FPBC Lineup Review - March 9th

FanDuel is running a contest between nine of the top fantasy content sites to see who is able to put together the best lineups over the course of five weeks. For more details, visit the FanDuel Partners Basketball Championship homepage.

We have a lot of ground to make up in this contest. With only nine contestants, I’m still going to employ more of a cash game strategy to slowly try to work my way back into the contest. They are dropping the lowest two scores, which really helps our chances. Here are my top five picks for FanDuel tonight, all of which are featured in tonight’s lineup.

Point Guard

Mario Chalmers
		FanDuel:
		Salary: $5,300
		Position: PG
		FP/Min: 0.92
Statistics	Season Average	Last 10 Games	Last 10 +/-	Last 5 Games	Last 5 +/-
Minutes	22.5	24.9	2.4	29.9	7.4
FPPG (FD)	20.6	23.9	3.3	29.7	9.1
TO-Adj. Usage	19.0	20.6	1.5	19.6	0.6

I won’t be surprised if Chalmers ends up being 100% owned in this contest and closer to 85% owned in cash games tonight. With Mike Conley out, he should see upwards of 40 minutes tonight against the Celtics. Even though Boston has been tough on point guards this season, the opportunity is too good to ignore. This is one of those situations where you play the chalk and look to differentiate elsewhere.

Shooting Guard

James Harden
		FanDuel:
		Salary: $11,000
		Position: SG
		FP/Min: 1.25
Statistics	Season Average	Last 10 Games	Last 10 +/-	Last 5 Games	Last 5 +/-
Minutes	37.8	40.9	3.1	40.7	2.9
FPPG (FD)	47.3	54.8	7.4	51.9	4.6
TO-Adj. Usage	27.6	29.3	1.7	29.2	1.6

The Rockets haven’t been playing their best basketball recently, even though Harden is averaging close to 55 fantasy points over his last ten games. The two may go hand in hand, actually. In DFS, all we care about is individual production and with a matchup against the Sixers, Harden should feast once again. With all of the value that opened up on Memphis, it was easy to squeeze him into my lineup.

Small Forward

LeBron James
		FanDuel:
		Salary: $10,100
		Position: SF
		FP/Min: 1.25
Statistics	Season Average	Last 10 Games	Last 10 +/-	Last 5 Games	Last 5 +/-
Minutes	35.8	35.7	-0.1	35.2	-0.6
FPPG (FD)	44.7	45.6	0.9	49.1	4.4
TO-Adj. Usage	27.5	26.9	-0.5	28.6	1.1

The Cavaliers have mentioned that they may start resting one of their big three each game down the stretch, but there wasn’t a peep from Cleveland today, so we have to assume that James is going to be in the lineup. While there were a number of superstars in play in this slate, only one got to face the Kings. Sacramento plays at the fastest pace of any team in the league and they are ranked dead last in points allowed per game.

Power Forward

JaMychal Green
		FanDuel:
		Salary: $4,600
		Position: PF
		FP/Min: 0.80
Statistics	Season Average	Last 10 Games	Last 10 +/-	Last 5 Games	Last 5 +/-
Minutes	16.0	22.8	6.8	22.7	6.7
FPPG (FD)	12.8	21.0	8.3	21.5	8.7
TO-Adj. Usage	14.3	15.6	1.3	16.4	2.1

Green had himself a career night against the Cavaliers on Monday. While it’s hard to see him replicating that performance, the value is still there with Zach Randolph, Chris Andersen, and Brandan Wright all out. I expect him to end up scoring 25-30 FPs against the Celtics, which is still solid production from a player at his price point. Like Chalmers, I also expect him to be 80%+ owned in cash games tonight.

Center

Alex Len
		FanDuel:
		Salary: $6,600
		Position: C
		FP/Min: 0.94
Statistics	Season Average	Last 10 Games	Last 10 +/-	Last 5 Games	Last 5 +/-
Minutes	21.1	29.4	8.3	35.7	14.6
FPPG (FD)	19.8	33.8	14.0	41.2	21.4
TO-Adj. Usage	16.1	23.2	7.1	22.1	6.0

Len is yet another chalk pick, but he is on one of those runs where you don’t want to be the guy that misses out. I’ve already missed out on one of his big games (against Orlando) and I’m not planning on missing anymore. He draws a nice matchup against the Knicks at home in a game where the Suns are actually the favorites. I expect Len’s to climb north of $7,000 by next time the Suns take the court.