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St. Patrick’s Day Fantasy Basketball Wagering (3/17/10)

Mar 17, 2010 NBA Picks

Big 11 game NBA fantasy basketball schedule for St. Patrick’s Day.  The multiplayer tourneys at FantasySportsLive.com should be good and the heads up games at Fanduel.com and the live drafts at DraftZone.com should be pretty juicy as well.  Remember to check the FantasyNBADaily Twitter Feed on the homepage throughout the day for breaking player news that could affect roster selections.  Here are tonight’s fantasy basketball handicapping tips and betting picks:

POINT GUARD:

  • Toney Douglas leads the bargain bin roster fillers today.  He’s minimum salary, but he’s got a tough matchup against Rajon Rondo and the Celtics.  I still think he exceeds his minimum salary.
  • Jannero Pargo is another minimum player, but I don’t like him quite as much as Idid last night.  Derrick Rose may still be out, but Kirk Hinrich will return from his one game suspension.  Flip Murray got a start last night, so it may be Hinrich and Murray getting the starts tonight, with Pargo off the bench.
  • Jrue Holiday is low priced and should continue to get big minutes, especially if Lou Williams misses tonight with his back spasms.
  • Jose Calderon is supposed to take the starting job away from Jarrett Jack tonight for Toronto, but both of these guys are equally priced and will probably still continue to split minutes no matter who actually starts.
  • Darren Collison has been bumped up in salary price recently, but he’s still a sweet deal with a prime matchup against the Warriors.
  • There are a lot of mid-priced PG plays Wednesday.  Aaron Brooks against Memphis, Mo Williams against the Pacers and Stephen Curry against New Orleans are all decent plays if you need a mid-price PG.
  • At the top of the PG salary scale, I like Rajon Rondo against Toney Douglas and the Knicks.  Douglas is still inexperienced and Rondo may take full advantage.
  • Avoid Devin Harris (illness), Derrick Rose (wrist), Jason Terry (injury).

 

SHOOTING GUARD:

  • Terrence Williams is low priced and has been playing well lately.  He’s got a decent matchup against Philadelphia.
  • Wes Matthews continues to get minutes for Utah and makes a solid low priced roster filler.
  • Flip Murray could get another start for the Bulls in place of Derrick Rose.
  • Mike Dunleavy and Dahntay Jones could both see an uptick in minutes with Danny Granger out of the lineup.
  • Marcus Thornton has seen his salary price creep up lately, but if you are ever going to play him, tonight is the night with a great matchup against the Warriors.
  • Ray Allen could be a sneaky good play against the Knicks.  I don’t play Allen often, but his matchup is good and the price is right.
  • Jamal Crawford will be a good play again tonight against the defenseless Raptors.  Joe Johnson is also out, so Crawford will need to score.
  • Manu Ginobili has a tough matchup against Orlando, but you might still want to give him a look since his price is good.
  • Stephen Jackson will again be asked to carry the Bobcats against OKC with Gerald Wallace out, but Thabo Sefolosha is a tough defensive player and may give Jax fits.  Be careful here.
  • Monta Ellis is the most expensive player on the SG board and he might be worth the money against Collison/Thornton and the Hornets.
  • Avoid Joe Johnson (achilles), Lou Williams (back), Peja Stojakovic (injury), Courtney Lee (inconsistent).

 

SMALL FORWARD:

  • SF is a little thin tonight and you are going to have to spend some salary here.  Stephen Graham is the only decent minimum salary play.  He should get another start in place of the injured Gerald Wallace.
  • The mid-priced range is a cluster of risks with John Salmons against the Clippers, Hedo Turkoglu against the Hawks, Wilson Chandler against the Celtics and Richard Jefferson against Orlando.  Nothing really appealing out of that group.
  • Paul Pierce may be a decent play against the Knicks.  He’s a little expensive though and could rest if this one turns into a blowout like the Celtics last game did against the Pistons.
  • Caron Butler is similarly priced to Pierce and has a good matchup against the shorthanded Bulls.
  • In the higher priced range, Rudy Gay against Houston, Andre Iguodala against the Nets and Josh Smith against the Raptors are all solid plays.
  • At the top of the board LeBron James should earn his maximum salary price, if the game against Indiana doesn’t turn into a laugher.
  • Kevin Durant is about 20% cheaper than James, but has a tougher matchup against Charlotte.  Durant should get in a full game though as that contest should be close.
  • Avoid Gerald Wallace (injury), Danny Granger (injury), Luol Deng (injury), Andrei Kirilenko (injury), Thaddeus Young (thumb).

 

POWER FORWARD:

  • James Johnson should get another start with Luol Deng likely out.  Check Deng’s gametime status later today.
  • Chris Hunter is an interesting minimum salary play against the Hornets.  He put up 22pt/7reb against the Lakers in his last one.
  • Josh Boone might be good low priced roster filler.  He’s getting minutes with Yi Jianlian out and had a good line last night with 13pt/20reb. 
  • Drew Gooden is a lower priced option and has been putting up some good lines.
  • Elton Brand has good matchup against the Nets and should earn his mid-priced salary.
  • Troy Murphy should be a dependable option against Cleveland.  Danny Granger is going to be out and someone will have to pick up the scoring slack.
  • Luis Scola has been one of my favorite plays lately.  He’s got a great opportunity against the Grizzlies who may again be without their big man, Marc Gasol.  Ride the streak.
  • David West has an excellent matchup against the Warriors.
  • Zach Randolph has a good matchup against a smallish Houston interior.
  • At the top of the PF board, David Lee has a bad matchup with the Celtics, Dirk Nowitzki should just destroy the Bulls, while Chris Bosh has to deal with Al Horford/Josh Smith and the Hawks.
  • Tim Duncan has to matchup Dwight Howard and the Magic.  Avoid him.
  • Avoid Yi Jianlian (injury), Kevin Love (inconsistent minutes/slumping).

 

CENTER:

  • Hasheem Thabeet is minimum salary and could get another start if Marc Gasol can’t go.  Check Gasol’s gametime status.
  • Brad Miller has been dealing with a sore thumb, but he’s been consistently earning his low salary.
  • Kendrick Perkins is mid-priced and has a good matchup against the Knicks.  It’s one of his better matchups.
  • Emeka Okafor is very inconsistent, but it’s hard to resist a matchup with the Warriors.  High risk / High reward.
  • Andrea Bargnani is going to start losing playing time soon I think.  He can’t rebound and should get completely schooled by Al Horford.  Avoid him.
  • Al Horford is my favorite center play tonight.  He should dominate the above mentioned Bargnani.  15 rebounds isn’t out of the question for Horford.
  • I’ve been down on Chris Kaman and will continue to avoid him.  The coaching change for the Clippers has hurt his value more than any other player on the team.
  • Dwight Howard is at the top of the Center board, but has a tough matchup with the Spurs.  He should put up good stats, but don’t expect a monster game.

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