Editor's Note: This article will not be appearing this Thursday or Friday due to author travel. Make sure to check out the Daily Projections page and make your own stats-fueled selections those days.
So, let's see. Dwyane Wade: 39 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. Blake Griffin: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists. David West: 28 points, 7 rebounds. Carlos Boozer: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. O.J. Mayo: 18 points, 4 assists. If not for Andrei Kirilenko leaving 10 minutes into Minnesota's game with an injury, it would have been yet another all-around successful night with our optimized rosters. And we're out to conquer the world once again.
We know that people play all sorts of fantasy platforms, not just from from our friends at StarStreet but on other platforms such as DraftStreet and FanDuel as well. So once again, we're not only going to give you one, but three optimized rosters, all for you, the numberFire reader.
As you can see, there are some minor differences between the rosters. That has to do with two key components: the position restrictions on each site, and the different player pricing system on the sites as well. We've plugged this data into our player projection system, and we've come up with the best overall values for your Daily Fantasy team on each platform today.
As always, the full tables for today's action are available at our Daily Fantasy Projections page. Make sure to check it out to see where the best values are for your team.
StarStreet Optimized Roster
Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kevin Durant | G | 45.25 | $18,000 | 2.51 |
Marc Gasol | C | 34.58 | $12,500 | 2.77 |
Brandon Jennings | G | 33.28 | $12,500 | 2.66 |
Monta Ellis | G | 33.10 | $11,500 | 2.88 |
Omer Asik | C | 26.43 | $10,000 | 2.64 |
Raymond Felton | G | 27.78 | $9,200 | 3.02 |
O.J. Mayo | G | 26.55 | $9,100 | 2.92 |
Klay Thompson | G | 25.83 | $8,900 | 2.90 |
Kawhi Leonard | F/G | 24.98 | $8,000 | 3.12 |
DraftStreet Optimized Roster
Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carmelo Anthony | F | 33.25 | $16,242 | 2.05 |
Marc Gasol | C | 32.10 | $14,831 | 2.16 |
Al Jefferson | C | 32.13 | $14,731 | 2.18 |
LaMarcus Aldridge | F | 33.03 | $14,175 | 2.33 |
Jeremy Lin | G | 26.25 | $12,145 | 2.16 |
Raymond Felton | G | 24.85 | $9,545 | 2.60 |
Tiago Splitter | C | 20.58 | $8,746 | 2.35 |
Jason Kidd | G | 19.68 | $8,377 | 2.35 |
Fan Duel Optimized Roster
Player | Position | Projected FP | Cost | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kevin Durant | SF | 42.2 | $9,900 | 4.26 |
LaMarcus Aldridge | PF | 34.6 | $8,300 | 4.17 |
Nicolas Batum | SF | 26.9 | $6,800 | 3.96 |
Tyreke Evans | SG | 26.3 | $6,700 | 3.93 |
Kyle Lowry | PG | 26.5 | $6,500 | 4.08 |
Ryan Anderson | PF | 26.6 | $6,200 | 4.29 |
Marcin Gortat | C | 25.1 | $5,400 | 4.65 |
Raymond Felton | PG | 25.4 | $5,400 | 4.70 |
Carlos Delfino | SG | 22.9 | $4,800 | 4.77 |
The Best of the Best
Kevin Durant - Well, of course Durant's going to be the best of the best, but will his value be there relative to his cost? If two of our three optimized rosters are any indication, then I'd start pushing and shoving to make room on that Durant bandwagon for myself. The opposing New Orleans Hornets are 27th in defensive rating, 27th in defensive effective field goal percentage (eFG%), and The Brow may be sidelined for tonight's game. In fact, the only downside at all for Durant is the Hornets' next-to-slowest pace in the league. I'd say OKC's eighth-quickest pace should balance that nicely, though.
Marc Gasol - Dallas's starting center is Chris Kaman. Elton Brand has a 102 defensive rating. The thought of Elton Brand being the unstoppable force that cools down Pau Gasol makes me giggle with glee. And I don't think it's just me: the Mavericks are allowing opposing centers to shoot .519 eFG% this season (highest of any position on the floor) and collect 13.9 rebounds per 48 minutes from that spot. On the whole, centers have a 18.0 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) against Dallas, and Gasol is one of the best centers they'll see. I expect him to break out nicely tonight.
LaMarcus Aldridge - It's Big Man City at the top of our optimized rosters today, and Aldridge has as good of a chance to bust out as any of them. Taking on the Sky Blues of Denver, Aldridge comes into this game with at least 15 points in his last three contests, but only topping out at six rebounds in his past six games. If it's rebounds you need, then Denver will abide... at least on one end of the floor. Denver is second in the NBA with an incredible 31.5 percent offensive rebound rate but only hold the 26th-best defensive rebounding rate at 72.0 percent.
Top Mid-Range Values
Raymond Felton - The only player on all three of our optimized rosters today, the Knicks point guard must be licking his chops in preparation of playing the Warriors. What do you get when you face a team that is allowing opposing PGs to shot .489 eFG% (second-highest of any position on the team), has only the 20th-best defensive rating in the NBA, and plays with the seventh-quickest pace in the league? Fantasy glory, my friend. Especially with Pablo Prigioni a game-time decision for New York, expect Felton to play a ton as well.
Tyreke Evans - Well whatdoyaknow, it's something not depressing for Kings fans! I decree that February 27, 2013, shall go down in history. It's only not depressing, however, because the opposing Magic are right down in the depths of despair with them. Already 26th in defensive rating, 29th in defensive eFG%, and 30th in forcing turnovers defensively, the Magic may be even worse tonight as Jameer Nelson is questionable for tonight's game. The chance for Evans to face off against either E'Twaun Moore or Beno Udrih, both of whom have a 110 defensive rating? Sign me up.
Carlos Delfino - Yes, he's returning to the bench. No, I don't care, especially at the $4,800 price he's at for DraftStreet. In Houston's three games since the All-Star Break, Delfino has not played less than 35 minutes. Even with Donatas Montiejunas (starting at power forward tonight) getting 23 minutes in Houston's last game, Delfino still played 35 minutes against Washington. That should prove to be the shot of deer antler spray that Delfino needs taking on the Bucks, who are decent defensively (ninth-best defensive rating on the season) but allowed 115 to Houston in their last matchup. Delfino, by the way, had 22 points in 28 minutes in that contest.
What do you think of the new Daily Fantasy Helper format? Let the author know at Zach@numberfire.com.