NBA Daily Punts: January 3rd, 2014
When I start building my lineups, I like to look for a few low salary options that should have no trouble exceeding value. On most days, there will be a few injuries that open up opportunities for players who don’t typically see big minutes. A change in a teams rotation or a particular match-up can also be the cause of a value play emerging. As we all know, NBA injury news continues to pour in as the day moves along and is not usually made official until close to tip-off, so be sure to sign up for our NBA alerts and check out the RotoGrinders Twitter Feed leading up to roster lock.
In order to be considered a “punt,” a player must meet Bargain Bin Baller status on either FanDuel ($5500), DraftStreet ($9500) or DraftKings ($4500). I will typically make a note of which site a particular player is best suited for.
Guards
Jeremy Lin – $5,300 @ FD – Lin has been thrown into big minutes as the lone true point guard left on the active roster, and he’ll get to face off with the team that made him famous tonight in Houston. The Knicks have struggled to defend the point guard position recently, and that has a lot to do with Beno Udrih currently eating up most of the minutes at the position. Throwing defensive stats out the window, you can see how bad of a defender Udrih is when you watch him in person. He has trouble staying in front of almost anyone and seems disinterested at times, especially when he struggles at the offensive end (which is often). Expect Lin to put together one of his better games of late in a game that features the highest O/U of the night (207).
Kendall Marshall – $4,000 FD, $8K DS, $3K @ DK – Have the Lakers been hit with the injury bug or what? They’ve now lost every point guard they had on the roster at the start of the season to injury (Nash, Blake, Farmar, and Xavier Henry if you count his short stint as the starting PG). This will leave the duties to former UNC star Kendall Marshall, who has actually fared pretty well with extra run in the past two games. In 28 minutes off the bench against the Bucks, Marshall scored 10 points and added 7 dimes, so he should have no trouble paying off his salary tonight with even more run. Mike D’antoni has always been good at making fantasy stars out of his PG’s, so Marshall becomes as close to a must-play as there is across the board tonight.
Jodie Meeks – $5,100 @ FD – Meeks is locked into major minutes (he’s played 40+ in 3 of the last 5 games, and no fewer then 33 in any game since the 16th of December) with Xavier Henry, Jordan Farmar and Wes Johnson banged up. He’s going to serve as the #2 point guard in addition to starting at shooting guard, so his value gets a nice bump with a chance for a few extra assists. He’s not the sexiest pick on the board tonight, but Meeks should have no trouble returning value tonight in your cash game lineups.
Also receiving consideration: Beno Udrih, Bradley Beal (under 9.5K on DS), Alec Burks, Jamal Crawford
Forwards
Shawn Marion – $5,400 @ FD – Marion is still under-priced on FanDuel and he’ll be in most of my lineups over there tonight, and I’ll play him at other outlets if Dirk ends up sitting out tonight. Dirk tweaked his ankle in the Mavs last game, but played through it although it clearly looked like it was hampering him. Rick Carlisle might choose to play it safe with Nowitzki and hold him out, which would provide a nice bump in value to Marion, Monta Ellis, Brandan Wright and Jae Crowder. Marion is one of the top options at SF on FanDuel tonight, with or without Dirk.
Shawne Williams – $3,700 FD, $7.5K DS, $3,700 @ DK – This game seems to be full of fantasy goodness, and you’ll want a piece of it tonight even though the O/U is under 200. Williams started the year as a sneaky value play before falling out of favor, but he’s back to playing extended minutes with all of the injuries the Lakers have accrued. He’s played 36 minutes in both of LA’s last two games, and D’antoni has clearly taken a liking to Williams style of play lately. The Jazz have a stretch-four of their own in Marvin Williams, so expect Shawne to see big minutes once again tonight.
Also receiving consideration: Jared Sullinger (just 8.8K @ DS), Marvin Williams, Iman Shumpert, James Johnson, Jae Crowder (if Dirk sits)
Centers
Jonas Valanciunas – $5,600 @ FD – He’s priced $100 out of BBB range on FanDuel, but on a short Friday schedule he’s one of my favorite center plays of the day. Since Rudy Gay left town, J-Val has been slowly becoming a bigger part of Toronto’s game plan, but they still seem to get away from him late in games which is concerning from a fantasy perspective. Regardless, he’s posting bigger (and more consistent) stat lines with the extra playing time he’s received, and Washington is not as good against the center position as their DvP would indicate (8th against the position in the last 15, 9th on the season). I think Valanciunas double-doubles tonight with a few blocks as icing on the cake.
Tyson Chandler – $5,300 @ FD – Chandler has the tough task of checking Dwight Howard tonight, but he should still be able to post a nice stat line of his own. Not many centers can handle Dwight down low, but Chandler is the type of defender that can give him fits. He played just 22 minutes last night against San Antonio, so he should be good for 30+ minutes tonight, which the Knicks will need out of him if Dwight stays out of foul trouble.
Also receiving consideration: Brandan Wright, Ed Davis (as a GPP play on DK)