NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 3/5/13
We know that people play all sorts of fantasy platforms, not just from from our friends at StarStreet but on other platforms such as DraftStreet and FanDuel as well. So once again, we're not only going to give you one, but three optimized rosters, all for you, the numberFire reader.
As you can see, there are some minor differences between the rosters. That has to do with two key components: the position restrictions on each site, and the different player pricing system on the sites as well. We've plugged this data into our player projection system, and we've come up with the best overall values for your Daily Fantasy team on each platform today.
As always, the full tables for today's action are available at our Daily Fantasy Projections page. Make sure to check it out to see where the best values are for your team.
StarStreet Optimized Roster
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | F | 45.95 | $18,000 | 2.55 |
| Dwight Howard | C | 36.65 | $13,500 | 2.71 |
| Kevin Garnett | C-F | 32.15 | $12,000 | 2.68 |
| Tyreke Evans | G | 26.98 | $10,400 | 2.59 |
| Kenneth Faried | F | 26.3 | $10,300 | 2.55 |
| Steve Nash | G | 25.88 | $9,400 | 2.75 |
| Spencer Hawes | C | 23.08 | $9,200 | 2.51 |
| Isaiah Thomas | G | 21.28 | $8,500 | 2.50 |
| Metta World Peace | F | 24.8 | $8,300 | 2.99 |
DraftStreet Optimized Roster
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | F | 42.15 | $21,844 | 1.93 |
| Dwight Howard | C | 32.33 | $16,733 | 1.93 |
| Jrue Holiday | G | 30.68 | $15,488 | 1.98 |
| Kevin Garnett | C | 29.08 | $14,338 | 2.03 |
| Steve Nash | G | 25.18 | $11,628 | 2.17 |
| Brandon Bass | F | 16.53 | $7,659 | 2.16 |
| Jason Terry | G | 15.25 | $6,562 | 2.32 |
| Jodie Meeks | G | 13.1 | $5,335 | 2.46 |
Fan Duel Optimized Roster
| Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Westbrook | PG | 37.1 | $9,700 | 3.82 |
| Kobe Bryant | SG | 38 | $9,700 | 3.92 |
| Ty Lawson | PG | 27.8 | $8,600 | 3.23 |
| Dwight Howard | C | 33.4 | $8,000 | 4.18 |
| Kevin Garnett | PF | 29.4 | $7,300 | 4.03 |
| Metta World Peace | SF | 23.1 | $4,900 | 4.71 |
| John Salmons | SF | 17 | $4,200 | 4.05 |
| Brandon Bass | PF | 16.8 | $3,800 | 4.42 |
| Courtney Lee | SG | 16.6 | $3,800 | 4.37 |
The Best of the Best
Kevin Durant - Is he the most expensive player in every format? Yes. Is he also worth it in every format? Yes. Even on Fan Duel, where he didn't make our optimized roster, he is the fifth-best value today. No matter what The Artist Formerly Known as Artest has done in the past, his defense has fallen off this season; opposing small forwards are shooting a .519 effective field goal percentage (eFG%) against the Lakers, the highest of any position. In three games against the Lakers this season, Durant has 36, 42, and 35 points, and it's not unreasonable to expect him to continue the trend.
Dwight Howard - The Thunder do most things right, especially when it comes to offensive and defensive shot efficiency. That whole not turning the ball over and not rebounding thing seems to be a problem though. The latter is the important one for DH12; the Thunder sit 15th in offensive rebound percentage and 19th in defensive rebound percentage. That's not terrible, but Howard and his 19.0 true rebound percentage (ninth-best) should be able to take advantage quite nicely.
Kevin Garnett - The main key here is rebounding: the walking stiff Lavoy Allen only grabs 13.5 percent of available rebounds while Garnett snags 15.1 percent. With 13 defensive boards against Golden State and 10 overall boards against Utah in his past two games (both teams that employ traditional power forwards), Garnett may be able to have a rebounding field day against Philly tonight for a cheap price.
Top Mid-Range Values
Metta World Peace - Yes, the Thunder may have a solid defense, especially with Durant locked on World Peace. But man, is that game going to be a foot race. The Lakers hold the third-quickest pace in the league; the Thunder are in eighth. That means that there will be plenty of opportunities for all members of both teams to score; the Lakers have posted at least 101 points in all three games against OKC this season. World Peace has averaged 12 PPG in those games, but the extra value that puts him over the top may be his second-best 1.7 projected steals. The Thunder are 30th in offensive turnover percentage.
Brandon Bass - Thaddeus Young and his team-best 102 defensive rating are now back from injury, but should that really scare Brandon Bass? Well, honestly, yes: power forwards are shooting .020 lower against Philly than any other position on the floor. It's a good thing, then, that Brandon Bass is so cheap. His projected stats won't wow you - 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds - but he will certainly give you guaranteed minutes. Bass hasn't played less than 27 minutes in a game since before the All-Star Break (and before Jared Sullinger's injury).
Steve Nash - So we have two Celtics players and three Lakers players out of our six guys profiled today; Bill Simmons wouldn't know whether to be jumping for joy or to have a heart attack. A heart attack is what Steve Nash wants to give every single Lakers fan after barely touching the ball in the final five minutes against the Hawks. But he still finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in that game, his fourth straight game with double-digit points. Consider Westbrook's defensive carelessness - did you know his 104 defensive rating is the highest among OKC starters? - Nash could very well pull the same trick again.
