FanDuel NBA: Best Picks And Lineup For Dec. 18
Read on for the top four picks at each position and a sample lineup for Friday’s FanDuel NBA games, after a look at tonight’s building blocks:
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks ($8,700) vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Whether you love or hate Anthony (or love to hate him), you can’t deny the roll he’s been on lately. At the overripe (by NBA standards) age of 31, Melo has been consistently filling the stat sheet lately, to the tune of 48.5 FPPG over his last three contests. While he is still one of the purest scorers in the league, the unexpected overabundance of rebounding (six double digit games so far) is a huge bonus considering he averages 6.6 RPG for his career.
With a trip to Philadelphia on tap, tonight is probably an opportune time to continue striking while the iron is hot, as the Sixers (appropriately) are sixth worst in the league against small forwards overall.
Anthony’s dud from earlier this season (12 points, six boards in 26 minutes) was more indicative of game flow, since the Knicks cruised to an easy win that night; however he averaged 26.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG against the cellar dwellers in 2014-15, so a lopsided game isn’t a sure bet every time out, and his reverse splits of 22.8 PPG on the road vs. 20.5 PPG at Madison Square Garden are just icing on the cake.
More from Fantasy Basketball
- Fantasy Basketball: 5 players dramatically outplaying their draft position
- Dallas Mavericks: Is Christian Wood being underutilized by Jason Kidd?
- Fantasy Basketball: 4 Toronto Raptors who may soon make a huge leap
- Fantasy Basketball: 5 waiver wire pickups to keep your eye on
- Fantasy Basketball: 6 buy-low targets to help you win your league
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings ($9,800) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: It’s probably a relief for Cousins to not be the most controversial athlete in the City of Trees for a change, but from a DFS standpoint the primary concern is with what he’s been doing on the court, namely three straight games with 23-plus points and 11-plus boards (that’s 43.3 FPPG to you and me).
Minneapolis is not a boon to opposing centers the way the City of Brotherly Love welcomes small forwards with open arms, but the T-Wolves are still just middle of the pack against pivots, and Cousins did average 25.0 PPG and 12.5 RPG rebounds against them last season, so another 20/10 (plus) game could be in the making for DMC against a Wolves squad that’s still tinkering with their starting five.
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets ($10,500) vs. Phoenix Suns: Davis managed a double-double in the team’s win over the shorthanded Utah Jazz this past Wednesday, but his overall performance (17 points, 13 rebounds) was a disappointment to fantasy owners given the his recent success against the franchise.
The Suns are probably thankful that they don’t play Golden State again until February, but in the meantime they could still have their hands full with Davis, as they are just middle of the pack vs. opposing PFs on FanDuel NBA. Still, we haven’t seen the monster games from him with the regularity to which we have become accustomed, so perhaps this could be a watch-and-see night before risking a tidy sum on the Brow.
In reality, Davis hasn’t been exactly been slumping with four straight double-doubles, but at his cost you are wagering that you’ll see the “pterodactyl” version of him even though he’s playing more like a condor these days. That’s probably good enough for the team’s purposes, but despite his slightly diminished price he’s returning value more like an $8-9K player, and there are plenty of those in action tonight from which to choose.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors ($10,900) vs. Milwaukee Bucks: With their impressive run to start the season, the Warriors have probably forgotten what a revenge game feels like. Fortunately the schedule makers didn’t force them to wait very long for the inter-conference rematch against the lone team to upend them so far.
Curry wasn’t really the problem in the last meeting, as he produced a stat line of 28 points, five assists and seven boards at the Bradley Center despite his errant shooting (just 2-for-9 from downtown). As with Davis, you need to get an MVP-caliber performance from the Chef when you sacrifice your cap space to roster him.
Tonight could be one of those nights given the revenge factor. It’s not quite the same as when the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Matthew Dellavedova was the toast of the town after limiting Curry in Game 2 of last season’s Finals, but it still could be worth the investment to see how the defending champs respond in front of their home crowd to their first and only loss of the season.
Next: Top Four Point Guards