Daily Fantasy Basketball (Feb. 24th): Some FanDuel Bargains

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who doesn't these days?!), you know that one of the keys to success is uncovering undervalued players to allow you to load up on studs elsewhere.

In case you've never played daily fantasy basketball, you select your team based on a player's salary and your team's salary cannot exceed the game salary-cap maximum.

For FanDuel leagues, rosters consist of nine players and the salary cap is $60,000, which averages to roughly $6,667 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Monday's games, Knicks PF Carmelo Anthony ($10,700) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,500).

There are a number of benefits compared to traditional full-season re-draft leagues, such as:

• you don't have to worry about being saddled by players sidelined by injury;
• having a late pick doesn't rule out owning studs like Kevin Durant or LeBron James;
• you get the instant gratification of winning your league(s) that night.

And you know that enthusiasm you have after drafting your fantasy team(s)? Well, you get to experience that feeling on a nightly basis with daily fantasy basketball.

OK, with the preliminary stuff out of the way, here are some value plays to consider for Monday (Feb. 24th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Brandon Knight, Milwaukee Bucks (at PHI), $6,700: At roughly the average salary for the contest, Knight is a much better than an average option for tonight's games. After missing a game, Knight returned to drop 52 (FanDuel points, that is) against the league's best defense on Saturday. Tonight, Knight and the Pistons face the league's 30th-ranked defense in the Sixers (110.7 PPG allowed).

PG - Trey Burke, Utah Jazz (vs. BOS), $5,700: Burke has had three consecutive solid performances in a row. Averaging 33 minutes per game in that stretch, the rookie out of Michigan has scored 34.6, 38.7 and 31.6 fantasy points, respectively. During that span, he has averaged 17.0 points, 7.67 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal and only 1.0 turnover per game.

PG - Will Bynum, Detroit Pistons (vs. GS), $3,900: Bynum has been playing extremely well recently. Since the All-Star break, Bynum is averaging 12.25 points and 7.25 assists in four games.

SG - Vince Carter, Dallas Mavericks (at NYK), $5,000: Over his past three games, Carter has been productive with 24.9, 26.8 and 34.7 fantasy points, respectively. On Saturday, Carter scored 18 points and added six boards, five assists, a steal and block.

SG - James Anderson, Philadelphia 76ers (vs. MIL), $4,300: Anderson has played at least 30 minutes in each of his past three games. In those games, Anderson has knocked down eight treys to go along with seven steals.

SF - Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors (at DET), $5,300: Iggy has had back-to-back strong performances. In those two games, he has averaged 9.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals.

SF - Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers (at NO), $4,200: Barnes followed up a strong Friday performance (15 points and seven boards) with an even better outing against the Thunder on Sunday. Barnes had 24 points, seven rebounds, two steals and assist in OKC on Sunday.

SF - Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors (at DET), $3,700: With David Lee (flu) expected to miss tonight's game, it should more minutes for Green again. With Lee out on Saturday, Green had the second double-double (career-high 18 points with 10 rebounds) of his career and added three steals and two assists in 38 minutes.

PF - John Henson, Milwaukee Bucks (at PHI), $5,600: Henson has played 25 minutes (or less) in each of his past two games, but he has the potential on any given night for big numbers if given the minutes. With both Larry Sanders and Ekpe Udoh out, Henson (and the Bucks) get a great matchup against the Sixers.

That said, if you're looking for bargains in order to load up with studs, this is the star-studded position for Monday night. In addition to Melo being the most expensive option, the next two highest-priced options tonight are power forwards as well: Blake Griffin ($9,900) and Anthony Davis ($9,800).

PF - Kris Humphries, Boston Celtics (at UTA), $4,100: With Jared Sullinger (concussion) out on Saturday, it appears that he won't play on Monday either. With Sullinger out on Saturday, Humphries took advantage: 19 points, eight boards, four dimes, two blocks and two steals in 36 minutes.

PF - Arnett Moultrie, Philadelphia 76ers (vs. MIL), $3,800: A former first-round pick, Moultrie got 31 minutes on Friday. With Spencer Hawes in Cleveland, Moultrie should continue to get extended minutes and put up roughly 20 fantasy points as a low-priced option.

C - Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks (vs. DAL), $5,500: Chandler has scored a total of 80.8 fantasy points in his past two games. While I wouldn't count on another 23-rebound performance like he had on Saturday, a double-double (plus) with a couple of blocks is close to a sure thing.

C - Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (vs. BOS), $5,400: Frustration! That's probably the word best used to describe the emotion most experienced by Kanter's fantasy owners. That said, Kanter is getting minutes with Derrick Favors currently sidelined. In his past three games, Kanter has played 33-plus minutes each game. Not only does he have two double-doubles in that span, but he has scored 25 points in back-to-back games.

FanDuel leagues: Fantasy Basketball Games - Win Cash In Just 1 Day!

If you play in full-season leagues, check out my rest-of-season Fantasy NBA rankings or my waiver-wire post from yesterday.

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Kemba Walker has triple-double in loss

Earlier tonight, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala had a triple-double, the third of the NBA season.

Now Charlotte rookie Kemba Walker has had the fourth.

In tonight's loss to the Wizards, Walker finished with 20 points (on 8-of-18 shooting), 10 rebounds and 11 assists. It was the first time this season that Walker had double-digit rebounds or double-digit assists.

Walker becomes the third Bobcats player to ever record a triple-double. The other two were Stephen Jackson (11/20/2010) and Boris Diaw (01/17/2011).

Andre Iguodala had a triple-double vs. Pistons

With their 14th win in their first 20 games, the Sixers got a big performance from Andre Iguodala against the Pistons tonight.

Iguodala only took seven shots, but he finished with a very efficient triple-double: 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Boston's Rajon Rondo and Houston's Kyle Lowry had triple-doubles earlier this month. Iguodala's triple-double was the third by any player this season.

In his career, Iguodala had seven triple-doubles entering this season including three of them last year.

On the season, Iggy is averaging 13.0 points, 6.2 points and 4.7 assists per game.

NBA Consensus Power Rankings, Week 3

The Miami Heat are still the unanimous No. 1 team in our NBA Power Rankings by all four of our rankers.

While the top three teams in our power rankings remain unchanged (Miami, Oklahoma City and Chicago), the Thunder and Bulls are no longer the unanimous No. 2 and No. 3 teams, respectively.

At the bottom of our rankings, the Wizards are still the league's worst team and it's unanimous. Washington remain the league's only team yet to win a game this season.

Although the Kings were the first team to fire their head coach this season, it may not be long for the Wizards fire coach Flip Saunders, especially in light of comments by Andray Blatche.

"Flip is definitely doing his job," Blatche said, per Ken Berger of CBS Sports. "I just don't feel like guys are listening and following behind what he says and what he wants us to do."

"Guys want to try to do it their own way, and it's not working," Blatche said. "The record shows that. I feel like everybody should go home and focus and think and take consideration for what Flip is saying, because it can't hurt. It damn sure ain't helping us our way."

Here are some stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:

- Biggest jump from last week: Utah Jazz (+10.0)
- Biggest drop from last week: Golden State Warriors (-7.5)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Indiana Pacers (9)

[See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]

Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question:

The Sixers have finished first in the Atlantic Division only once (2000-01) since they did in the 1989-90 season. Where will they finish in 2011-12?

Will the Sixers Win the Atlantic?

Where will the 76ers finish in the Atlantic Division this season? 1st 2nd 3rd 4th or 5th view results

John (follow on Twitter): Early in the season, the Sixers are off to a good start. At 6-2, they're on top of the division and hold a two-game lead over the Celtics and Knicks. With New Jersey unable to land another big name to go along with Deron Williams in the offseason and Toronto not expected to be very good this year, it looks like a three-team race. The Celtics are aging and already injury-plagued, while the Knicks still don't play a shred of defense. The division appears to be wide open, and with a solid young team in Philadelphia, some are predicting them to win the East. While I do think they will make the playoffs, I expect the Knicks to buckle down a bit defensively and win the division. I think the Sixers will finish second.

Sean (follow on Twitter): I think they finish third in the Atlantic division behind the Knicks and Celtics. The Knicks aren't playing too well right now, but I think Tyson Chandler is the difference. We have already seen what the loss of Chandler has done to the Mavericks this year. Philly will end up with the No. 5 seed and I think will win their first-round playoff series versus the Celtics, and then fall short to the Heat in the Eastern Semis. The 76ers have one of the deepest teams in the league in my opinion, and that will come into play this season especially with so many games jam packed together.

Dan (follow on Twitter): The 76ers have been a great story so far, as they have a great infusion of youth and inspired play by Andre Iguodala, and the dual point guards of Lou Williams and Jrue Holliday. The 76ers have been spreading the ball around, as they are fourth in the league in points per game; however, Lou Williams leads the team with 17.6 PPG. I don't think they will win the division though. I think they will finish second in the division to the Knicks, yet ahead of the Celtics, and put them in the No. 6 seed for the weak Eastern Conference playoffs.

Kevin (follow on Twitter): As a Sixers fan, I think it's fair to say that I'm partially biased. But the stats also speak a bit for themselves: Philadelphia ranks first in the NBA in scoring differential (+15.3). The only other team in the league to have a double-digit differential is Miami (+11.7). Philadelphia currently ranks first in the NBA in team defense (85.6 points per game allowed) and opposition field goal percentage (39.5 percent). In addition, they have good depth as eight players are averaging at least 23 minutes per game with their young and athletic nucleus. Although I'm used to suffering as a Sixers' fan, they will win the Atlantic this season and finish as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference after Miami and Chicago.

To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going into Week 3, click here.

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Related: Our End-of-season NFL Consensus Power Rankings

Is it "evitable" that the Warriors trade Monta Ellis?

According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, "it seems inevitable" that the Warriors will trade guard Monta Ellis even though they aren't actively shopping him.

Meanwhile, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that "Ellis' representatives have joined the Warriors in an attempt to find a mutually beneficial destination."

Per Thompson, four players the Warriors have discussed are Rudy Gay of Memphis, Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia, Luol Deng of Chicago and Nene of Denver.

Some of the other players mentioned by Simmons include Atlanta's Josh Smith and Portland's Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum.

While one of Thompson's sources says "it's not close to happening," the Iguodala-to-Warriors option, in particular, is "the one that has legs."

Ellis, who is under contract at $11 million per season for three more years, averaged 24.1 points, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game in 80 games last season. Ellis led the team in scoring and steals and was second in assists behind guard Stephen Curry.

Back-to-back triple-doubles for Andre Iguodala

Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala had only six double-doubles from the start of the season through February 15th.

This weekend, Iguodala had back-to-back triple-doubles and now has three of them in the seven games since February 16th.

Against the Timberwolves on Friday, Iguodala had 22 points, ten rebounds and 13 assists. Tonight against the Warriors, Iguodala finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and ten assists.

On the season, Iguodala is averaging 14.3 points, a career-high 6.2 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game.