Chris Paul tends to always show up for big matchups and he’ll get one tonight against Steph Curry
FantasyPros is proud to be taking part in FanDuel’s new Partners Basketball Championship. Each week from now until March 25, we’ll be posting our top five favorite plays on Wednesday’s and Friday’s to help you set your own lineup. All picks are chosen with FanDuel scoring in mind and you’ll find explanations below on how we came up with the players we’ve named.
Note: With last minute lineup changes, please be sure to read the latest news to make sure a player in the list below isn’t going to miss the contest.
DFS Lineup Tools:
I’ve listed three primary tools that we use to help come up with lineups each night. Each one has its purpose, but ultimately, these help build lineups quickly and efficiently while using a few key metrics to assist with narrowing down selections.
To start, the lineup optimizer is used to generate an initial lineup which we can then fine-tune. I then like to take a look at the matchup ratings to find games that could be high scoring affairs. Finally, the defense vs. position report allows me to quickly determine if I like the matchups at those specific positions, factoring in how many FanDuel points are typically allowed by a given team. If you’re short on time, take advantage of the tools below.
FantasyPros FanDuel Lineup Optimizer
Matchup Ratings Report
Defense vs. Position Report
Point Guard:
Chris Paul (LAC): $9,900 @ GSW
Chris Paul is unquestionably one of the toughest competitors on the floor when he’s playing and the Clippers are undoubtedly tired of losing to their Northern California rivals. They’ll travel north and take on a Warriors team that has struggled in their last two games. More importantly, the Warriors continue to give up a boat load of fantasy points to opposing point guards over their last 30 games. The defense just hasn’t been there for Golden State and if Andrew Bogut misses another game, or plays with his injury, Paul will have another part of the court to attack which could lead to plenty of free throw attempts or easy buckets.
Shooting Guard:
DeMar DeRozan (TOR): $8,300 vs. BOS
This is what I said on Friday… “DeRozan has had two strong games against Boston posting an average of 28.5 pts, 6 asts, and 4.5 reb. There’s a decent chance people will avoid DeRozan (given) the fact that Boston is a solid squad, but playoff seeding is still open with the Raptors only two games behind the Cavs. He’s a stud who could have low ownership in GPP play.” Well, DeRozan posted 15 pts, 7 reb, and 6 asts that day, and while that wasn’t the greatest showing (31.4 points), everything still holds true. The Raptors are now just a game and a half behind the Cavs and need to continue winning to try and gain homecourt advantage. I also like Jimmy Butler for the same price at home against the Knicks. The Knicks allow the second most fantasy points to shooting guards over the last 15 games.
Small Forward:
Andrew Wiggins (MIN): $6,900 vs. SAC
Wiggins plays a lot of minutes (35.1 mpg) and is far from scared to put up shots as evidenced by his 21 attempts against the Warriors. The Kings will be without DeMarcus Cousins which should provide him some open looks as Karl-Anthony Towns works down low and will garner some double-teams. I like Wiggins against the Kings who are one of the worst defensive teams against small forwards. The pace that this game will likely be played at should lead to a high scoring affair.
Power Forward:
Tobias Harris (DET): $6,000 vs. ORL
Orlando will be without their starting center again and Tobias Harris (mad or not about his trade) will play his former team in a must-win game. The Pistons are fighting for one of the last playoff spots and they need to beat teams that they’re “supposed” to win against. Harris has been a highly effective contributor on the fantasy front since joining Detroit. It’s possible he’ll have a bit more motivation heading into tonight facing his old squad knowing how important a win is for their team. The Pistons will also be short-handed with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock out. Stanley Johnson will get a bump at SG, but Harris should pick up a few extra shot attempts.
Center:
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN): $8,800 vs. SAC
I won’t be using Towns tonight at center, but that’s not because he isn’t a great play. The Kings will try and stop the rookie of the year candidate with Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein. That just doesn’t bode well for the Kings who will not have Cousins available tonight. If you’re thinking about Towns’ past games against Sacramento, keep in mind those were with Cousins playing. He’s too good and Sacramento is simply put, really bad, and this matchup is one to exploit, especially in cash games. I also like DeAndre Jordan if Bogut is out and if you’re looking for some cheap options, consider Mason Plumlee who had a big game against Dallas on Sunday or Salah Mejri who will earn the start for Dallas.
