Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Jan. 24th)

More so than in most nights, there is not much offensive firepower in tonight's five-game NBA slate.

No game has an over-under greater than 196.0 and only the Memphis Grizzlies (103.5) and Washington Wizards (100.5) are projected to score at least 100 points based on Vegas odds.

In addition, the Grizzlies are 17-point favorites over the Sixers so we could see their starters on the bench for most or all of the fourth quarter.

Moreover, there are no $10,000 players tonight and Portland's Damian Lillard ($9,400) is the highest-priced player. With all of the team's injuries, his usage rate should be off the charts even if the matchup against the Wizards is difficult. Washington's John Wall ($9,200) and Charlotte's Kemba Walker ($9,000) are the only other options priced at $9,000-plus.

[Update: LaMarcus Aldridge will postpone surgery and play tonight vs. Wizards.]

With an average salary of $6,250 per player on DraftKings, you'll still need to identify some values in order to play guys like Lillard or Wall. As usual, we will highlight some players we like that are priced at $6,500 or less in order to help you uncover some value.


With that said, here are some DraftKings values for Saturday's NBA games:

PG - Jarrett Jack, Brooklyn Nets (at UTA), $6,000: With Deron Williams (rib) ruled out at least until Monday, Jack will get as many minutes as he can handle. In a tough matchup against Chris Paul and the Clippers, Jack had just 17.25 fantasy points on Thursday. Prior to that, however, he had averaged 32.56 fantasy points in his previous nine games.

PG - Langston Galloway, New York Knicks (at CHA), $4,100: Another start with at least 30 minutes for Galloway and another 30-point fantasy performance. With starts in the team's past three games, Galloway has scored a very consistent and productive 32.25, 32.25 and 32.5 fantasy points, respectively. For as long as he's starting and priced under $5,000, Galloway has become close to a must-start. And with Jose Calderon (knee) out tonight, that only further assists Galloway's fantasy production.

PG - Dante Exum, Utah Jazz (vs. BKN), $3,200: With Exum getting the start over Trey Burke on Thursday, he played a season-high 35 minutes and finished with 23.5 fantasy points. Exum knocked down five of 10 three-pointers for 15 points and added five assists. Exum is averaging an extremely low 0.56 fantasy points per minute on the season, but he should reach and exceed value assuming he gets more than 30 minutes again.

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SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. DET), $5,300: As difficult as it is to trust Jason Kidd, The Alphabet is productive when given minutes and he has averaged 31 minutes and 28 fantasy points over his past three games. Contributing in a variety of ways, he has averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 boards, 2.7 assists and 3.3 steals per game during that span. In addition, the Pistons have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.

SG - Courtney Lee, Memphis Grizzlies (vs. PHI), $3,800: After taking double-digit shot attempts in five consecutive games, Lee was 0-for-3 on Wednesday against the Raptors. Even so, he still finished with 16.75 fantasy points. In his previous five games, he scored a minimum of 21.5 fantasy points with an average of 24.2 fantasy points per game. While he has a low ceiling, Lee should easily reach 5x salary (19.0) against the Sixers, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards.

SF - Jeff Green, Memphis Grizzlies (vs. PHI), $5,100: Green had a disappointing performance (11.5 fantasy points) on Wednesday, but a matchup against the Sixers is the perfect recipe for a bounce-back performance. In his previous three games, Green averaged exactly 30 fantasy points per game.

SF - Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Philadelphia 76ers (at MEM), $3,800: After missing a game, Mbah a Moute returned to the starting lineup and scored 10 points with five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block on Friday night. Mbah a Moute has now reached 20 fantasy points in his past three games and despite the difficult matchup, he has a solid shot at reaching 5x (19.0) his salary if you're looking for some salary-cap relief.

PF - Nerlens Noel, Philadephia 76ers (at MEM), $5,100: After missing Wednesday's game with flu-like symptoms, Noel returned to drop 35.5 fantasy points last night. In order for Noel to reach 6x salary, he'll need to score 30.6 fantasy points tonight. Noel has scored more than that in four of his past five games and the Grizzlies have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season.

PF - Jason Smith, New York Knicks (at CHA), $3,900: Smith has played at least 32 minutes in each of the team's past three games and has scored a minimum of 25.5 fantasy points in those games including 33.75 last night. Although Amar'e Stoudemire, who missed last night's game, is available for tonight, Smith has a great chance to reach value at his salary.

C - Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards (at POR), $5,500: The Polish Hammer has averaged less than 29 minutes over his past seven games with a couple of outings during that span of less than 20 fantasy points. That said, he has scored more than 33 fantasy points in two of his past three games and the Blazers front court has been decimated by injuries.

C - Zaza Pachulia, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. DET), $5,300: Pachulia gets a favorable matchup against the Pistons, who have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. Pachulia has scored at least 25 fantasy points in three consecutive games and in five of his past six games. In addition, he has posted five double-doubles in his past nine games, with 36-plus fantasy points in four of those nine games.

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Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Jan. 21st)

In order to fit studs like DeMarcus Cousins ($11,100), Kevin Durant ($10,700) or LeBron James ($10,700) into our DraftKings lineups tonight, finding values at other roster spots is imperative.

Like most Wednesdays, it's another large slate (12 games) today, which increases the odds of finding value at other spots.

For this post, I will focus on players with a salary of $6,500 or less to highlight the mid- and low-priced players that I like for tonight's games.

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With that said, here are some DraftKings values for Wednesday's NBA games:

PG - Jarrett Jack, Brooklyn Nets (at SAC), $6,300: With Deron Williams out, Jack remains a strong option among the mid-priced point guards. In his past eight games, Jack is averaging 32.19 fantasy points per game with 38.5 or more in half of those games including back-to-back games against the Wizards. During that eight-game span, Jack has averaged 15.63 points, 7.38 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.13 three-pointers in nearly 37 minutes per game. Meanwhile, the Kings have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

PG - Mo Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. DAL), $6,200: Williams is coming off a disappointing performance (18 fantasy points in 29 minutes), but he had at least 25 fantasy points in the previous seven games with 42-plus points in three of them. Assuming that Ricky Rubio misses at least one more game, Williams has plenty of upside in what should be a fast-paced game. Both teams rank in the top-third of the league in terms of pace. (That said, I'll like Williams a little less if Kevin Martin (GTD) suits up tonight although he may be on a minutes restriction if he does.)

PG - Trey Burke, Utah Jazz (at CLE), $5,600: Burke has scored at least 22.75 fantasy points in 11 consecutive games and has averaged 30.68 points over that span. Burke is averaging 16.9 points, 5.1 assists and a steal per game during that span and gets a great matchup against Kyrie Irving and the Cavs, who have surrendered the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

PG - Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic (at DET), $5,400: Payton has now scored 40-plus fantasy points in back-to-back games and 30-plus fantasy points in four consecutive games. Arguably the best defender in last year's draft class, Payton has multiple steals in all four of those games, but he has surprisingly stepped up offensively with 22 and 19 points in his past two games, respectively. Over his past four games, he is averaging 16.5 points, 7.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.

PG - Langston Galloway, New York Knicks (at PHI), $3,600: With three opportunities to start a point guard on DraftKings (PG, G and UTIL spots), that's typically a strategy that I use most nights and will do so again tonight in many of my lineups. There are plenty of great mid-priced options, as mentioned above, but Galloway is a much cheaper option that is likely to draw another start and no team allows more fantasy points to opposing point guards than the 76ers. Galloway has averaged 21.75 fantasy points in his five games with the Knicks including a pair of 30-point fantasy outings.

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SG - Wesley Matthews, Portland Trail Blazers (at PHO), $5,700: Matthews' minutes won't directly benefit from the injury to LaMarcus Aldridge, but his usage rate and shot attempts will. With Aldridge playing only 14 minutes before his injury on Monday, Matthews took a season-high 20 shot attempts including 12 three-point attempts. He now has 26 three-point attempts in his past two games. Dollar for dollar, Matthews may be my favorite play among SGs tonight. SG - Eric Gordon, New Orleans Pelicans (vs. LAL), $5,400: If Jrue Holiday (ankle) misses another game, that would benefit Gordon. Since returning from his own injury on Jan. 5th, Gordon has played 33-plus minutes in seven of eight games. In his past seven games, Gordon has scored a minimum of 22.5 fantasy points and he's averaged 27.57 per game over that span.

SG - J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. UTA), $4,900: Smith has averaged over 35 minutes per game in his past six outings with 17.0 points, 3.3 treys and 1.8 steals per game during that span. With at least 22.5 fantasy points in five of those six games, he has averaged 28.58 fantasy points over that stretch. Meanwhile, Utah has allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.

SF - Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers (at PHO), $5,400: Things haven't gone so well for Batum (and his fantasy/DFS owners), but that has led to a more modest price tag. Although he has failed to reach 20 fantasy points in four consecutive games, Batum could shoulder a little more of the load with Aldridge out. In addition, the Suns play at the third-fastest pace and rank fifth in most turnovers per game (15.3) and Batum is less of a scorer and more of a player that contributes across multiple stat categories.

SF - Jeff Green, Memphis Grizzlies (vs. TOR), $5,000: Excluding his debut with the Grizzlies, Green has scored 28.25-31.25 fantasy points with at least 30 minutes in his other three games with his new team. During that three-game span, he has at least 14 shot attempts each night and has posted an average of 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and a steal per game. The Raptors have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.

PF - Donatas Motiejunas, Houston Rockets (at GS), $5,500: In a game with a 218.0 over/under, there should be plenty of fantasy points tonight. Motiejunas has now scored double-digit (real) points in 12 consecutive games and has now scored at least 24.75 fantasy points in seven consecutive games. Against the Warriors on Jan. 17th, Motiejunas scored 29.75 fantasy points in less than 22 minutes, a 12-game low in minutes. Over the past 12 games, he has averaged nearly 30 minutes per game.

PF - Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers (vs. NYK), $5,300: While he may lack some consistency, Noel has been getting consistent playing time with 30-plus minutes in six of his past seven games. Over his past four games, Noel has averaged 11.75 points, 8.25 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.25 blocks per game. Noel needs 31.8 fantasy points to reach six times his salary and he has scored 31.5 or more fantasy points in three of his past four games.

[Update: Noel (sick) has been ruled out for tonight's game.] 

PF - Channing Frye, Orlando Magic (at DET), $5,000: This play is contingent upon the status of Tobias Harris, who is considered a game-time decision for tonight's game. If Harris can't go, Frye should continue to benefit. In the five-game stretch that Harris has missed, Frye has averaged nearly 36 minutes and 27.95 fantasy points per game. Frye's shooting percentage (15-of-51, 29.4 percent) during that stretch has been awful, but 41 of his 51 attempts have been from behind the arc and he still has a minimum of 21.5 fantasy points in those games despite poor shooting.

[Update: Harris will play, but he may come off the bench.]

C - Tyson Chandler, Dallas Mavericks (at MIN), $6,300: Typically Chandler isn't someone that finds his way into my lineups, but he now has three consecutive double-doubles with at least 35 fantasy points. Meanwhile, the T'Wolves have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season so Chandler has an excellent shot at reaching value once again.

C - Alex Len, Phoenix Suns (vs. POR), $4,800: With injuries to Robin Lopez and LMA, Len gets a favorable matchup against a Blazers' front court that lacks depth. Len is coming off his worst performance (21 fantasy points in 19 minutes) over his past seven games, but he had a minimum of 26 fantasy points with an average of 30.54 in his previous six games.

C - Chris Kaman, Portland Trail Blazers (at PHO), $4,400: Kaman had just 12 fantasy points in 19 minutes on MLK Jr. Day, but he averaged 28 minutes and 26.31 fantasy points in his previous four games. With the injuries in the Blazers' front court, Kaman should see close to 30 minutes tonight and he has averaged 1.05 DK points per minute this season.

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2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 12

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Since moving into the No. 2 spot of our NBA Power Rankings last week, the Atlanta Hawks have continued to play great basketball as they finished the week with a 4-0 record despite some difficult matchups.

Three of their four wins were against teams that are more than 10 games above .500 -- Clippers, Grizzlies and Wizards. The other win was against the Pistons, who have played much better since releasing Josh Smith. In fact, the Pistons have won eight of nine games without Smith with the loss to the Hawks being the exception.

Since November 28th, the Hawks have posted a 22-2 record.

The Hawks will begin a four-game road trip starting on Tuesday against a couple of beatable Eastern Conference teams (Philadelphia and Boston) and then a couple of matchups (Toronto and Chicago) against two fellow teams in the top-three of Eastern Conference standings.

Although they may lack well-known superstars, they have played efficient, team-first basketball.

Not only does Atlanta rank third in three-point percentage (.383) and fifth in shooting percentage (.467), but they also rank eighth in opponent's three-point percentage (.339) and sixth in opponent's shooting percentage (.438).

In addition, the Hawks rank third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89) behind only the Clippers and Mavericks.

The final All-Star ballots will be announced on January 22nd, but the Hawks don't have any players in the top 10 and Paul Millsap currently ranks 13th in voting among Eastern Conference forwards.

Who's the worst: Sixers, Knicks and Celtics?

The Sixers opened the 2014-15 NBA season with 17 consecutive losses and it seemed as though they wouldn't win any games this season.

For the second time this season, however, the Sixers have a two-game winning streak with wins over the Nets and Pacers this past weekend and they have now won three of their past four games.

While their competition for the most lottery ping-pong balls is increasing within the division, the Sixers will host the 29-8 Hawks on Tuesday so it's highly unlikely that they get their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Perhaps the Knicks will shut down Carmelo Anthony for the season, but they have now lost a franchise-worst 15 consecutive games and currently own the league's worst record (5-35, .125). In addition, they have won only one of their past 26 games.

Aside from Anthony's injury, the Knicks have traded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers and released Samuel Dalembert as they try to improve their salary-cap situation going forward.

Earlier in the season, the Celtics traded away point guard Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks. One of the players acquired in that trade, Brandan Wright, has since been traded away as the Celtics work to stockpile draft picks.

The next player on the move will be the team's leading scorer, Jeff Green, in a trade that is expected to be completed on Monday.

Sources: Boston, Memphis and New Orleans agree on five-player trade sending Jeff Green to Grizzlies. Trade call Monday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 11, 2015

In a race to not be mediocre, but instead to be as bad as you can, which one of these Atlantic Division teams is the worst?

Cavs on five-game losing streak, lost eight of nine games

It takes time for a new trio of superstars playing for a first-year head coach to gel. Making the situation more challenging is the fact that LeBron James has missed the past eight games with a knee injury.

The injury isn't too serious and he should be back soon. In fact, he has noted that he would have played if it were the playoffs.

That said, the Cleveland Cavaliers have now lost five consecutive games and eight of their past nine.

With the Cavs ranking in the bottom half of the league in team defense, they have made some moves that should help bolster their defense. Not only is newly-acquired Iman Shumpert one of the league's more talented perimeter defenders, but they acquired Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets. Mozgov played for coach Blatt on the Russian National Team.

Despite dropping to .500 as we near the midpoint of the season, Vegas still has the Cavs installed as the favorite to win the 2015 NBA Finals at 5/1 odds. (The Warriors are a close second at 11/2 odds.)

Turnaround coming for the Hornets?

Expectations were high in the preseason for the Charlotte Hornets, who were coming off their second playoff appearance in the past decade.

Despite starting the season with a 10-24 record, the team is now on a five-game winning streak.

If the season were to end today, the Hornets would be tied with the Pacers at the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference, but both teams are only two games behind the Heat and Nets for the eighth seed.

Not only has Lance Stephenson been out since last playing on December 17th, but Al Jefferson has now missed seven consecutive games. With Stephenson and Jefferson out, Kemba Walker has put the team on his back.

During their five-game winning streak, Walker has averaged 30.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Here are my NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 12:

1. Golden State Warriors (Record 29-5, Last Week 1)
2. Atlanta Hawks (Record 29-8, Last Week 2)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 30-8, Last Week 3)
4. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 26-11, Last Week 4)
5. Chicago Bulls (Record 26-12, Last Week 5)
6. Houston Rockets (Record 26-11, Last Week 7)
7. Toronto Raptors (Record 25-11, Last Week 8)
8. Dallas Mavericks (Record 26-12, Last Week 6)
9. San Antonio Spurs (Record 23-15, Last Week 13)
10. Washington Wizards (Record 25-12, Last Week 9)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 25-13, Last Week 10)
12. Phoenix Suns (Record 22-18, Last Week 12)
13. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 18-19, Last Week 11)
14. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 18-18, Last Week 14)
15. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 19-19, Last Week 15)
16. Brooklyn Nets (Record 16-21, Last Week 16)
17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 20-19, Last Week 17)
18. Denver Nuggets (Record 17-20, Last Week 19)
19. Miami Heat (Record 16-21, Last Week 18)
20. Charlotte Hornets (Record 15-24, Last Week 26)
21. Sacramento Kings (Record 16-21, Last Week 20)
22. Indiana Pacers (Record 15-24, Last Week 21)
23. Orlando Magic (Record 13-27, Last Week 22)
24. Detroit Pistons (Record 13-24, Last Week 23)
25. Boston Celtics (Record 12-23, Last Week 24)
26. Utah Jazz (Record 13-25, Last Week 25)
27. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 12-26, Last Week 27)
28. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 7-29, Last Week 29)
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 5-31, Last Week 28)
30. New York Knicks (Record 5-35, Last Week 30)

Also, check out our Fantasy Basketball Rest-of-Season Rankings

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Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for April 12th

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, every player has a salary and your roster cannot exceed the game's salary-cap maximum.

For FanDuel Fantasy NBA 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 Saturday's games, Heat SF LeBron James ($10,600) 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 Saturday (April 12th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Ramon Sessions, Milwaukee Bucks (at WAS), $6,600: While the matchup isn't all that favorable, Sessions has played 40-plus minutes in eight of his past nine games with 38 being the exception. Over that nine-game span, Sessions is averaging 19.0 points, 6.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.

PG - Ray McCallum, Sacramento Kings (at LAC), $5,900: Like Sessions, McCallum's matchup is not favorable — in fact, it's horrible. The Clips have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing point guards. That said, McCallum has played 40-plus minutes in nine consecutive games and has scored more than 30 fantasy points in five of his past seven games. In his past seven games, McCallum is averaging 15.29 points, 7.86 assists, 3.14 rebounds and 2.00 steals per game.

PG - Trey Burke, PG, Utah Jazz (at DEN), $5,300: Burke has two double-doubles in his past three games and even scored 50.3 fantasy points in one of those games. Over those three games, he has averaged 14.0 points and 10.33 assists per game. The Nuggets have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

PG - Luke Ridnour, Charlotte Bobcats (vs. PHI), $3,500: Ridnour's fantasy value hinges on the availability of Kemba Walker (ankle) on Saturday. With Walker sitting out last night's game, Ridnour started at the point and finished with 24.9 fantasy points (nine points, five assists and three steals) against the Celtics. If Walker misses tonight's game, Ridnour will get a start vs. the fantasy-friendly Sixers at a contest-minimum salary.

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SG - Randy Foye, Denver Nuggets (vs. UTA), $6,400: Foye has scored 102.4 fantasy points combined in his past two games. In those two games, he has averaged 25.0 points, 11.0 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Over his past six games, he has four outings with at least 30 fantasy points.

SG - J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers (vs. SAC), $4,600: Redick has been back for three games and he has yet to score more than 18.6 fantasy points since his return. That could change with a matchup against the Kings, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.

SG - Austin Rivers, New Orleans Pelicans (at HOU), $4,300: Rivers has been extremely productive in his past two outings with 31-plus fantasy points in both games. He has averaged 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in those two games. The Rockets have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.

SG - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Charlotte Bobcats (vs. PHI), $4,100: For the first time in four games, Douglas-Roberts scored more than 20 fantasy points last night. With a favorable matchup tonight against the Sixers, a repeat performance seems like a reasonable expectation.

SF - Jeff Green, Boston Celtics (at CLE), $5,700: Green has been solid, but not spectacular, with 20-plus fantasy points in seven of his past eight games. With a high of 29.5 fantasy points during that span, Green gets a decent opportunity to crack 30 fantasy points against the Cavs. Cleveland has allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.

SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (at WAS), $5,100: Middleton has scored at least 22.6 fantasy points in three consecutive games.

SF - Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz (at DEN), $3,700: Evans has played at least 23 minutes in each of his past three games and he has averaged 19.03 fantasy points during that stretch. The Nuggets have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards so Evans could be a decent cheap play tonight if he gets 20-something minutes again.

PF - Jared Sullinger, Boston Celtics (at CLE), $6,500: In his past three games, Sullinger has either scored 20 points or posted a double-double (or both). Over his past nine games, he is averaging 16.33 points, 7.89 rebounds and just shy of 30 fantasy points (29.24) per game.

PF - Terrence Jones, Houston Rockets (vs. NO), $6,200: Jones has scored a minimum of 23 fantasy points in each of his past five games, but he has averaged 32.6 fantasy points during that span. Only four teams have allowed more fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season than the Pelicans.

PF - Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. BOS), $5,200: With three double-doubles in his past six games, Thompson is averaging 12.0 points and 9.33 rebounds per game over that stretch. In addition, he has at least 35 fantasy points in three of those games including last night's matchup against the Bucks.

PF - Josh McRoberts, Charlotte Bobcats (vs. PHI), $4,900: Since missing three games, McBob has scored at least 20 fantasy points in both games since his return. The best could come tonight as the Bobcats host the Sixers, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season.

C - Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (at DEN), $6,100: This game features a pair of foreign-born fantasy centers that are both excellent values. Kanter has averaged 15.0 points and 16.0 rebounds with 1.5 blocks per game over his past two games. The Nuggets have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing centers this year.

C - Omer Asik, Houston Rockets (vs. NO), $5,900: Even with just 24 minutes apiece in his past three outings, the good times continue to roll for Asik and his fantasy owners. In the month of April, Asik has had double-digit rebounds in every game including a pair of games with 23 boards and four double-doubles. In his seven April games, Asik has averaged 11.29 points, 16.43 boards, 1.28 blocks and 1.00 steals per game.

C - Timofey Mozgov, Denver Nuggets (vs. UTA), $5,200: Mozgov has made numerous appearances on these posts, but he has really delivered for DFSers lately. In 43 minutes against the Warriors on Thursday, Mozgov scored 23 points with 29 rebounds and added three assists, three blocks and a steal for 68.3 fantasy points. While a repeat performance would be unrealistic, Mozgov has averaged 16.0 points, 9.44 boards and 1.56 blocks per game in his last nine. In addition, the Jazz have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season.

There are other excellent options at center, but it's hard to imagine many owners starting someone other than Mozgov unless they go with a stud like DeMarcus Cousins or Al Jefferson.

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Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for March 9th

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, every player has a salary and your roster cannot exceed the game's 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 Sunday's games, Thunder SF Kevin Durant ($12,000) 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 Sunday (March 9th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $7,500: While he's not necessarily cheap in absolute terms, Rondo is tied for the eighth-highest salary among point guards with seven games on tap for today. In other words, he's middle of the road among starting point guards in terms of cost, but in reality, he's a better-than-average option today. Over his past five games, Rondo has scored 33.6 fantasy points in all but one game and has averaged 17.2 points, 9.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. On the season, the Pistons have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.


PG - Will Bynum, Detroit Pistons (at BOS), $4,400: Despite the lack of playing time, Bynum has been productive. In his past five games, Bynum has scored more than 25 fantasy points in four of those outings despite playing 21 minutes or less in each of his past four games.

PG - Jerryd Bayless, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $4,200: Over his past six games, Bayless has averaged 31.5 minutes and 22.72 fantasy points per game.  During that six-game span, he has averaged 15.5 points, 3.17 rebounds, 2.17 assists and 1.17 assists per game.  As noted above with Rondo, the matchup is favorable.

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SG - Wesley Matthews, Portland Trail Blazers (at HOU), $5,500: Against the Mavs on Friday, Matthews scored 26 points and added six boards and a steal for 33.2 fantasy points. That ended a streak of modest production as Matthews had scored 22 fantasy points or less in his previous six games. On Sunday, Matthews has a favorable matchup against the Rockets, who have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing SGs.

SG - Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets (vs. SAC), $5,200: In his past three games, Johnson has scored 26.9, 30.4 and 33.4 fantasy points, respectively. Only the Lakers and Sixers have allowed more fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season than the Kings.

SF - Jeff Green, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $6,300: Even though he has had a couple of modest outings in back-to-back games, Green has an opportunity to bounce back on Sunday with a favorable matchup against the Pistons. Only three teams have allowed more fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season and none of them are playing on Sunday.

SF - Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets (at NO), $5,600: Chandler extended his streak of games with 30-plus fantasy points to three games on Friday. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.67 points, 6.67 rebounds, 1.67 assists and 1.33 steals per game. Even though the Pelicans have been excellent at limiting fantasy points to opposing three's, Chandler is a solid option considering his still modest salary.

SF - Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors (vs. PHO), $4,400: Green has played in 21-plus minutes and has scored 22-plus fantasy points in each of his past three games.  During that stretch, he has averaged 8.33 points, 5.33 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.33 steals per game.

PF - Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets (at NOP), $5,900: Faried made this list on Friday and hopefully you started him against the Lakers as he exploded for 56.6 fantasy points (32 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block). Even though 50-something fantasy points shouldn't be expected tonight, The Manimal has scored at least 29.6 fantasy points in four consecutive games. The Pelicans have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season.

PF - Marcus Morris, Phoenix Suns (at GS), $4,100: Morris has averaged 15.0 points and 5.25 rebounds per game over his past four games. During that span, Morris has scored at least 20 fantasy points in three of those games.

C - Timofey Mozgov, Denver Nuggets (at NOP), $4,000: It's hard to trust him, but Mozgov had a solid outing on Friday against the Lakers. He finished with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal for 27.2 fantasy points in 26 minutes. That last stat (26 minutes) is the most important as he hasn't played that many since Feb. 21st. If Mozgov can approach that number on Sunday, he gets a solid matchup (Pelicans allow 10th-most fantasy points to centers) that should easily allow him to outproduce his modest cost.

C - Kelly Olynyk, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $4,200: The Pistons have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. Like with Mozgov, Olynyk's minutes are a concern as he played only 17 minutes with six turnovers on Friday. With 27 minutes on Wednesday, however, Olynyk scored 19 points and added five boards, three assists and a block for 29.5 fantasy points.

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Consensus NBA Power Rankings, Week 15

With Super Bowl XLVIII (already under way) tonight, the NBA had only one game on its slate today.

In a game featured two teams that now have a combined 29-69 record, the Celtics hosted (and beat) the Magic this afternoon.

One of the plays in the game that is definitely worth seeing again is Jeff Green's block on Arron Afflalo and you can see that play here:



Here are the NBA's top 10 "clutch shots" of January, which includes Orlando's Glen Davis at No. 10:



With shots also by Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Paul George, it was Toronto's Patrick Patterson that had the month's top clutch shot.

- See our 2013-14 NBA Power Rankings for Week 15 here

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Durant calls Bosh a "fake tough guy" and a "cool dude"

Despite losing to the Miami Heat by five points today, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, the NBA's leading scorer, led all scorers in today's game with 33 points.

In fact the trio of Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook outscored the trio of Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh by two points, 77-75. Then again, the Thunder trio shot only 38 percent (24 of 63) while the Heat trio made 57.1 percent (28 of 49) of their shots.

Bosh, who returned from a four-game absence, scored 20 points for the Heat and drew some criticisms from Durant for an incident that occurred in the first quarter.

“I was talking to my teammate and [Bosh] decided he wanted to put his two cents into it,” Durant explained, per NBA.com's Art Garcia. “I am a quiet guy, laid-back guy, but I’m not going to let nobody talk trash to me. He’s on a good team now so he thinks he can talk a little bit. There are a lot of fake tough guys in this league and he’s one of them.”

Per Darnell Maybury of The Oklahoman, Durant, who is a mild-mannered guy, called Bosh a "cool dude" when saying that he and Bosh don't have a history of bad blood.

“He was telling Harden to dunk on me,” Bosh said (via Maybury). “He said dunk the next one. I expressed that, no, he’s not going to dunk that. And he expressed, yes he is. We just kind of went back and forth. I don’t think it was anything to get a tech over. It was just talking.”

These two teams will meet one more time in the regular season: Wednesday, March 16th in Miami.