Geoff Lambert discusses Friday night’s NBA lineup advice on FanDuel.
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Point Guard
John Wall (WAS): $10,500 vs IND
Wall has scored 50 or more points in three of his last four games, and yet his price has dropped from $10,800 to $10,500. FanDuel is begging me to play Wall at home against a Pacers team he dropped 61 FanDuel points in their last game in Washington. Okay FanDuel, if you insist.
Darren Collison (SAC): $5,200 vs ATL
Here is another head scratcher. Collison just dropped 40.7 FanDuel points against Celtics — and his price goes down $200? Okay, I know the Kings were without Boogie Cousins, but Collison has averaged 35-plus minutes per game over his last four, and the Hawks give up 44.33 FD points to opposing point guards. He may not get 40 again, but at $5,200, he doesn’t have to. I’m projecting him in the low-30s, and if Ty Lawson misses this game (strained adductor) he could be in the high 30s.
Shooting Guard
Bradley Beal (WAS): $7,500 vs IND
Beal and backcourt mate John Wall have been a nice tandem to stack recently. Beal has put together an impressive two-game stretch with 41.2 and 59 FanDuel points respectively. The Pacers are middle of the pack in defending the shooting guard position, but I’m going to ride the hot hand here.
Dion Waiters (MIA): $7,100 @ BKN
I’m going to venture to guess that Waiters will play in this game despite missing his last contest with an injury (ankle). With two 40-point games against the Nets in January, one can only assume he likes playing them. Then again, who doesn’t? They rank near the bottom of every defensive statistical category, including a second to the last ranking in FanDuel points allowed to shooting guards.
Small Forward
Andrew Wiggins (MIN): $7,600 vs NO
Wiggins is one of those players you have to catch in the right matchups. He is what I like to call “Klay Thompson light,” which is to say he gets most of his FanDuel points from scoring, but rarely fills up the stat sheet with other peripherals like rebounds or assists. The advantage he has over Thompson is his usage rate, as he is at worst the No. 2 option on his team behind Karl-Anthony Towns. Only three teams are worse on the season in FanDuel points allowed to small forwards than the Pelicans.
Wilson Chandler (DEN): $6,700 @ NY
As long as Danilo Gallinari is out of the lineup and Chandler’s price tag stays under $7,000, he will be in my lineup nearly every night. Not including his clunker in a blowout loss to the Spurs, he has averaged well over 35 FanDuel points since Gallinari went down. The Knicks and Carmelo Anthony won’t offer much resistance. Chandler should have his way with the Knicks, and short of Knicks owner, James Dolan, somehow getting Chandler thrown out, he should flirt with 40-plus FanDuel points tonight.
Power Forward
James Johnson (MIA): $6,000 @ BKN
My rule of thumb lately is to stack the team playing the Nets. They have the league’s worst defense, but they somehow manage to stay in games they shouldn’t, meaning more points for the opposing players. I don’t see the Heat blowing out the Nets so Johnson should see 30-plus minutes. The last time he had 30 or more minutes and did NOT have at least 30 FanDuel points was way back on Jan. 21. Mark him down for 32 FanDuel points tonight.
Taj Gibson (CHI): $5,000 @ PHO
Gibson isn’t a flashy play by any means, but sometimes you need a guy like him in your lineup. He is fairly cheap and has a decently high floor despite his low ceiling. In this “pace up” game for the Bulls, Gibson should have ample opportunity to put up 25-30 FanDuel points. It doesn’t hurt that the Suns give up 44.18 FanDuel points per game to power forwards.
Center
John Henson (MIL): $3,900 vs LAL
Henson has the best matchup of any player in my lineup. The Lakers are decimal points away from being the worst team in the league in FanDuel points allowed to centers. The biggest worry for Henson is coach Jason Kidd and his unpredictable rotations. With Jabari Parker (knee) done for the year, Henson may see a little more court time in a dream matchup tonight.