RADIO
In our NBA Fantasy Basketball Daily Shopper series, RotoBaller Brad Leibfried brings you his expert picks for NBA Daily League contests on DraftStreet.
Editor's Note: For those of you hardcore fantasy basketball gamers, Draftstreet has an exclusive offer for RotoBaller members. Register through this link and you will be given a free 100% bonus on your first deposit! Put in up to $200, and you'll get another $200 for free to play on Draftstreet. You'll also be invited to FREE contests with cash prize and can enter NBA Freerolls. Pretty sweet deal!
The Daily NBA Fantasy Shopper: NBA Expert Picks for DraftStreet - 1/21/2014
PG: Reggie Jackson ($11,979): After a bit of a rough start to the season, Jackson has been playing with a ton of confidence of late. In his last four games he has put up 17, 23, 14 and 16 points respectively. He has also combined for 17 assists, 15 rebounds and 9 steals in those four games. With only Derek Fischer to back him up, Jackson is getting just short of 33 minutes a game over his past weeks. Tonight he gets a Portland team that gives up 103 points a game and is coming off of a late game Monday with the Rockets. Jackson should be able to exploit that for a good game at home.
SG: Aaron Afflalo ($13,192): Last week Afflalo missed two games dealing with an ankle injury, upon his return he has picked up right where he left off to continue his career year. His last two games have seen him put up 24 points and 4 rebounds followed by 20 points and a career high 13 rebounds against Boston. He is the top scoring option in Orlando and is currently playing 37.7 minutes a game on the season while putting up 20.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. The matchup with Brooklyn is also a good one as the Nets give up 101 points a game and are on a back to back which hurts players like Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson who will be the primary defenders on Afflalo. Look for another 20+ point performance from the Magic star.
SF: Nicolas Batum ($14,901): Most times, a broken finger would slow a player down, it seems to be having the opposite effect for Batum. Since breaking that finger on January 4th, Batum has found his stellar all-around game including a triple double on January 8th. He has not been scoring the ball a ton, but earlier this month he had a seven game streak with 5 or more assists in every game. He is also one of the top rebounders at the small forward position in the league as he pulls down 6.8 a game. The Thunder do defend the small forward well, but with a lot of attention being paid to LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, Batum should be able to get loose for a big night.
PF: Anthony Davis ($20,774): With the Pelicans decimated by injuries (they only dressed 10 players against the Grizzlies last night), Davis has been in beast mode. He is currently in the midst of an eight game streak in which he has scored over 20 points and grabbed over 7 rebounds in each of them. Davis is also becoming one of the best defensive players across the NBA as he averages 2.9 blocks and 1.4 steals a game. Even though he'll cost a large portion of your cap tonight, he is a near lock to out produce his value against the 28th ranked Kings defense.
C: Andray Blatche ($10,725): Much like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never really know what you are going to get from Blatche. The last two games have shown his tremendous upside as he posted lines of 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists followed up by 19 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals. He seems to be back in the good graces of coach Jason Kidd, as he played 27 minutes in yesterday’s game and should be considered the top low post scoring option for Brooklyn. Tonight he gets a Magic team missing Nikola Vucevic meaning Glen Davis will be tasked with stopping Blatche. With his value still relatively low, now is the time to buy the sporadic Blatche.
U: Brian Roberts ($9,086): Since he has moved into the lineup to replace the injured Jrue Holiday, Roberts hasn’t been fantastic but has been steady. He has scored in double figures in three of the past four games and has 3+ assists in five straight games. With his minutes getting a huge bump from a mere 17 on the season to 33 per game over the last week, Roberts can be counted on for good production for a low price. As I mentioned earlier, the Kings are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA and Isaiah Thomas in particular is a sieve on defense. Roberts will not blow you away with numbers but a double-double is not out of the question for him tonight.
