In our NBA Fantasy Basketball Daily Shopper series, RotoBaller Brad Leibfried brings you his expert picks for NBA Daily League contests on DraftStreet.
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The Daily NBA Fantasy Shopper: NBA Expert Picks for DraftStreet - 1/6/2014
With just three games tonight, we give you one guy to look at per position.
PG: Shelvin Mack ($7,453): Even though Mack is a point guard, he has seen a boost in minutes since the injury to Al Horford. The Hawks have started to use more of a small ball lineup, and they’ve inserted Mack for his playmaking ability. Mack has responded, scoring in double digits in three of his past six games as well as contributing at least 3 assists in six of his past seven games. Along with tossing in a few steals, Mack should be able to easily outperform his price tag against a poor Brooklyn defense.
SG: Arron Afflalo ($12,543): Afflalo has continued to be one of the steadiest scorers in the NBA. After scoring just 9 points in the season opener, he has scored in double digits in every game this season while averaging 21.2 overall. Afflalo also gets a shot at the reeling Clippers who just lost Chris Paul to a shoulder injury and give up over 100 points per game. Expect Afflalo to get over 20 points as well as throwing in his usual numbers in rebounds and assists.
SF: Tobias Harris ($11,877): Harris has been very inconsistent since returning from an ankle injury this month. However, he is coming off of likely his best game of the year that saw him put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and a block. Harris has taken advantage of the absence of Nikola Vucevic to pick up his rebounding numbers over the past few, and he’s also recorded at least 1 block in each of his last three games. Like his teammate Afflalo, he gets a good matchup against the Clippers tonight.
PF: Thaddeus Young ($18,804): Young is perhaps the hottest player in fantasy basketball right now. Since his trade request on December 19, he has averaged 26.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. He has double-doubles in three of his past six games, with 18 steals over that span. Don’t expect the hot play to stop tonight, as the Timberwolves are coming off a game in which they gave up 48 points to Kevin Durant. For a much better price, we like Young over Kevin Love tonight.
C: Nikola Pekovic ($15,933): A player almost equally as hot as Young is Pekovic in Minnesota. The big man is often over shadowed by Kevin Love but has posted double-doubles in six of his past seven games. Pekovic is ridiculously consistent, as he has scored 18 or more points in eight straight games while tossing in a few 30+ point outputs. Although he does not contribute a ton outside of points and rebounds, he doesn’t turn the ball over much and he shoots for a great percentage. A matchup with a team that scores 110 points a game never hurts the fantasy value either; look for Pekovic to be a great play on a night with very little center depth.