RADIO
After Wednesday's massive slate, we get a reprieve with a little five-gamer. Only one game has a spread of at least 10 points while four of the five games have point totals over 220.
The action gets started at 7:30 PM with the 76ers visiting the Nets in a matchup between two Eastern Conference powerhouses, while three games tip-off at 10:05 PM ET: MIN@POR, DAL@DEN, and SA@LAL.
Here are my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 1/7/21. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks. Keep an eye on Rotoballer’s injury news to stay up to date before lineups are locked.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Luka Doncic, PG - @ DEN ($11,100)
Doncic is averaging 1.44 FD points per minute this season, which is down from the 1.58 number he posted all of last season. Have no fear, though, as he admitted that he wasn't in shape and looks to be getting his legs under him. On Monday, he posted his first 60-point FD game and now gets a Nuggets team that is 29th in defensive efficiency and just let D'Angelo Russell go off. That last fact alone should have you pressing the lock button.
Damian Lillard, PG - vs. MIN ($9,200)
Lillard also hasn't had the hottest start to the season, primarily due to the poor shooting efficiency, but he's not going to shoot 41% from the field all year long. The matchup is a good one, as the Timberwolves play at the seventh-fastest pace and are 29th in defensive efficiency. Yes, Minnesota and Denver are tied for dead-last.
Gary Trent, SG - vs. MIN ($3,800)
Trent doesn't do much outside of shoot, so the floor is low. There's a reason why he's consistently priced in the $4,000 range. With that said, there are nights when he can get nuclear hot, as he did back in December when you produced 33.1 FD points. Minnesota plays at a fast pace and is the worst team in the league for defensive efficiency. Zooming in a little closer, they boost the fantasy points per minute to the shooting guard position by 19.22%, the most generous in the league.
Also consider: Josh Richardson ($4,800), D'Angelo Russell ($7,800)
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FanDuel DFS Forwards
LeBron James, SF - vs. SA ($10,100)
It's crazy how consistent LeBron is. After opening up the season with 31.5, 44.4, and 35.3 FD points, he's gone for 54.8, 48, 56.2, 50.6, and 50.9 FD points. Keep in mind that he only played 28, 31, and 26 minutes those first three games. If I were to apply for a loan, the bank would accept as collateral all my lineups with LeBron in them. The Spurs are 8th in offensive pace and 24th in defensive efficiency. He's already played the Spurs twice this season and posted scores of 48 and 56.2 FD points.
Larry Nance, PF - @MEM ($6,800)
Nance has put up two duds in a row, but consider that the Magic are 6th in defensive efficiency and decrease fantasy points per minute to the power forward position by 11.48%. Now, he gets a matchup against the Grizzlies who are 14th in defensive efficiency and boost fantasy points per minute to the power forward position by 4.19%. Prior to the duds against Orlando, Nance had put up three straight games over 30 FD points.
Robert Covington, PF - vs. MIN ($5,000)
Covington has struggled to assimilate with his new Portland brethren. The shot attempts are below 10 for the first time in his career and he's shooting 37% from the field. The blocks are down as well as the three-pointers. There is hope, though. On Tuesday, he scored double digits for the first time this season and stuffed the stat sheet like we know he can. Now, he's currently scoring 0.69 FD points per minute this season. In every other year of his career, he's been above 0.87 FD points per minute. It's just a matter of time before the Trail Blazers as a whole figure things out, which will translate to better numbers for Covington as a result. The matchup with the Timberwolves is a juicy one.
Also consider: Anthony Davis ($10,400)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Jusuf Nurkic, C - vs. MIN ($6,200)
Nurkic has been a source of consternation among fantasy players, as he's disappointed time and time again to start the season. It's taken him to get into shape, there were family issues in the offseason, and he's battled foul trouble. As a result, he's played over 28 minutes in a game just once and failed to eclipse 13 points. We got a glimpse of the ceiling, though, back in the Bubble, as he scored over 55 FD points in three straight games and went for 63.2 in another. He was consistently priced as a $7k to $8k player. Now he's at $6,200 coming off his best game of the season, in a pace up spot, against a team that is terrible at defense and boosts the fantasy points per minute for centers by a league-leading 26.14%.
Also consider: Willie Cauley-Stein ($4,000), Joel Embiid ($9,900)
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