When building an NBA FanDuel lineup, doing as much research as possible is absolutely paramount.
You see, there’s an abundance of daily fantasy sports pros that play for a living and have endless tools and resources at their disposal.
Thus, thinking you can blindly head into a slate and still win is an absolutely outrageous and painfully shortsighted strategy more often than not.
But many NBA FanDuel aficionados simply don’t have the time to manage a plenitude of spreadsheets and can’t afford to buy subscriptions to some of the world’s premier DFS information sites.
Thus, I’ve built what appears to be the ideal NBA FanDuel lineup for the main slate on January 24, 2017 to help everyone out.
PG – George Hill – Utah Jazz – $6,300
The Utah Jazz are playing without SG Rodney Hood lately, which means the rest of the team has to make up the 14 points per game he’s averaged this season.
Thus, PG George Hill carries tremendous upside against the defensively-anemic Denver Nuggets on Tuesday evening despite playing in what will be the back-end of a back to back.
PG – Kyle Lowry – Toronto Raptors – $8,400
In years past, it was always a good idea to stay away from teams playing against the San Antonio Spurs, who would typically play impregnable defense.
However, the 2016-17 Spurs aren’t nearly as intimidating on defense. Feel free to fire up Kyle Lowry expecting him to hit or exceed value.
SG – Zach LaVine – Minnesota Timberwolves – $6,200
With the return of PG Ricky Rubio on Tuesday, we should see SG Zach LaVine get back to normal after two fairly abysmal outings.
According to ESPN , the Phoenix Suns allow the second-most points per game (111.5) in the NBA.
Anytime you can roster an affordable player with immense upside against the worst statistical defense in the association, it’s a no-brainer.
Thus, you can fire LaVine up confidently in a slate in which his ownership percentage should be low due to recency bias.
SG – Devin Booker – Phoenix Suns – $6,500
Priced at $6,500, Devin Booker is likely to exceed 5x value in a favorable matchup against the aforementioned Minnesota Timberwolves.
Booker regularly logs over 35 minutes per game, which helps to keep his floor high, and averages 20.4 points per game on the floor, making him Phoenix’s second-highest scorer slightly behind Eric Bledsoe, who averages 20.9 PPG.
Fire Booker up expecting to get your money’s worth.
SF – Wilson Chandler – Denver Nuggets – $5,400
Whether he starts or comes off the bench as Denver’s sixth-man, Wilson Chandler projects to provide adequate value on FanDuel priced at just $5,400 on Tuesday night.
Chandler’s minutes fluctuate between 25 and 35 at times which is somewhat concerning. But in what should be a high-scoring affair with Minnesota, there should be enough fantasy points to go around for Chandler to have a nice evening, especially for his price.
SF – Jimmy Butler – Chicago Bulls – $9,600
Jimmy Butler has an excellent matchup against a depleted Orlando team. Fire him up confidently.
PF – Ersan Ilyasova – Philadelphia 76ers – $6,000
Joel Embiid has been ruled out for the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, but backup center Jahlil Okafor, who is also dealing with an injury, is now listed as probable according to RotoWorld .
Veteran PF Ersan Ilyasova has been productive on FanDuel even when the Sixers have been at full strength this season and undoubtedly gets a bump while they are shorthanded.
Expect something close to 5x value from Ilyasova against the Los Angeles Clippers, especially considering PF Blake Griffin — who thinks defense is optional — is slated to return after an extended absence.
PF – David Lee – San Antonio Spurs – $5,100
With Pau Gasol dealing with an injury, the San Antonio Spurs have had no choice but to increase David Lee’s minutes.
Thus, Lee has been a stellar value play on FanDuel of late. And although his price has increased a tad, the veteran big is still a perfect quasi punt-play on Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors, who don’t play great defense against big men.
C – Tyson Chandler – Phoenix Suns – $6,200
Over his last six starts, veteran C Tyson Chandler has played in 30 or more minutes and has finished with no less than 27.5 fantasy points on FanDuel in all six games.
Expect another solid showing from Chandler against the so-so center defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
And don’t forget to check for status updates of all players mentioned in this article, as the NBA is incredibly volatile when it comes to starting lineups.
[Featured Image by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images]