NBA Daily Punts: November 4, 2013
When I construct my NBA lineups, I usually start by taking a look at players with cheap salaries that will allow me to pay for a guy like Kevin Love. Most DFS players will use 2-3 value plays each night, depending on the site, and this article will act as a guide on which players to keep an eye on as the day moves along. As we all know with NBA, injury news will continue to pour in as we inch closer to tip-off, so check out the RotoGrinders Twitter Feed as roster lock approaches.
In order to be considered a “punt,” a player must meet Bargain Bin Baller status on either Fanduel (5500), Draftstreet (7000) or Draftkings (4500). I will typically make a note of which site a particular player is best suited for.
Guards
Jeremy Lin – With the injury to Patrick Beverley, Lin now has his starting job back. He is back to playing over 30 minutes a night, and in an up-tempo offense like Houston’s, that will translate into fantasy points. Harden and Parsons will continue to do some of the facilitating, limiting Lin’s upside for assists, but he’s a really nice play on FD (as well as DraftDay) due to his price and the short slate of games. With an O/U of 208, it might be wise to target at least a few players in this game.
J.J. Redick – Redick seems to be fitting in nicely in LA. Playing alongside Chris Paul would help any shooter like Redick find more open shots, and he’s been fairly efficient thus far. With the Rockets coming to town tonight, we should see a wide open game without a ton of defense, which should equal fantasy goodness for Redick. He should play somewhere around 30 minutes and is a solid play across the board tonight.
Avery Bradley – Since I couldn’t find much I liked in terms of forwards and centers, I decided to throw another guard I liked into the mix. Bradley is seeing as many minutes as he can handle this season, but hasn’t been as productive as you would like with that kind of playing time. He’s been dealing with some minor injuries and is much more productive as a lock-down defender than as a fantasy contributor, but I think he more than pays off his salary on Draftkings tonight.
Also receiving consideration: Jarrett Jack, Francisco Garcia, James Anderson
Forwards
Brandon Bass – Averaging almost 35 minutes a game, Bass has a nice floor for production at a very low price (3200 on DK is an absolute steal). He won’t blow you away or put up many GPP winning performances, but Bass is a safe bet in any H2H or double-up tonight with very limited options to choose from. There is no one on the Celtics seriously threatening his minutes, so we have no reason not to expect another Bass-like performance tonight.
Matt Barnes – Barnes is splitting time at small forward with Jared Dudley, and neither guy has really done anything to warrant getting the majority of the work. The fact that Houston is coming to the Staples Center makes me take a closer look at Barnes, because an up-tempo game would play nicely into his skill-set. The Rockets defense should get torched by CP3 and the Clippers, and if Barnes can get his shots to fall early, he should have no trouble paying off his FD salary of 4500.
Also receiving consideration: Corey Brewer, Gerald Wallace, Mike Miller
Centers
Vitor Faverani – His price on Fanduel is a little too hard to ignore. He’s had a few duds mixed in with a monster performance, but he’s still paying off his FD salary even during the games in which he struggles. I’d expect to see a nice increase in his 19 minutes played from last night, especially against a team with two very strong options in the post. Don’t expect a ton from Faverani on the offensive end but he should provide a nice number of blocks with a decent rebound total.