NBA DFS Playbook Position Coach: December 8, 2015

Last night I posted a link on all our DFS NBA Playbook pages to a 20-man FanDuel league. I have to say that although I had a great evening my favorite part was playing with you guys. One of things I did do was look over a lot of the lineups. I saw some great ones, including the one that beat me as I came in second. If you look to the right I have posted the winners from the first FantasyAlarm DFS NBA Playbook PRO Position Coach League.  Congrats!

The thing that made this most enjoyable was the interactions I had with some of you during the evening. The best part was several of you sent me tweets telling me how much fun you were having. You see, although I get paid I do not do this for the money. I do this because I love it. So anytime we can make DFS about more than just guys sitting in a room checking their phone we have accomplished something. We did the thing I always preach about, we created a community. Say what you want but the $30 top prize is not making an impact on any of our lives…so why did we do it? To connect with other DFS players. Good Job! This is what makes you FantasyAlarm subscribers the best. I play every day so as long as people want to play I will keep running them.

Tonight we have a six-game slate which I find particularly juicy. We have the full gambit of big stars to choose from and great value plays scattered about. Please remember I research and write this article in the dead of night most of the time and often by the time we get to lineup lock I have moved to other plays that may not have made the early morning position coach cut. With all that said, let’s see about cashing some lineups.

Point Guard

With so many big dogs on the slate you have to be sure to get a few. The guy who I will be using tonight in my cash games is Russell Westbrook. Not only is he averaging over 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and 50 fantasy ppg, he is on fire right now as well. In the last five games he has had three double-doubles with one being a triple-double Sunday versus the Kings. The Grizzlies are allowing a whopping 24.4 ppg to point guards and I cannot imagine why Westbrook won’t feast like that guy at all the buffets wearing sweat pants. All in here tonight.

If you want to save a few pennies then take a look at Elfrid Payton. He is that typical matchup-dependent play. The Denver Nuggets are allowing 23.9 ppg and the 28^th most fantasy points to point guards on the season. With Orlando being slight favorites at (-2.5) it should be a close one. Payton in his last two games has scored 74.8 fantasy points on FanDuel and is averaging 27 fantasy ppg. I have serious plans on trying to pair him with Westbrook tonight.

I honestly think the Houston Rockets-Brooklyn Nets game will be higher scoring tonight than the Golden State Warriors-Indiana Pacers game. It has a current expected point total of 207 with Houston being four-point favorites. Patrick Beverley has been playing quite well if you have not noticed. Over the last six games he is easily averaging over 20 fantasy ppg for the near minimum across the industry. He actually ranks higher in my model today than Westbrook and facing a Brooklyn team allowing 22.7 ppg and the 26^th most fantasy points to point guards he is a fine play that I will certainly have some exposure to. As long as it appears he is getting the start.

I find the greatest value tonight is in the Utah Jazz-Sacramento Kings game. This game has a 205 expected point total with the Kings being two-point favorites. We have several great defensive matchups to take advantage of on the cheap here. Raulzinho Neto keeps drawing the start even though offensively he stinks. Trey Burke has played more than 30 minutes in two straight games scoring in the double-digits in both while putting up over 50 fantasy points combined. He is the near minimum tonight facing the Kings who let everybody score. They are allowing the 29^th most fantasy points overall to go along with allowing the 23^rd most fantasy ppg and 22.4 ppg to point guards.

Jarrett Jack is back for the attack tonight facing the fantasy gold mine Houston Rockets. He is another one of those guys you take advantage of when he is in the right matchup. In the last 10 games he has scored more than 20 fantasy ppg seven times. In those seven he hit the 30 mark three times and the 40 mark once. His price is low at $6,100 tonight on FanDuel facing a Rockets team that allows the 25^th most fantasy ppg to point guards and he should reach 30 tonight.

Shooting Guard

Westbrook needs some big dog company at the pound. Who better to pair with him then Fozzy the beard, James Harden? He scores easily over 20 points on a nightly basis and is averaging over 48 fantasy ppg. I cannot imagine on what planet the Nets could contain him but I can assure you it is not on this one. Brooklyn is allowing 22.1 ppg and the 26^th most fantasy ppg to shooting guards and Harden should get all of that plus some.

Denver is among the worst defensive teams in the NBA. They allow a ton of fantasy ppg to, well, every position. Shooting guard is no exception. Depending on how much money you have, either of these guys are a great option and tie in my model tonight. Both Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo playing 25-30 minutes per game and both averaging over 25 fantasy ppg with Oladipo averaging over 30. You have a little more upside with Oladipo but will pay more. Both of them, nonetheless, get a Nuggets team allowing the most fantasy ppg and 21.2 ppg to shooting guards. I give Fournier a slight edge due to price in cash games.

Rodney Hood actually scores higher than Harden today in my model and is the guy, at this time, I am pairing with Harden in cash games. Hood has laid three stinkers in a row now and prior to this run he scored more than 20 fantasy ppg in two straight hitting 27 once. For the low price facing a horrible Kings defense that is allowing the most points in the NBA (23.3 ppg) to shooting guards I will take the chance he has a bounce back game tonight.

Klay Thompson , to be honest, is the only Warrior I like tonight. They get a tough matchup facing the Pacers who are allowing the sixth fewest fantasy ppg overall. The one weakness I see is at the SG position. They are allowing the 24^th most fantasy ppg and 21 ppg to shooting guards and Thompson has been on fire lately scoring more than 30 fantasy ppg in three of the last four. His price is fair and if I move off Hood I will try to fit in Thompson.

I knew a kid named J.R. once. He lived in Worcester, Ma. He was about 4-foot-4 and had the biggest case of Napoleon complex I have ever seen. You could not go anywhere with this kid without the risk of getting into an altercation. Alas, like every guy who cannot control himself he landed in prison. What does this have to do with the position coach?

J.R. Smith is one of the few guys I like in a game that is pretty much dead to me tonight. It has a huge point spread with Cleveland being nine-point favorites and everything is leading me off of it. Smith, however, is a fine play tonight. He is scoring more than 25 fantasy ppg most nights and has scored into the double-digits in four of the last five games. Tonight I think LeBron James struggles a little, opening the door for Smith to see some extra looks. With the Trail Blazers allowing the 20^th most fantasy ppg and 22.5 ppg to shooting guards he shouldn’t need glasses.

Small Forward

This position provides its challenges as always as you are either forced to spend up or spend little. The problem is when you spend up at the SF I find it rarely pays dividends over the mid-priced value at the position. The one guy you are going to spend up tonight at the SF position to do it with is actually playing at PF tonight.

Paul George has been all that and a bacon-burger this season. He is averaging over 27 points, eight rebounds, and 43 fantasy ppg. The Pacers are obvious underdogs facing the undefeated Warriors and I believe like every team the Pacers are dying to be the ones to blow that perfect record. Who better to do it with than George? Someone has to score and why not him coming off a 48-point performance against a tough Utah defense?

Gordon Hayward, even though he is playing in back to back games, comes in scoring the highest in my model tonight at the SF position. He has scored more than 20 points in four of the last five games and has easily scored more than 30 fantasy ppg in six of seven. I love that late bullet and as you may have noticed last night they feed Hayward the ball in fouling situations which in a close game can spell last second fantasy gold. If you do not want to spend up he is the next best option.

Trevor Ariza is in another great matchup tonight. In the last two games he has scored a combined 63.4 fantasy points on FanDuel. This explains why the slight increase in price. Tonight he gets the Nets who are allowing the 25^th most fantasy ppg to small forwards in a game I believe will be the highest scoring of the night.

Of course I wasn’t going to exclude Kevin Durant. In the last six games he has two double-doubles and has scored 25 or more points in all but one. He is averaging over 43 fantasy ppg facing a Memphis team allowing the 20^th most fantasy ppg to small forwards. This is slated to be a close one with the Thunder being (-2.5) favorites and Durant should see plenty of minutes. He is expensive and if you are going to pay up I believe George is the better option but Durant makes a fine play any day.

Brandon Rush is worthless. Playing him is like walking around with a pocket full of pennies. They are dead weight and of little value. This opens the door for Andre Iguodala. He has played more than 25 minutes in three of the last four games while scoring more than 20 fantasy ppg in two of them. This is a great way to get some exposure to that high 214 expected point total for this game for pennies.

Power Forward

No one is more rad than Thad and I am not talking about the DFS player. Thaddeus Young scores lights out today in my model and is the guy for sure I will be using in cash games at the PF position. In five of the last six games he has scored more than 30 fantasy ppg and has four double-doubles in the last five games. The Rockets are tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for allowing the most points to power forwards in the NBA at 24.1 ppg. The Rockets are also allowing the most fantasy ppg as well to the PF position. All this lines up for a huge night for Thad to be rad.

If you want to spend a little more at the position then take a look at none other than Kevin Love. In eight of the last 10 games he has scored more than 30 fantasy ppg scoring more than 40 on three occasions. He has laid two duds in the last three games so recency bias should have some guys off of him. Tonight he gets a great matchup facing a Portland team allowing the 22^nd most points to power forwards and I believe he is up for a huge bounce back game. I mean the guy does have 10 double-doubles this season so far. Have a little faith.

Getting back to the Utah game tonight and searching for a possible late bullet for cheap Trevor Booker may be a viable option. In the last four games he has played more than 30 minutes in two games. In those two games he had two double-doubles and scored over 70 fantasy points combined on FanDuel. With Derrick Favors playing center this opens the door for Booker for cheap facing a Kings team allowing the 27^th most fantasy ppg to the PF position.

Staying with the ability to pick on the Kings Derrick Favors if you want to double up on Jazz is a great option starting at center tonight. Favors has three consecutive double-doubles and put up 35 points versus a tough Indiana defense on Saturday night where he scored over 50 fantasy points. His price is high but so should his production versus a Sacramento team allowing the 28^th most fantasy ppg to centers.

Last but not least I kind of like Zach Randolph tonight facing a Memphis team allowing a huge 23.5 ppg to power forwards on the season. The problem is for his price I want that mid 30 fantasy point upside which I do not see. It is possible but on a slate where I find the PF position devoid of great options he could be a great GPP play tonight.

Center

Nikola Vucevic has everything going his way tonight. He gets the Nuggets who are allowing 21.3 ppg and the 26^th most fantasy ppg to centers. He also has scored more than 40 fantasy points twice in the last six games and has three double-doubles in the last four games just missing in the fourth. He is averaging over 15 points, eight rebounds, and 30 fantasy ppg and gets my call in my cash games tonight.

Perhaps the option with the highest upside at the position is none other than Dwight Howard. I know it feels like I am using a lot of expensive players today but this is one of those slates with so many big dogs in it the scores tonight will be high. Upside is going to play a huge part tonight and where we spend up is going to be key. He had 22 points and 18 rebounds on Saturday versus a Kings team that allows a ton of fantasy points to the center position, like the Nets. The Nets are allowing the 24^th most fantasy ppg and over 20 ppg to centers. This is very similar to the Kings and Howard should dominate again tonight.

If you are looking for a cheap option to punt with in a great spot then Festus Ezeli could be the guy to shoot you over the top. Festus usually plays over 20 minutes per night and has two double-doubles in the last five games. My exposure to the Golden State game is going to be low tonight as I feel the expected point total is way too high but I am no fortune teller. Ezeli scored over 27 fantasy points in 20 minutes on Sunday and certainly could again tonight with Boguts minutes down.

Well that is all for tonight. I will be back on later to see if you guys have any questions and as always you can hit me up on Twitter: @geraldcolvin73.

I will be posting another Position Coach league tonight sometime around 4:30 pm EST.