NBA daily fantasy picks: Five players who could help your lineup for Feb. 3
Wednesday is always a busy night for the NBA, but this is setting up to be a remarkable night of action, even by those lofty standards. Five off the six teams with at least 32 wins take the floor tonight, as well as 11 of the 16 teams in playoff position. Russell Westbrook. Stephen Curry. Kevin Durant. LeBron James. DeMarcus Cousins. Anthony Davis. John Wall. Chris Paul. All of them will be found on an NBA court somewhere across the country. These are the nights, when the midseason malaise can take over, that the NBA dreams of, and that daily fantasy owners have countless ways to fill their lineups.
All prices are courtesy of FanDuel and based on a $60,000 budget.
PG: Chris Paul ($9,700) vs. MIN:Paul’s going to be the biggest name you see in our starting five. He has a great matchup with a Minnesota team that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to point guards this season. Paul is in the midst of his best stretch of the year, scoring at least 41 fantasy points in seven of his last 10 games. The 208.5 over/under on this game is also rather inviting, and the Clippers have an implied team total of about 109.
SG: Klay Thompson ($7,100) @ WAS:Remember the Thompson who, for a time, was Golden State’s most prolific scorer last season. He’s back. Thompson has averaged 37 real points over his last three games, once pushing north of 55 fantasy points. Washington has surrendered the fifth-most fantasy points per game to shooting guards this season, and the over/under for this game is a ridiculous 225. Thompson is just one way to get invested in what should be a fantasy bonanza.
Standing tall: Rudy Gobert altering shots, perceptions of French players
in defense, from a fantasy perspective, against small forwards this year, though Gay could see a lot of Jimmy Butler on Wednesday. He’s still well worth a play, though that likely precludes you from going with Durant or James at one of your two small forward spots.
PF: Paul Millsap ($8,000) @ PHI:Millsap gave the fantasy basketball world a scare when he left Atlanta’s game last Thursday with an ankle injury, but he didn’t miss any time, and has, in fact, averaged 35 minutes in the two games since. His production hasn’t quite been there, but a matchup with Philadelphia should be the cure-all he needs. The 76ers have allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to power forwards this season.
C: Rudy Gobert ($7,300) vs. DEN: Over his last eight games, Gobert has put up averages of 13.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 35.6 fantasy points. You can basically look at that as a floor in a matchup with Denver, which has surrendered the seventh-most fantasy points per game to centers this season. Even with Derrick Favors back on the floor for Utah, Gobert has been just as effective. He’s turning into one of the safest plays at the center position for daily fantasy owners.
