Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for March 13th

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 Thursday'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 Thursday (March 13th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (vs. LAL), $8,700: While I've never before listed a player with a salary greater than $7,500 in this post, Westbrook will be the exception as he's a must-start against the Lakers, especially considering there are only three games on tonight's NBA slate. In his past seven games, Westbrook has 34.9-plus fantasy points and he has averaged 48.0 fantasy points in his past four games, which includes a triple-double in just 20 minutes against the Sixers. The Lakers have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

PG - D.J. Augustin, Chicago Bulls (vs. HOU), $5,800: In his past six games, Augustin has scored 22-plus points four times including in his previous two games. During that six-game stretch, he has averaged 20.83 points, 3.17 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game.

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SG - Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls (vs. HOU), $6,700: Only James Harden ($10,000) has a higher price at shooting guard, but the gap is enormous. In his eight games since returning from injury, Butler has scored 30 or more fantasy points six times. During that span, he is averaging 16.5 points, 6.13 rebounds, 2.38 assists and 2.38 steals in more than 42 minutes per game. The Rockets have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.

SG - Jodie Meeks, Los Angeles Lakers (at OKC), $5,800: While I don't expect a repeat of his 42-point performance (49.4 fantasy points) when these two teams met on March 9th, Meeks is one of the league's best shooters and you know he will get his minutes. With Mike D'Antoni pulling the strings, there is no guarantee for others. For example, Kent Bazemore ($4,900) has played 32, 16 and 20 minutes in his past three games.

SG - Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks (vs. MIL), $5,000: With strong outings in back-to-back games, Korver has averaged 21.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in his past two games. In those two games, he has had 32.8 and 32.9 fantasy points, respectively.

SF - DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta Hawks (vs. MIL), $5,800: In his past eight games, Carroll has scored a minimum of 19.2 fantasy points in each game while averaging 25.49 FPPG. During that stretch, he has averaged 14.88 points, 5.25 rebounds and 1.25 steals per game. Carroll gets a favorable matchup tonight as the Bucks have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.

SF - Ryan Kelly, Los Angeles Lakers (at OKC), $4,500: After losing his starting gig and seeing a huge reduction in minutes, Kelly has played 33-plus minutes in back-to-back games. In those two games, he has scored 41.7 and 36.0 fantasy points, respectively. Against OKC on the 9th, Kelly played 37 minutes and scored 12 points while adding eight assists, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. In most of my FanDuel contests tonight, it will be a Durant-Kelly duo at SF for me.

PF - Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder (vs. LAL), $8,200: Like Durant and Westbrook, it would be extremely hard (i.e., foolish) to sit Ibaka. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing power forwards and Ibaka abused the Lakers for 48.5 fantasy points (21 points, 15 boards, two blocks and two steals) in their previous matchup on Sunday.

PF - John Henson, Milwaukee Bucks (at ATL), $4,900: Provided Ersan Ilyasova (ankle) misses more time, Henson's fantasy value increases (in theory). Henson has 19.2 or more fantasy points in four consecutive games. With back-to-back games of 30-plus minutes, Henson has scored exactly 10 points with eight rebounds in each game after 12/6 in his previous two games with fewer minutes.

C - Pero Antic, Atlanta Hawks (vs. MIL), $4,300: If you don't start a stud like Joakim Noah, Antic is a cheap option to consider. Not only has he been productive in his past two games (22.1-plus fantasy points in each game), but he has a favorable matchup tonight. Only the Lakers and Sixers have allowed more fantasy points to opposing centers than the Bucks have this season.

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Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for March 11th

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 Tuesday'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 Tuesday (March 11th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies (vs. POR), $6,700: Even though he had only 4.1 fantasy points against the Nets last Wednesday, Conley has scored more than 30 fantasy points in four of his other five most recent games. Conley has averaged 15.2 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals during that stretch. Only the Sixers and Cavs have allowed more fantasy points to opposing points this season than the Blazers.

PG - Brandon Jennings, Detroit Pistons (vs. SAC), $6,600: Jennings has played 30-plus minutes in his past four games including a recent high of 39 points in his last outing. In those four games, Jennings has scored a minimum of 23.9 fantasy points per game. Tonight, Jennings and the Pistons face the Kings, who have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.

PG - Ray McCallum, Sacramento Kings (at DET), $3,500: Born in Detroit, McCallum returns home to face the Pistons, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points this season to opposing point guards. McCallum is coming off a quiet night against the Nets on Sunday (7.4 fantasy points in 30 minutes), but he had scored 16.6 to 21.3 fantasy points in each of his previous four games.

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SG - Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs (at CHI), $4,800: While the matchup is far from favorable, Green has been productive recently and his production should at least exceed his relatively modest cost. In his past three games, Green has averaged 26.33 fantasy points per game. Doing a bit of everything, Green has averaged 13.33 points, 3.0 treys, 3.33 boards, 3.33 assists, 1.67 blocks and 1.0 steals per game over his past three.

SG - Devin Harris, Dallas Mavericks (at GS), $4,300: Over his past three games, Harris has averaged 26.03 fantasy points per game including 35.7 of them on Sunday against the Pacers. During that three-game span, Harris has averaged 11.33 points, 5.67 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

SF - Corey Brewer, Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. MIL), $5,000: In 44 minutes against the Raptors on Sunday, Brewer had 17 points, six steals, three assists and three rebounds as he scored 39.1 fantasy points. In his past 10 games, he has seven games with multiple steals (22 steals in those games) and three games with none. That said, the Bucks have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards.

SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (at MIN), $4,900: With a strong all-around performance, Middleton scored 43.7 fantasy points against the Magic last night. Middleton knocked down five-of-eight three-pointers as he scored 21 points and added six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block. Over his past four games, he has scored a minimum of 23.3 fantasy points in each game.

When it comes to the 11 teams that allow the most fantasy points to opposing power forwards, only four of them play tonight. Each of those teams face stud power forwards: Rockets (4th-most, Serge Ibaka - $8,200), Bucks (6th-most, Kevin Love - $11,800) and Mavs (8th most, David Lee - $7,800) and Kings (9th most, Greg Monroe - $7,800).

PF - Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks (at MIN), $5,500: The Timbewolves allow the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season. As noted above, the 11 teams that allow the most are all facing pricier options at the position. Ilyasova posted a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) and finished with 30.7 fantasy points last night against the Magic. Despite some inconsistency, he has scored at least 24.7 fantasy points in four of the five games he has played this month.

PF - Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs (at CHI), $5,100: The matchup isn't favorable and Diaw had a six-game low in fantasy points (20.6) against the Magic in his most recent game. That said, he contributes in a variety of ways and should at least be able to give you 20 fantasy points as a floor.

C - Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. MIL), $6,800: Pek has played in five games since returning from injury and he has been solid: 24.2 to 31.8 fantasy points each outing. While his production has primarily come from just two categories, he is averaging a respectable 17.4/8.8 during those five games. With a favorable matchup, the Bucks allow the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers, Pekovic has an opportunity to excel tonight.

FanDuel's Daily Fantasy Basketball Championship: $1.2 million in cash prizes
>> FanDuel's MLB Freeroll for Opening Day: FREE entry, $1K in prizes
>> Or find other FanDuel NBA games here

For those that play in DraftKings leagues, check out my values post from earlier today.

Keep track of our Fantasy NBA updates by following us on Twitter, "liking" us on Facebook and/or adding us to your Google+ circle.

Kevin Durant posts triple-double in loss to Lakers

Before today, there were 28 triple-doubles this season in the NBA and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant was one of six players to have multiple triple-doubles this season.

Against the Lakers today, Durant posted his third triple-double of the season by scoring 27 points and adding 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

In addition to Durant, Serge Ibaka (21 points and 15 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (20 points), but it wasn't enough as they lost to the Lakers by four points, 114-110.

Westbrook (eight) and Durant (five) combined to commit 13 turnovers in today's loss and Lakers shooting guard Jodie Meeks scored a career-high 42 points today.

The Thunder will face ex-teammate James Harden, Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

2013-14 NBA Consensus Power Rankings, Week 10

Heading into the 10th week of the 2013-14 NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder currently have the league's best record (25-5).

The Thunder are on a three-game winning streak, but they have been nearly unbeatable since the middle of November.

Since their win over the lowly Bucks on Nov. 16th, the Thunder have compiled a 20-2 record.

The best player in the league not named LeBron James, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant is having another dominant season.  Durant is currently averaging a league-best 28.5 points per game and is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field despite taking 4.5 three-pointers per game.

In addition, Durant is averaging 8.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game, all of which are career highs, plus 0.9 blocks per game.

While Durant is playing extremely well, they will need other players to step up as Russell Westbrook will be out through the All-Star Game due to his knee.  Westbrook was averaging 21.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 7.0 APG and currently leads the team in assists and steals (1.8 SPG).

The Thunder have three others that are currently averaging double-digits: Serge Ibaka (14.1 PPG), Reggie Jackson (12.6) and Jeremy Lamb (10.0).

The Thunder are currently third in our consensus NBA power rankings heading into Week 10 behind the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.

- See our full 2013-14 NBA Power Rankings for Week 10 here

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Kevin Durant scores career-high 51 points vs. Nuggets

Entering tonight's game, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant was averaging nearly 27 points per game and ranked third in the league behind Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

He nearly doubled his average tonight as he set a career high with 51 points.

In addition to Durant's 51 points, teammates Russell Westbrook scored 40 points and Serge Ibaka finished with a triple-double.

Before today, a player has scored 40-plus points only nine times and Kobe had four of the nine. Durant was the first player this season to score 50-plus points.

Aside from that trio and James Harden (10 points), no other Thunder player reached five points.

Triple-double for Serge Ibaka: 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks

In their overtime win over the Nuggets, Thunder forward Serge Ibaka had double-digit blocked shots for the third time this season.

What was unique about tonight's game versus the first two this season?

Not only did Ibaka block 11 shots, which is a career high, but he also scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

It was the first triple-double with points, rebounds and blocks since Washington's JaVale McGee did it last year and only the ninth time it has happened since the 2000-01 season.

Ibaka now has 54 blocked shots in 11 games during the month of February.