The most productive NBA players cost a small fortune relative to the $50K salary cap at DraftKings. It’s impossible to squeeze all of them into an 8-man lineup, but Russell Westbrook $12300 is a triple-double machine until Kevin Durant (hamstring) returns.
James Harden $10400 responded to a players-only meeting and a new coach with a monster line on Wednesday: 45 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 triples and a block, playing 47 minutes in an overtime win. This evening, he’ll get the Tony Allen $3700 defensive treatment in Memphis.
Stephen Curry $10800 and Andre Drummond $9900 are the other premium targets. The Warriors needed a 70-point second half last night to beat the Clippers in L.A. and stay unbeaten. They go for win #14 tonight at home against the Bulls.
Drummond is having an incredible season to date, with 20 PTS, 20 REB and 2 BLK expected every night. He’s only 22 but that makes him the experienced veteran vs. rookie Karl-Anthony Towns $7300, a mere teenager until this week.
Plays of the Day
The $300K Sharpshooter is just a $3 buy-in (FREE to new depositors at DK) that pays the top 23,535 finishers from up to 115,000 teams. First place wins $20,000. Enter before the 7:00 ET deadline; you can make unlimited lineup changes until each player’s game begins.
Anthony Davis $10700 (shoulder) is questionable and it’s a back-to-back for Blake Griffin $9600, so Derrick Favors $7600 is my “safe” selection at PF. However, if Davis misses another game, Ryan Anderson $6300 will again be the #1 option for the injury-riddled Pelicans and Alexis Ajinca $3500 becomes a bargain at C or Util.
Carmelo Anthony $8500 deserves the highest price of the healthy SF, though Kawhi Leonard $8200 or Nicolas Batum $7000 can provide similar bang for the buck and Jeff Green $3900 has scored 20 in consecutive games as a starter for the Grizzlies.
Another big improvement for Memphis has been Mario Chalmers $3500, who the DK computers still don’t trust. As our top pick at $3200 on Monday, Rio dropped 29 points in 23 minutes while leading an aggressive second unit. JaMychal Green $3100 is getting big minutes with Brandan Wright (knee) officially day-to-day but apparently out indefinitely. Mike Conley $6200 is a great play against the weak Houston PGs.
Toronto has lost two straight on this road trip by fading late in the fourth quarter. Kyle Lowry $8100 and L.A. native DeMar DeRozan $7100 are solid investments against the Lakers, who routinely allow big numbers to opposing guards. Both Jonas Valanciunas $5700 and Luis Scola $4200 have double-double potential; at age 35, the crafty Argentinian has already set a personal best with nine 3-pointers, one less than his first eight seasons combined.
I’ve been on the Celtics bandwagon for a few games; Isaiah Thomas $7300 is now starting and Avery Bradley $4700 has actually been better since being “demoted” to lead a deep second unit. It’s an interesting clash of styles between Brook Lopez $7200 and Jared Sullinger $6200; Boston coach Brad Stevens plays matchups with five bigs so all are tough to predict.
My sample lineup features three premium guys and five bargains, but with 11 games you can find excellent value in the mighty middle. For example, an alternate lineup uses all five of my Midrange picks from the Short List below, plus Favors, Bradley and Chalmers. The idea there is that nobody scores 60+ fantasy points but everyone averages 40.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Russell Westbrook $12300 | Mike Conley $6200 | Mario Chalmers $3500 |
| SG | James Harden $10400 | Eric Bledsoe $8400 | Avery Bradley $4700 |
| SF | Kawhi Leonard $8200 | Nicolas Batum $7000 | Jeff Green $3900 |
| PF | Derrick Favors $7600 | Ryan Anderson $6300 | Luis Scola $4200 |
| C | Andre Drummond $9900 | Al Jefferson $6000 | Alexis Ajinca $3500 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.