RADIO
Hey RotoBallers! Tom Bellucco here for my first NBA DFS submission of the year. You'll notice we are separating the FanDuel articles from the DraftKings articles as of today, so you can look forward to my DraftKings DFS and lineup thoughts every Tuesday and Thursday from here on out.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 11/30/17. The DFS lineup picks will include two seemingly mispriced guards, two seemingly mispriced forwards, one seemingly mispriced center, and one GPP dart throw for each of those three positions.
If you have any questions or comments, let me know @BellRoto on Twitter. Let's get to it.
DraftKings DFS Guards
Ben Simmons - PG/SF, at BOS ($9,300)
I originally decided Ben Simmons was a "Dart Throw" prior to his monster outing on Wednesday night because of a lingering ankle injury on a back-to-back in a less-than-ideal matchup. Obviously he feels much safer now that he posted a 66 DK-point night, so I've removed that tag. This is not a great matchup, but we have word that Joel Embiid is sitting on Thursday. That should leave Simmons a lot of usage. His ownership will certainly be much higher than I orginally anticipated, but it seems worth it now that he's shown he's over the ankle injury. This price is simply way too low for Simmons. Dare I say he's a lock in cash and GPP lineups on a short Thursday slate?
CJ McCollum – PG/SG, vs MIL ($6,700)
I don't often roster CJ McCollum in DFS, but Thursday may be one of the few nights I do it. Milwaukee is known for their focus on defending point guards, and they have done it very well going back to last season. So, if Damian Lillard isn't going to have a huge game, that only leaves two real offensive options: Jusif Nurkic or McCollum.
McCollum took 19 shots last time these two teams met, and Lillard took just 15. At this price tag, you'll take the 35 DK points that McCollum scored last time out, and I certainly think he has upside for more. The second-fiddle guard in Portland seems viable in both cash and GPP lineups on Thursday.
Austin Rivers – PG/SG, vs UTA ($5,500)
DraftKings has done a pretty good job pricing up Clippers players in light of Blake Griffin's recent injury. However, I think they could've gone higher on Austin Rivers' price. The coach's son has a lot going for him: He has played 37 or more minutes in his last three games, he has shot the ball 42 times in those three games combined, he has at least five assists in five of the last six games, and he has at least one steal in his past five games. Sure, Lou Williams will handle the ball a ton as well, but Rivers is easily the second best option in this offense now, and his usage should only go up from here.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
LeBron James – SF/PF, at ATL ($11,700)
LeBron James is playing at a different level right now, and it's showing in the box scores. You don't need me to rattle off the stats in this article, just look them up for yourselves. The spread opened at less than eight points, so this game against a putrid Atlanta defense just might stay close. On a small slate with very few stud options, King James seems like a "Don't get cute" kind of play tonight.
Dario Saric – PF/C, at BOS ($4,900)
I already mentioned above that Embiid will be out on Thursday. That should leave stable minutes and a nice usage bump for Dario Saric at the power forward position. The Celtics have made rostering players against them a tough case this year, but this is a low price tag for Saric's skillset. RotoGrinders' CourtIQ tool shows that he owns about a 20% usage rate without Embiid, and we know he can get hot offensively in a hurry. I like Saric's floor and upside on Thursday, especially after his efficient showing last night.
GPP Dart Throw: Whoever starts for Blake Griffin
As I hinted at above, usage will likely be very concentrated between Lou Williams and Austin Rivers on the Clippers offense without Griffin. However, whoever starts for him will have a near-minimum price tag, and they will probably get some blowout run as well if Utah runs away with this thing. I wouldn't do it in cash, but it might be worth a tournament shot to get LeBron James in comfortably. Sam Dekker came in for Griffin when he was injured in the fourth quarter, so he would be my first guess to get the start on Thursday.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Derrick Favors – PF/C, at LAC ($6,600)
I usually despise rostering Derrick Favors. However, ever since Rudy Gobert went down, Favors has been thriving at the center position. The matchup against DeAndre Jordan doesn't exactly comfort me, even with Griffin out, but Favors has shown a floor of 32 DraftKings points in five of his last seven games. For that reason, I think he's safe for cash games. In fact, he's shown surprising upside of late as well, making him a decent GPP option
GPP Dart Throw: John Collins - PF/C, vs CLE ($5,500)
Predicting John Collins' minutes is nearly impossible, mostly because of foul trouble and blowout risk. However, if you can get 30+ minutes from him, he can demolish value at this price tag. If you do take a shot on Collins, have a few drinks, take a nap, and hope for the best when you wake up.
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