I hold many unpopular opinions to accompany the mild ones, so I may, at times, make predictions or claims that seem far-fetched. Fantasy basketball is much more fun when you’re taking risks, right? Reading about it is only fun when you see something new or extreme.  The game of basketball is about the blood, sweat, anger, grit, will-power and athleticism these men pour out. Numbers are a small part of it, and they’ll only get you so far. Let’s go deeper than that.

Who is the best overall pick from each category today? Will it be the obvious All-Star contenders, paving their way to future glory? Or will it be a mixture of D-league prospects and bench warmers looking to make a name for themselves? How about we find out...

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Fanduel Basketball DFS Lineup Picks and More - 02/11/14

Isaiah Thomas  - PG - Sacramento Kings - ($7,900)

Thomas is coming off of his best performance of the season where he racked up a sickening stat sheet; 30 pts, 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Cleveland is the worst in the NBA against defending the PG position, so what better time to have this matchup than now? Not to mention Mr. Kyrie Irving who happens to be one of the most turnover prone guards in the league is taking on this guy, Thomas, who happens to be a professional thief of the ball. Be sure to check the injury wire before you put him in. He had a minor wrist sprain Sunday, but there's no indication that he will be held out. FanDuel has him at the 5th most valuable PG for today. He's 1st for me.

SG - Gordon Hayward - G/F - Utah Jazz - ($7,100)

Hayward has simmered down in the scoring column for the past few weeks. Instead of shooting the ball, he's focused more on passing and rebounding. I think this playstyle suits him just fine, but the boy has a beautiful shot. He'll be using it against the Lakers tonight. The Lakers have allowed an average of 40 FPPG to opposing SG's this season. They've also allowed opposing guard to shoot over 45% from the field. With the Los Angeles backcourt being riddled with injuries, Hayward is going to have a field day. As long and he can hold on to the ball and drain a few jumpers early, this guy is going to give you the best SG performance of the night.

SF - Kevin Durant - F - Oklahoma City Thunder - ($12,300)

Surely you didn't expect to see anyone else's name here, did you? This guy is going to get MVP and if Westbrook returns, OKC has a solid chance at taking the title. Durant is averaging 31 PPG this season and he's heading into Portland, the only serious competition they have in the west. This game should be a true test for Durant, but the race for the top seed means he'll have a fire in him. I wouldn't be surprised to see him drop a 45+ pt game in this one. If he gets anywhere near that, he's definitely worth the price, and the obvious choice for best SF.

PF - LaMarcus Aldridge - F/C/ - Portland Trailblazers - ($10,200)

Just like Durant and the SF column, LMA comes out as the clear favorite of the power forwards. Portland has been dominant this season and Aldridge has been the workhorse behind it all. He was complaining about some stiffness after his last game, the end of a 4 game road trip that spanned 5 days. I think any of us would be a bit tore up after that, but he's been given 3 days to rest and he's back home. Before the last two games of this road trip, LMA had achieved double-doubles in 6 consecutive games. He's the best power forward in the league and it will be interesting to see how he takes on Ibaka. In his last meeting with OKC, Aldridge scored 29 pts and added on 16 rebounds. I think he'll be just fine.

C - DeMarcus Cousins - F/C - Sacramento Kings - ($9,600)

This was probably the toughest choice of the day. Big Al Jefferson taking on Dallas and Dalembert? That will be a joke. Joakim Noah welcoming Atlanta to Chicago should prove to be just as entertaining. But I still decided to settle with Cousins. He's coming off of an absolutely terrible performance. Quite the opposite of what I usually say, right? Well I can't think of many people in this league that commit as much emotion to their game as Big Cuz. I admit, often times that emotion gets the best of him in a bad way, but tonight he'll be channeling it to power his game. After shooting 3-16 from the field Sunday night there is absolutely no way he will allow it to happen again. The Kings take on Cleveland where Cousins' only worry is Varejao and Anderson has been off his mark as of late. I expect a dominant performance in this game from DeMarcus; a riveting double-double that will rocket him ahead of Noah and Jefferson.

FanDuel Lineup for 02/11

• Isaiah Thomas
• Trey Burke
• Gordon Hayward
• Vince Carter
• DeMarre Carroll
• Wesley Johnson
• Serge Ibaka
• Lamarcus Aldridge
• Chris Kaman

If you liked today’s column, you can let me know @Roto_Royalty on Twitter! You can also shoot me an e-mail at Roto_Royalty@yahoo.com. Feel free to send in your questions, and I might feature them in one of my columns! Good luck out there and enjoy the game
 
 
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