RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another edition of my favorite FanDuel plays for this 7-game Saturday night NBA slate. This slate is loaded with stars and high-priced plays so today I will be rolling out a special "pivots and value" edition of my picks instead of just listing some of the best high-priced plays. Roster construction is going to be a bit tricky tonight, so my picks are going to center around how you can be a little different from the pack and where you can find some of the more reliable value.
We have a number of injuries and players who could sit out or rest that will impact tonight's slate. Let's start with what we know for sure. Kemba Walker, Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, Kelly Oubre Jr., Jeremy Lamb, Dewayne Dedmon, and Ky Bowman are all out tonight. LeBron James heads the list of questionable players and his status is really important because if he misses again tonight we will see massive ownership on Rajon Rondo and Anthony Davis. Other questionable players are Andre Drummond, Jordan Poole, and Eric Gordon.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 2/29/20. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks. Find me in the NBA Chat Room or @ThunderDanDFS on Twitter.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
DeMar DeRozan - SG, SAS vs. ORL ($7,500)
With James Harden and C.J. McCollum likely to gain much of the ownership at the SG position, DeRozan is a cheaper option who I think has a ton of upside tonight. Normally a matchup with the Magic wouldn't be something that I target with guards, but they are playing their second game in two nights and DeRozan is going to be the main source of offense for the Spurs once again with Aldridge sitting out. Without Aldridge, DeRozan has a usage rate of over 30% and has been averaged 29 points, six boards, and five assists. He flirted with a triple-double on Wednesday night against Dallas and I expect him to have another solid performance tonight.
Spencer Dinwiddie - PG, BKN @MIA ($7,100)
This may look like point chasing at first glance, and perhaps even revisionist history since I recommended Caris Levert in this same article yesterday but hear me out. Dinwiddie not only outperformed LeVert last night in the points column but also regained his role as the team's main distributor as he dished out 13 assists. He's now posted eight or more assists in seven of his last eight games. I don't love that the Nets are on a back-to-back here, but Dinwiddie only played 31 minutes last night and his game is not totally dependent on jump-shooting. The last time these two teams met, Spencer had a massive 58 FanDuel point game with 26 points and 14 assists and he's likely going to go overlooked with some of the star power at the PG position today.
Malcolm Brogdon - PG, IND @ CLE ($5,900)
Going along with our theme of underpriced guys in the mid-tier tonight, I really like Malcolm Brogdon who is finally under 6k on FanDuel after being an 8k player at the beginning of the season. Now, Indiana was without Victor Oladipo (who is another solid value and expected to play tonight) for much of the early part of the season which contributed to his lofty production. However, Brogdon is still a very fantasy-friendly player who can score, rebound, and pass. His game log shows steady production in the 30-40 FD point range, but I think we can see him outperform that tonight in a premiere matchup against the Cavs. They have been torched by point guards this season and will be playing their second game in two nights. They have one of the worst-rated defenses in the league and the only thing I worry about for Indiana players' production would be a potential blowout as Indiana is a superior team.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Mikal Bridges - SF, PHO vs. GSW ($5,100)
The small forward position is a bit of a mess today, especially if LeBron James ends up sitting out. Both the Boston guys and Carmelo Anthony are likely to command some ownership, but Bridges is one of my favorite values on the slate. He's played 37 and 38 minutes in the Suns' last two games and now that Kelly Oubre Jr. is likely done for the year, we should expect him to continue to log heavy minutes and take on a more important role for Phoenix. His ability to pile up steals/blocks is so valuable on FanDuel. He has often scored more than 30 FanDuel points without cracking double digits in actual points. He's a great glue guy for this Phoenix team and his huge allotment of minutes assures that he should be able to rack up enough counting stats for a solid 6x return on this price or more.
John Collins - PF, ATL vs. POR ($8,400)
Collins was dynamic last night with 33 points and 13 boards in the Hawks thumping of the Nets. I admit I overlooked him a bit, and I think despite his huge outing we could see him overlooked again tonight. Consider that the red-hot Jayson Tatum and a potentially Lebron-less Anthony Davis are priced above him and I think Collins may go under-owned. Aaron Gordon is priced just a few hundred less, too! Collins may have the best matchup of any of them, however, as the Hawks take on a Portland team that just bleeds points to opposing big men. Collins skillset is even more enticing here as he can stretch the floor and knock down perimeter shots, something that Hassan Whiteside can't guard and Carmelo Anthony has no interest in guarding (I had to get one subtle shot at Melo in there).
Robert Covington - PF, HOU @ BOS ($6,200)
Covington is thriving as Houston's starting power forward and is the absolute perfect prototype of a player for their wide-open style of play. His ability to stretch the floor and make perimeter shots on offense is exactly what the Rockets need around Westbrook and Harden and it's easy to see why he's jumped right into huge minutes for this Houston team. This game between Houston and Boston tonight should be a really competitive one and Covington posted 43 FanDuel points when these two teams met earlier this month. He racked up seven blocks/steals in that game and while some might think that is fluky, it's really not for a player with defensive chops like Covington has. He is yet another mid-priced option with solid upside that will probably go overlooked with players trying to jam studs into their builds today.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Nikola Vucevic - C, ORL @ SAS ($8,700)
While I love his teammate Aaron Gordon again tonight, Vucevic is definitely in a great spot here, too, against a mediocre Spurs team that is lacking their starting center. I think we see more ownership on Hassan Whiteside and Deandre Ayton (who are both fine plays) which leaves Vucevic massively under-owned. This game won't jump off the page with its pace projection or Vegas total, but DeRozan, Gordon, and Vucevic all have really solid ceilings in this one. I think it stays close into the final minutes and the consolidated production that both teams have through these three players makes them all really great targets tonight.
