RADIO
Thursday features a five-game slate that includes a 76ers-Heat rematch, the Rockets playing extremely short-handed in their first game without James Harden, and potential late-night offensive extravaganzas in Warriors-Nuggets and Pacers-Trail Blazers.
There are plenty of big names still in action despite the Harden trade dinging the overall depth on the ledger. It could be a "stars and scrubs" type of night with the value we have from Houston and Miami so buckle up for potentially high scores again.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 1/14/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward, and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Stephen Curry, PG – at DEN ($9,600)
Curry will be free to play as many minutes as necessary Thursday with the Warriors’ game against the Suns on Friday already postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. He’ll face a Nuggets squad that’s had trouble defending point guards all season, with Denver allowing the highest offensive efficiency (36.2), most points (31.7), second-most assists (10.5), and second-highest shooting percentage (50.0) to ones. Curry has admittedly been a bit unreliable of late due to some shooting struggles, but a matchup against this Denver squad that’s also allowing the 39.2 percent three-point shooting at home could be the cure for what’s ailed him.
Malcolm Brogdon, PG – at POR ($8,600)
Brogdon shot just 5-for-18 against the Warriors on Monday, but thanks to his ability to contribute in other areas of the stat sheet, he still posted 35.4 FD points. Prior to that contest, Brogdon had been over 40 FD points in five consecutive games, and his matchup Thursday could well facilitate that caliber of performance. The Trail Blazers will be on the second game of a back-to-back after a wire-to-wire battle versus the Kings on Wednesday, and Portland was already ranked in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency allowed to point guards before giving up 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists to Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox. Finally, consider the Pacers are now without Victor Oladipo due to the big multi-team trade Wednesday, and Brogdon boasts a 28.5 percent usage rate and averages 1.18 FD points per minute with Oladipo off the floor this season.
Ben McLemore, SG – at SA ($3,700)
Those looking for a potentially rewarding fantasy-point-per-dollar play at guard Thursday could likely do worse than McLemore, considering the absolutely dilapidated state of the Rockets roster at the moment. The combination of the James Harden trade, John Wall’s projected absence due to a knee injury and the fact the just-acquired Victor Oladipo isn’t eligible to suit up yet due to COVID-19 protocols for traded players should leave McLemore with an out-sized role against the Spurs. San Antonio is also allowing 47.3 percent shooting to guards, including 42.9 percent from downtown, while McLemore comes in shooting a career-high 52.4 percent, including 58.8 percent from behind the arc.
Also consider: Damian Lillard, POR ($9,200); Dejounte Murray, SAN ($7,500); Lonnie Walker IV, SAN ($5,200)
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FanDuel DFS Forwards
Domantas Sabonis, PF – at POR ($9,200)
Sabonis is already an outstanding option based on his own merits, but it’s also worth noting he’s another Pacer that could benefit from Oladipo’s departure. The big man sports a 27.4 percent usage rate and averages 1.24 FD points per minute this season without Oladipo on the floor, and he also comes in having scored over 40 FD points in five straight games, and in seven of the last eight overall. Sabonis is also averaging career highs in minutes (37.7), points (21.8), rebounds (12.5), and assists (5.8), while the Blazers rank in the bottom half of the league in rebounds (10.3) and assists (4.7) surrendered to power forwards.
Christian Wood, PF – at SA ($8,100)
No Wall and no Harden should lead to plenty of Wood on Thursday, not that the big man hasn’t already been a rewarding fantasy play on most nights even when sharing the floor with that high-usage duo. Wood has already been over 40 FD points in five of eight games, and he owns a 26.9 percent usage rate and averages 1.20 FD points per minute when his two teammates are off the floor. Wood also draws a good positionally matchup versus the Spurs, with San Antonio giving up the most rebounds (14.1) to power forwards, along with the seventh-highest offensive efficiency (26.5) to the position. Finally, consider Gregg Popovich’s squad also owns the seventh-lowest team shooting percentage (44.4) a level of inefficiency that could afford Wood some extra opportunities on the defensive glass.
Kelly Oubre Jr., SF -- at DEN ($5,300)
Oubre has had a mostly forgettable start to his Warriors tenure, but there are encouraging signs of an uptick. Oubre has scored 25.7 to 33.6 FD points in four of the last six contests, with three of them including tallies of greater than 30. The wing’s efficiency over that span – 42.3 percent shooting overall – still leaves plenty to be desired, but it’s still a significant improvement over his atrocious 35.3 percent season figure. The matchup against a Nuggets team that’s almost as fast-paced as Oubre’s Warriors should engender a fruitful fantasy environment, and the fact Denver gives up the fifth-highest shooting percentage (48.3) could help lead to one of Oubre’s better offensive performances.
Also consider: Pascal Siakam TOR ($8,600); P.J. Washington, CHA ($6,500); Duncan Robinson, MIA ($4,900)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Nikola Jokic – vs. GS ($11,200)
There a couple of centers that are head and shoulders above the rest on Thursday’s five-game slate, with Jokic serving as Exhibit A. The big man lit up the Nets for 72.1 FD points Tuesday, his second tally of at least 70 in the last five games. Jokic’s season line boasts career highs nearly across the board as well, with the sixth-year pro currently sporting new high-water marks in minutes (35.0), points (24.3), rebounds (10.9), assists (10.5), steals (1.8), and three-point percentage (41.2). He draws a soft target in the Warriors on Thursday, as Golden State is allowing bottom-10 or bottom-five figures in points (23.2), rebounds (16.4), blocks (2.6) and three-point percentage (42.1) to centers, while the Dubs also play at a Western Conference-high pace of 108.1 possessions per contest.
Joel Embiid – vs. MIA ($10,200)
Embiid had an even more impressive outing than Jokic his most recent time on the court, as he posted a jaw-dropping 84.2 FD points against this same Heat team on Tuesday. Philadelphia should get Tobias Harris back Thursday, which will affect Embiid’s usage to a degree, but he’ll still have the benefit of not having to face Bam Adebayo, who will remain out for Miami due to COVID-19 protocols. Without Bam down low, the Heat clearly have no answer for Embiid, who isn’t expected to cross 80 FD points again but could certainly still potentially achieve 5x on his current salary under the right circumstances.
Enes Kanter – vs. IND ($5,300)
Jusuf Nurkic powered through his quadriceps injury to play 30 minutes against the Kings on Wednesday, but the big man is only averaging 23.6 minutes per game overall this season. That’s helped lead to Kanter averaging a solid 19.0 minutes off the bench, and with limited value options at center Thursday, he’s worthy of consideration. Kanter is shooting a career-high 66.2 percent, and he’s scored over 20 FD points in nine of 12 games. More specifically, Kanter has generated over 5x on his current salary in four of those contests, and he could be in for a healthy allotment of minutes if Nurkic is a bit limited on the second game of the back-to-back set for Portland.
Also consider: Myles Turner ($7,800); DeMarcus Cousins, HOU ($4,600)
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