6,500

Of all the power forwards taking the court on hump day, not many have a cushier matchup than Mr. Julius Randle. For the season, Portland's interior defense leaves a lot to be desired and opponents have been able to pick them apart in the paint. That's good news for me, Randle, and anyone else that decided to roster him tonight. For the season, Randle owns a Usage rate near 22 - which is a strong number, especially for a power forward in this pricing tier - and he has been making solid use of his minutes, averaging one fantasy point per.

Also Consider:  Nerlens Noel - PF, at MIL ($4,100) - GPP only

FanDuel DFS Centers

Dwight Howard - C, at CHI ($7,000)

I'm going to ride the mini hot streak Howard is on here - he's crushed value in his past two games and managed to stay on the floor for more than 35 minutes in both - and hope he keeps it going tonight. His price leaves a lot of room to load up at other positions and more importantly, he has a strong matchup tonight against the Bulls. Chicago has been very weak with their interior defense, and as such, have allowed opposing centers to put up some big numbers. For the season, Howard has a solid 22 PER and he's been relatively efficient in his minutes, putting up 1.13 fantasy points per. The nice thing about his recent production is that it hasn't been reliant on shots falling either - his two recent monster performances were due to 12 and 15 rebound nights.

Also Consider: DeMarcus Cousins - C, at CLE ($10,500)

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