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In our NBA Fantasy Basketball Daily Shopper series, RotoBaller Brad Leibfried brings you his expert picks for NBA Daily League contests on DraftStreet.
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The Daily NBA Fantasy Shopper: NBA Expert Picks for DraftStreet - 1/13/2014
PG: Goran Dragic ($15,192): The Dragon has been playing his best basketball of the season over the past few weeks. In the last 15 days he is averaging 22.3 points, 6.6 assists and 1.5 steals a game. Dragic has taken control of the team in the absence of Eric Bledsoe and had handed out 26 assists in the Suns' last three games. Tonight he takes on a Knicks team that allows opponents to shoot 46% from the floor, which should only help him with a big scoring game. Expect him to be one of the top scoring players tonight.
SG: Victor Oladipo ($11,976): For much of the season Oladipo’s stats have been driven by the number of minutes he plays. After an early season slump, he has rebounded to score over 13 points in five straight games while also getting at least 1 steal in each of those games. The good news for his owners is that Jameer Nelson and Aaron Afflalo are both banged up at the moment, leaving the door open to big minutes for the rookie. In his last game, Oladipo got the start and put up 15 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. His opponent tonight, the Mavericks, allow 101.5 points a game so look for Oladipo to out-perform his value for the day.
SF: Tobias Harris ($12,467): After a huge end to last year, Harris was expected to be a fantasy force this year. Even though he has been okay, his play has been all over the map. He posted a 2 point and 5 rebound game last week but was able to bounce back with a 22 point, 9 rebound and 4 assist game on Saturday. With the Magic decimated by injuries in both the backcourt and frontcourt, Harris could very well find himself as option number one. Like Oladipo, he gets to face a Mavs team not known for its spectacular defense, which should boost his value immensely.
PF: Dirk Nowitzki ($15,954): Lost in the shuffle of all the great power forwards in the league, Dirk Nowitzki is again having a monster season. On the year he is scoring 21.3 points a game while pulling down 5.8 rebounds and dishing out 3.1 assists per game. He has been even hotter his last two games as he followed up a 24 point, 5 assist, 4 rebound, 3 steal and 2 block game with a 40 point effort in back to back games against New Orleans. With the Magic and Mavs both allowing opponents to score over 101 points a game on 45% shooting, this game could easily be the shootout of the night, a game Nowitzki should thrive in.
C: Jonas Valanciunas ($11,245): Even though Valanciunas is not quite meeting the lofty expectations people had for him to start the year, he has been a solid player for the Raptors. In the past two weeks he has been averaging 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1 block a contest. He has posted three double-doubles in his past nine games as well. Like most players, his viability as a fantasy option depends greatly on his matchup and tonight he gets a weak Bucks team. Larry Sanders is a good shot blocker but does not have the girth to deal with the Toronto big man. Expect a solid double-double and a few blocks which should be enough to exceed his modest value.
U: Jeff Green ($10,835): Green is my favorite play of the entire night and will be on all of my teams. He is playing the best basketball of the season having posted double-doubles in two of his past three games and has scored 15 or more in six straight games. Along with playing well, he gets to face a Rockets team that is giving up 102 points a game and is likely to be without its best perimeter defender in Chandler Parsons. At this price I do not see a better player on the board for tonight, and I expect a huge game from Green.
U: Austin Rivers ($4,431): With injuries to Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, Rivers has started to see quality minutes. In his past two games he has combined for 21 points, 8 assists, and 3 rebounds. With Evans again expected to be out, Rivers could again be in line for over 25 minutes. The matchup with the Spurs is not great, however if the Pelicans get down big, Rivers might well be see extra run against the bench of San Antonio.
