Five Guys Expert NBA Daily Top Picks 3-19-14
Our expert NBA daily top picks were a tale of two halves last night.
Last night’s short slate was a difficult one to navigate, and for those who selected Damian Lillard and DeMarcus Cousins it was extremely frustrating, at least for the first half of their respective games. Both players struggled mightily, albeit for different reasons. Cousins was in foul trouble all evening while Lillard simply could not buy a shot to fall. In the end both players posted respectable numbers though, and neither one killed your lineups. What may have killed your lineups was LeBron James doing LeBron James things. The cold-blooded killer racked up 25 points — in the first quarter! He only had 18 the rest of the way, but when you consider the overall evening it stands as one of the finest fantasy nights we’ve seen in some time.
Tonight we see the opposite with a titanic 10-game slate to traverse. A night like this calls for us to separate the best from the better, and our expert NBA daily top picks reflect that.
Five Guys Expert NBA Daily Top Picks
Lance Stephenson $10,000 - Stephenson is the cheapest we’ve seen him in awhile right now, and tonight’s matchup with the Knicks represents a solid pairing for his high-octane skills. The Pacers are in the midst of a mighty struggle, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if New York won this game. That means we should see four quarters of the Lanswer, which means plenty of opportunity.
Tyreke Evans $11,500 - I still don’t think Reke is priced correctly, as his ascension from risky bench option to safe starting stud may not be completely finished. What many people who haven’t been following along with daily fantasy basketball for don’t realize is that Evans was at one time mentioned as a potential All-Star. Unfortunately circumstances both outside and inside his control have buried his young career — up until this point. Reke has taken his chance at redemption and ran with it, and I for one feel more comfortable than I probably should.
Josh Smith $11,800 - Smoove is our top overall play, and it’s easy to see why on a night devoid of sexy over/unders. The Pistons/Nuggets matchup calls for 220 points, and It helps that Smith tore Denver apart last meeting. Look for him to come out of the gates strong in this plus matchup.
Gorgui Dieng $4,500 - We’re not quite sure who he is yet, but this much is for certain — Gorgui Dieng plays basketball in the NBA. All jokes aside, Dieng was a monster against a Cousins-less Kings squad. Nikola Pekovic is uncertain for tonight’s contest, and if he were to miss the game you would find Dieng on every one of my rosters.
Amir Johnson $9,200 - The Raptors were already shorthanded down low entering last night’s game, and things didn’t get much better. Jonas Valanciunas seems unlikely to play after spraining his back, and that would leave Amir to essentially play 40+ minutes. Considering his price tag, the likely minutes, and how well he’s been performing I find him hard to avoid this evening.