Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Feb. 3)

On a five-game NBA slate on Tuesday, there are only three players priced above $8,800 -- Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins ($10,500), Golden State's Stephen Curry ($10,300) and Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge ($9,400).

While I'll have some exposure to all three of those high-priced studs, Curry will undoubtedly be the one that I have the most in my lineups. If there's any concern, it's that this game turns into a blowout as the Warriors are favored by 9.5 points and Curry has played less than 30 minutes in two of his three matchups against the Kings this season.

That said, Curry is averaging more than 46 fantasy points per game this season, the Kings have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing point guards and are projected to score the most points, by far, tonight based on Vegas odds.

On any given night, Curry has 60-point upside. Only three players in the league have more games with 60-plus fantasy points than Curry (seven games) -- Anthony Davis and James Harden (both 11 games) and Cousins (eight).

In order to fit Curry (and/or Boogie and/or LMA) into your lineup(s), you'll need to find some value plays elsewhere.


With that said, here are my favorite DraftKings values ($6,500 salary or less) for Tuesday's NBA games:

PG - Trey Burke, Utah Jazz (at POR), $4,600: Even if he isn't starting, Burke has played at least 31 minutes in three consecutive games. And over his past four games, Burke has scored 30.0, 20.0, 20.0 and 29.0 fantasy points, respectively, and he has been averaging 16 shot attempts per game over that stretch. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard and the Blazers have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

Others to consider: Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings ($6,400); D.J. Augustin, Detroit Pistons ($6,200); Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics ($3,700); Larry Drew, Philadelphia 76ers ($3,000)

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SG - Tyler Johnson, Miami Heat (at DET), $3,900: Listed as a point guard on FanDuel, Johnson is listed as a shooting guard on DraftKings, which makes me like him more on DK. Playing only three NBA games in his career, Johnson now has impressive back-to-back outings and scored a massive (given his minimum-salary price tag) 38.25 fantasy points on Sunday. Doing a bit of everything, he has averaged 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in those two games. Far from the level of "Hassanity," Johnson has nonetheless provided the team with a spark and should continue to see minutes in the mid-20's, at least, as long as Dwyane Wade remains out.

Others to consider: Wesley Matthews, Portland Trail Blazers ($5,800); Arron Afflalo, Denver Nuggets ($5,500)

SF - Jerami Grant, Philadelphia 76ers (vs. DEN), $3,000: Listed in yesterday's post as well, Grant is once again priced at the contest-minimum salary. Grant won't see much more than 26 minutes on any given night, but he should easily reach value while providing lots of salary-cap relief. Scoring a career-high (real) 18 points and 29.75 fantasy points last night, he has connected on 8-of-11 three-point attempts over his past three games. Few players have his potential to make multiple three-pointers and block multiple shots (remember his eight blocks vs. NYK last month?) on a given night. In his past six games, Grant is averaging 20.92 fantasy points per game (6.97x his salary) with a minimum of 16.5 fantasy points (5.5x) and could approach last night's production if Michael Carter-Williams (ankle/shin) sits.

Others to consider: Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets ($5,700); Luol Deng, Miami Heat ($5,000); Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers ($4,900); Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz ($4,300)

PF - Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets (at PHI), $6,200: Too inconsistent for cash games, Faried has plenty of upside tonight as a tournament play against the Sixers, who rank last in the NBA in rebounding differential (-4.5). In addition, the Sixers have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season. Over his past 19 games played, The Manimal has six games with at least 40 fantasy points including games with 57.25 and 61.25 fantasy points, but he has also has six games during that span with less than 25.0. Faried needs just 31.0 fantasy points to reach 5x value and he's averaged 33.34/G during that 19-game span.

Others to consider: Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers ($5,200); Brandon Bass, Boston Celtics ($5,200); Robert Covington, Philadelphia 76ers ($5,000); Jason Smith, New York Knicks ($4,700); Louis Amundson, New York Knicks ($3,700)

C - Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors (at SAC), $4,800: More often than not, I'll pay up for center tonight, but Bogut could potentially see a bump in minutes from his 24 per game as they get a difficult matchup against Cousins. Bogut has been averaging a little more than one fantasy point per minute this season and he's priced at 5.4 times his average fantasy production this season (25.9/G).

Others to consider: Robin Lopez, Portland Trail Blazers ($4,500); Jusuf Nurkic, Denver Nuggets ($4,400); Tyler Zeller, Boston Celtics ($4,100);

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2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 14

The surprise season for the Atlanta Hawks as this highlight shows continues ...


Here are my NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 14:

1. Atlanta Hawks (Record 37-8, Last Week 1): The HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWKS have now won 16 games in a row.

2. Golden State Warriors (Record 36-6, Last Week 2): Not only did Klay Thompson score 52 points against the Kings last week, but he scored 37 points in the third quarter alone.

3. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 31-12, Last Week 4): After a multi-game absence, Zach Randolph now has eight double-doubles in a row and he has 34 double-doubles on the season.

4. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 32-13, Last Week 3): Instead of missing the next six to eight weeks, LaMarcus Aldridge surprised many by opting to postpone surgery and scored 26 points against the Wizards on Saturday.

5. San Antonio Spurs (Record 29-17, Last Week 10): Kawhi Leonard has three double-doubles with multiple steals in his past four games. He had six double-doubles in his first 24 games of the season.

6. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 30-14, Last Week 11): The Clippers have scored 120-plus points in five of 11 games this month and are averaging 113.8 points over their past six games.

7. Houston Rockets (Record 31-14, Last Week 5): Leading the NBA in Win Shares (9.8) and Value Over Replacement (8.1), James Harden has scored 33-plus points in four consecutive games, the first time in his career that he has done so.

8. Washington Wizards (Record 30-15, Last Week 6): Point guard John Wall is averaging more than 10 assists and two steals per game; Chris Paul (four times) and Rajon Rondo (once) are the only other active players to do that for a season.

9. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 25-20, Last Week 12): Since returning from his knee injury, LeBron James has averaged 30.28 points, 6.86 rebounds, 6.29 assists and 2.14 steals per game as the Cavs have won six of seven games.

10. Chicago Bulls (Record 29-17, Last Week 7): No longer on a minutes restriction, Derrick Rose has averaged 22.63 points, 5.75 assists and a steal per game over his last eight games.

11. Toronto Raptors (Record 29-15, Last Week 8): After scoring zero, six and eight points in his previous three games, DeMar DeRozan broke out of his scoring slump with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting on Sunday. (He was 6-of-34 in his previous three games.)

12. Dallas Mavericks (Record 30-15, Last Week 9): Not only is Tyson Chandler shooting 66.9 percent from the field (second-highest of his career), but he is shooting a career-high 74.3 percent from the line. Chandler ranks second in the NBA in true shooting percentage behind only Kyle Korver.

13. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 22-22, Last Week 13): Over the past eight games, Russell Westbrook has four double-doubles and a triple-double. In those eight games, he's averaging 21.25 points, 9.88 assists, 7.25 rebounds and 2.88 steals per game.

14. Phoenix Suns (Record 26-20, Last Week 14): Currently sitting in the 8th seed in the West, the Suns have a brutal schedule before the All-Star break. Their next five games: Washington (30-15), Chicago (29-17), Golden State (36-6), Memphis (31-12) and Portland (32-13).

15. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 23-21, Last Week 16): In his past 10 games, Eric Gordon has connected on nearly half of his three-point attempts (22 of 47, 46.8 percent).

16. Charlotte Hornets (Record 19-26, Last Week 20): As badly as the Hornets began the season, they have now won nine of their past 11 games.

17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 22-22, Last Week 15): The Bucks have the league's worst turnover ratio (18.7 per game) in January and they have been even worse in the fourth quarter (20.3) this month. (On the season, the ratio was 15.8 in Q4 for the Bucks.)

18. Detroit Pistons (Record 17-28, Last Week 17): The loss of Brandon Jennings (Achilles) for the season is a big loss, but D.J. Augustin stepped up with a career-high 35 points in his first start following Jennings' injury.

19. Miami Heat (Record 20-24, Last Week 19): Hassan Whiteside had the most impressive triple-double of the season on Sunday with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocked shots in 25 minutes off the bench.

20. Brooklyn Nets (Record 18-26, Last Week 21): Based on some reports, the Nets could soon unload Joe Johnson's contract in exchange for a package of players that includes Lance Stephenson, who went to Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.

21. Indiana Pacers (Record 16-30, Last Week 23): Not exactly Thompson's 37-point third-quarter performance, but Damjan Rudez scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers ended a seven-game losing streak with a win over the Magic on Sunday.

22. Denver Nuggets (Record 18-26, Last Week 18): After a five-game winning streak earlier in the month, the Nuggets have lost six consecutive games and will face the Clippers, Pelicans and Grizzlies on the road in their next three games.

23. Sacramento Kings (Record 16-27, Last Week 22): Since their surprise 9-5 start, the Kings have lost 22 of 29 games including their past six games in a row.

24. Orlando Magic (Record 15-32, Last Week 24): Rookie point guard Elfrid Payton has been playing great basketball. Over his past seven games, he has averaged 13.29 points, 8.29 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.14 steals per game .

25. Utah Jazz (Record 16-28, Last Week 25): Rudy Gobert ranks third in the NBA in blocks per game (2.2), but he leads the league in block percentage (7.9) by far over Anthony Davis (6.1).

26. Boston Celtics (Record 15-27, Last Week 26): Being showcased for a potential trade, Brandon Bass has averaged 12.67 points and 9.33 rebounds per game over his past three games.

27. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 8-36, Last Week 28): Even though the Sixers don't have the league's worst record, they rank last in the league in net rating (-12.1). (Net rating is difference between Offensive Rating and Defensive Rating -- essentially a scoring margin per 100 possessions.)

28. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 12-33, Last Week 27): The glass-half-full view of Kobe Bryant (torn rotator cuff) missing the rest of the season is the Lakers have a stronger shot of keeping their first-round pick (it goes to Phoenix if outside the top-five picks).

29. New York Knicks (Record 8-37, Last Week 30): In their most recent game, three of the Knicks starters were on 10-day contracts including Langston Galloway, who has averaged 14.5 points and 6.25 rebounds as a starter.

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 7-36, Last Week 29): As bad as the T'Wolves have been, Nikola Pekovic (12 games), Kevin Martin (nine) and Ricky Rubio (five) have played a combined 26 games. Pekovic has returned to the lineup and K-Mart and Rubio should be back soon.

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LaMarcus Aldridge to postpone surgery, will play on Saturday

Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was expected to miss the next six to eight weeks with a tear in his left thumb that he suffered against the Sacramento Kings recently.

In shocking news, Aldridge will postpone surgery and play tonight against the Washington Wizards.

BREAKING: LaMarcus Aldridge (ligament tear left thumb) puts surgery on hold; will play tonight versus Washington.
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 24, 2015

On the season, Aldridge is averaging 23.18 points, 10.18 rebounds and 1.18 blocks per game. In addition, he is averaging 42.76 DraftKings fantasy points (eighth-most in NBA) and 40.27 FanDuel fantasy points (seventh-most) per game.

Earlier this morning, the Blazers were 5.5-point underdogs to the Wizards; now the spread is down to 2.5 points.

Consensus NBA Power Rankings, Week 24

The Bobcats finished six games above .500 in the 2009-10 season, but they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Orlando Magic that year.

More recently, the Bobcats have been the laughing stock of the NBA. In the past two seasons combined, they have compiled a 28-120 record.

By clinching a playoff berth with a win over the Cavs on Friday, the Charlotte Bobcats will make their second postseason appearance in franchise history.

Charlotte is currently just one game above .500 with five games to go. If the season were to end today, the Bobcats would be the 7th seed and face the Pacers in the first round.

That said, the Bobcats have won 16 of 24 games since the All-Star break.

In his first season with the Bobcats, Al Jefferson is averaging a double-double: 21.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, both of which are five-year highs. Since the break, Jefferson is averaging 24.7 points and 10.7 boards per game.

Along with Kevin Love, DeMarcus Cousins, LaMarcus Aldridge and Anthony Davis, Jefferson is one of only five players to average 20/10 this season.

In our updated consensus power rankings, the Bobcats are ranked 16th.

- Check out our 2013-14 NBA Power Rankings for Week 24

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LaMarcus Aldridge (back contusion) won't play Monday

Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge has now missed five consecutive games in a row due to his back contusion.

At a minimum, he will miss at least one more.

Per Chris Haynes of Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Aldridge won't play on Monday against the Miami Heat.

In his past six games, Dorell Wright has scored in double figures five times and has averaged 11.83 points and 5.33 rebounds per game.

With a FanDuel salary of just $4,000 (find FanDuel games here), Wright is a solid value in daily fantasy basketball leagues on Monday.

LaMarcus Aldridge (back) out Tuesday, doubtful for Thursday

After missing the past two games with a lower back contusion, Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge will miss at least one more game, and likely more than that.

Per Mike Tokito of The Oregonian, Blazers coach Terry Stotts says that Aldridge will miss tomorrow's game against the Bucks and he's "probably doubtful" for Thursday's game against the Wizards.

On the season, Aldridge is averaging 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

With Aldridge out for Tuesday, Dorell Wright should get the start. Wright has now scored in double figures in three consecutive games.

LaMarcus Aldridge (back contusion) to miss two games

With an MRI confirming a lower back contusion for Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, the team announced that he is expected to miss their next two games and then be reevaluated next week.

That means Aldridge will miss (at least) games against the Pelicans on Friday and Warriors on Sunday. Next week, the Blazers will face the Bucks (Tuesday), Wizards (Thursday) and Bobcats (Saturday).

Aldridge currently leads the team in scoring (23.4 points per game) and rebounding (11.1 per game).

With Aldridge out tomorrow against the Pelicans, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season, Thomas Robinson is an interesting option in FanDuel daily contests with a salary of just $4,700.

Less than a month ago (Feb. 23rd), Robinson had a huge game (14 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks), but he has otherwise been quiet since returning a knee injury that had sidelined him for four games.

DeMarcus Cousins posts 28/20 line in loss to Nets

Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins scored 28 points and added a season-high 20 rebounds in today's loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

It was the fourth time in his career that Cousins has finished with a 20/20 game.

Cousins is the 11th player this season with a 20/20 game and only player has multiple 20/20 games this year: Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge (three).

Since missing the Lakers game on Feb. 28th, Cousins has scored 20-plus points in all five games this month

On the season, Cousins is averaging 22.41 points and 11.63 rebounds per game.

2013-14 NBA Power Rankings, Week 9

Less than two months into the new season, the Portland Trail Blazers are only 10 wins from tying their 2012-13 win total.

One year after finishing 16 games below .500 (33-49), the Blazers are 18 games above .500 and have the league's best record at 23-5.

The Blazers have yet to lose back-to-back games and they have a few matchups against the league's best clubs between Christmas and New Year's.

Portland will face the Clippers, Heat and Thunder, all of whom are in the top six of our power rankings, over their next four games.  They will also face the Pelicans during that stretch.

After that, however, they will face several below-mediocre squads to start the year: CHA (13-15), PHI (8-20), SAC (8-18), ORL (8-19), BOS (12-17) and CLE (10-16).  Those six clubs all have losing records and are collectively 46 games under .500.

Although they rank in the bottom third in defense (102.1 points allowed per game), Portland is primarily winning with their offense as they lead the NBA in scoring (108.4 points per game).  They also rank fourth in the league in rebounding (45.9 per game) and fifth in assists (23.5 per game).

Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is currently having the best season of his seven-year career.  Aldridge is averaging 23.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game, all of which are career highs.

In addition to Aldridge, Damian Lillard (21.5 PPG) is also scoring more than 20 points per game.  Both Wesley Matthews (16.3) and Nicolas Batum (14.0) are also scoring in double-digits as well.

Compared to the previous week, the Blazers edged up by just one-quarter point in our Consensus NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 9.

Despite compiling the best record in the NBA up to this point, the Blazers are currently third in our power rankings behind both the Heat and Pacers.  In fact, this is the first week since Week 1 that the Heat are atop our power rankings.

- See our full power rankings here

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