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NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, and MLB daily games. This is the time of year in which FanDuel and DFS players get as giddy as Augustus Gloop receiving a golden ticket to tour the Willy Wonka Chocolate factory. So many games and so many options are available that it can be hard to keep up at times. Don’t worry, Rotoballer is here to help you with your NBA playoffs picks so you don’t drown in a metaphorical chocolate river of DFS debt.
We have provided our daily picks throughout the year and we will continue to push hard during this second NBA season. Below are our favorite FanDuel DFS picks for Saturday April 18th, 2015.
Keep in mind, fantasy basketball is a fickle game when it comes to injured players, so be sure to check all lineups prior to tip-off. If you want to chat about your roster picks, check out the DFS chat room at the bottom of this post.
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Well, Monday is a pretty quiet slate for NBA playoff basketball. We have four teams playing and nine positions to fill on our FanDuel roster. Here are my words of wisdom for those of you who haven’t played with such a small player pool in the past: Don’t worry about your remaining salary. Obviously you are not allowed to go over your salary (trust me I’ve tried), but don’t be upset if your lineup leaves even more than $1,000 on the table. It’s nearly impossible to find a reasonable lineup that fits your budget perfectly with only two games on the slate. So, pick the guys you like, and call it a day. Tinkering with your research and gut feelings just to fill your budget leads to nothing but bad news. With all that being said, here’s who I like from the small slate on Monday.
Worth The FanDuel Investment
Derrick Rose (CHI, G) - $6,100
All right, I know what you’re going to say. “Hey man, he’s still on a minutes restriction!” That very well may be the case random guy/gal yelling at my article who probably doesn’t exist, but even so, Derrick Rose is very underpriced. If we look at the standard 5x value logic, Rose only needs a little over 30 FanDuel points to reach that green light for value plays. Seeing how he scored 35.5 FDP in Saturday’s game and is almost certainly going to get more minutes Monday, Rose is on my must-own list. He likes to take over games, especially important ones. There is always the injury risk with Rose (knock on wood like 50 times), but I’m definitely rolling with the determined guard in light of Monday’s small load.
Honorable Mentions: Stephen Curry (GS, G), Eric Gordon (NO, G)
Anthony Davis (NO, F) - $11,800
This is by far the safest play on Monday’s board. Apart from his laundry list of strange injuries (knock on wood again, ugh), Anthony Davis is a fantasy basketball machine. It shows in his salary (the highest of the night by almost $2,000), but it is certainly worth the investment. In fact, I really couldn’t find a reason not to put him in. There simply aren’t enough other options. Davis is a guarantee to be on every cash game roster, and those who don’t roster him in tournaments are going to need a small miracle to make a profit. Don’t overthink this one. Pay the man!
Honorable Mentions: Draymond Green (GS, F), Mike Dunleavy (CHI, F)
Andrew Bogut (GS, C) - $6,000
This was a tough one between Andrew Bogut and Joakim Noah. I ended up going with Bogut for a couple of reasons. First, I think Bogut has the better match-up. Draymond Green tends to get the attention of Davis in the paint, and the rest of the Pelicans front court is pretty soft. My second reason for choosing Bogut is that I think more shots will go up in his game. More shots equal more potential rebounds. My third reason has no logic to back it up. I simply have a gut feeling that Bogut will finish with more FDP when it’s all said and done Monday. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned while playing fantasy sports, it’s that you should never go against your guy unless there is research and evidence to prove your gut wrong. Maybe I’m not doing enough research, but I’m going with my gut on this one. With that being said, I can’t blame you if your gut tells you to take Noah.
Honorable Mention: Joakim Noah (CHI, C)
DFS Sleeper & Value Pick
Norris Cole (NO, G) - $3,900
Hear me out on this pick. If Tyreke Evans is unable to play on Monday (he has declared himself a game-time decision at the time I’m writing this) due to his knee injury, Norris Cole will be one of the big beneficiaries of his absence. Jrue Holiday seems to still be on a strict minutes limit, which was evident when he only played 25 minutes on Saturday despite Evans’ injury. Cole, on the other hand, put up a decent 22.6 FDP in 34 minutes off the bench. I expect that production to rise if Cole gets the same minutes on Monday, as he’s shown he can stuff the stat sheet while filling in for injured starters. Obviously all of this goes out the window if Evans finds his way into the lineup, but if that’s not the case, Cole could save you some serious cash at the point guard spot. Cole’s teammate Quincy Poindexter will get an offensive bump too if Evans misses the game, especially after his 43.8 FDP outing on Saturday.
Honorable Mentions: Quincy Poindexter (NO, F), Andre Iguodala (GS, F), Harrison Barnes (GS, F), John Henson (MIL, F)
NBA & DFS Chat Room
