Jordan Clarkson and Wednesday’s Daily Fantasy Basketball Value Picks

Tuesday was a weird time to go all in on daily fantasy basketball. Heck, it was just a weird NBA day, in general, as the Magic upset the Spurs, the Nets upset the Clippers and the Bucks took down the defending champion Cavaliers.

See? Pretty wild and crazy stuff.

Wednesday night shouldn’t be that crazy, as Russell Westbrook dominates a fun 10-game slate. He’s one of two elite studs (the other being DeMarcus Cousins) you might want to get your hands on, while there are plenty of other expensive guys like John Wall, Hassan Whiteside, Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan and more.

It projects to be a fun slate, should you make the right calls. With a heavy slate like this, there are a lot to make. Hopefully we can help you by pointing out our favorite values at each position over at FanDuel (they continue to offer better pricing):

Point Guard

• Rajon Rondo – Bulls ($5.8k)
• Dennis Schroder – Bulls ($5.6k)
• Sergio Rodriguez – 76ers ($4.4k)
• Andrew Harrison – Grizzlies ($3.7k)

There are a ton of awesome options at point guard tonight, beginning with Russell Westbrook. He’s insanely expensive at FanDuel, though, so you can either drop down to John Wall or Damian Lillard, or you can pair him with a cheap point guard.

There are several to consider, with Rondo and Schroder jumping out as the most stable options. Rondo has safely topped 30 fantasy points in four straight games and will be at home tonight against the Lakers. If Dwyane Wade (tooth) sits, he’s without a doubt the play here.

Schroder is a tad more volatile, but he can still reach a double-double and has a fine matchup with a bad Suns defense. He can face plant, but he scored 24 points against the Warriors, which showcases his explosive upside as a scorer.

Sergio Rodriguez might be the better play in terms of value, as he’s way cheaper and has a huge role tonight with Jerryd Bayless out again. The Kings do not defend well and Sergio will have several chances to get buckets and dimes. If he can hit 30 fantasy points he’s crushing this price tag.

Andrew Harrison is in that Wade Baldwin and Jamal Murray zone. These young guards have a lot of upside, but they also lack efficiency or experience. I am not enamored with any of them, but at least Harrison is slated to start with Mike Conley (back) out.

Shooting Guard

• Victor Oladipo – Thunder ($6.2k)
• Zach Lavine – Timberwolves ($6.2k)
• Devin Booker – Suns ($6k)
• Jordan Clarkson – Lakers ($5.7k)
• Lou Williams – Lakers ($5k)

I don’t want to pay up for shooting guard tonight, as DeMar DeRozan is $9k against Tony Allen and the Grizzlies and C.J. McCollum, Brad Beal and Avery Bradley don’t have palatable salaries.

Instead, we can puml Dipo, Lavine and Booker all together in the same price range. None of them can be fully trusted due to uncanny volatility, but they also are good values with amazing upside. Oladipo is finally finding his footing in OKC, while Booker and Lavine are both coming off of huge scoring performances.

They’re all worth consideration, but the play might be Jordan Clarkson, who could end up starting with Nick Young (Achilles) out. Clarkson was already getting good run and providing value, but if he starts and gets even more run, he’ll feel like a must-play NBA DFS option.

Then again, Lou Williams is in a similar situation in L.A. and is cheap. If you need salary space, consider Lou. If not, we like Clarkson’s value the most in this appealing group.

Small Forward

• Andrew Wiggins – Timberwolves ($5.9k)
• Jae Crowder – Celtics ($5.2k)
• Glenn Robinson III – Pacers ($4.7k)
• Troy Williams – Grizzlies ($3.7k)

Jimmy Butler rules the small forward position tonight, while Carmelo Anthony and Kawhi Leonard are both decent values and in play, but have less than favorable matchups by the numbers.

It might not be a bad idea to fade the top three on this slate, which could allow for better values and your money to go toward Russ, Wall, Cousins and the like.

Wiggins isn’t a bad spot to start, even though he’s been slumping as a scorer lately. Part of that is Lavine wrecking, but there is a good chance that changes hands tonight. The reality is Wiggins is a 20+ point per game scorer and he’s just been a little off. If he can get going at all tonight, his price tag will look unbelievably cheap by the time the night is up.

Jae Crowder is also a terrific price, a she’s topped 15 actual points in three straight and simply has one of the best NBA DFS floors you can find. There isn’t a lot of upside here and Detroit can be a defensive nightmare, but he feels safe and the price is right.

Of course, the small forward play of the day is going to be Glenn Robinson III, who will start for the Pacers in place of an injured Paul George. Robinson has thrived as a key starter when George is out, and he’s still cheap, so fire him up as our favorite SF tonight.

Don’t completely rule out Troy Williams, though. Vince Carter, Chandler Parsons and Mike Conley are all out for a very banged up Memphis team.

They could fall flat on the road against the Raptors, but they have just 9 healthy bodies. Williams figures to start and brings upside to the table at this cheap price.

Power Forward

• Gorgui Dieng – Timberwolves ($6.1k)
• Kenneth Faried – Nuggets ($5.9k)
• Taj Gibson – Bulls ($5.6k)
• Thaddeus Young – Pacers ($5.5k)
• Nikola Jokic – Nuggets ($4.8k)

Power forward is awful tonight, as Kristaps Porzingis is looking like the “elite” play at the position with Paul Millsap (hip) iffy to suit up:

Paul Millsap (hip) questionable Wednesday. https://t.co/ToOhk0qViG

— FantasyLabs NBA (@FantasyLabsNBA) November 30, 2016

I can understand the desire to pay up for some safety with Zinger, but he is on the road against Gorgui Dieng and if he bottoms out, you’ll be very happy you faded him. I like him plenty, but with a lot of people paying for him, going cheap at both PF slots could be a huge game-changer in GPPs.

Dieng starts off that thought process, as he averages nearly 30 fantasy points per game and can do a little bit of everything. He’ll be at home and has been solid lately, while a date with Zinger isn’t unbeatable.

I’m not enamored with anyone else here, but Faried has been fairly steady, Jokic tends to go nuts randomly, Thad could benefit from PG-13 sitting and Taj could be big with Wade out.

All of these guys have their downside and can easily go full spare on us, but they also all feel reasonably safe and look to provide solid value at a bad position.

Center

• Myles Turner – Pacers ($6.4k)
• Joel Embiid – 76ers ($6.2k)
• Mason Plumlee – Blazers ($5.8k)
• Robin Lopez – Bulls ($5k)

Center is loaded tonight, as Boogie rules the top, but you also can pick between Hassan Whiteside, Karl-Anthony Towns and really, the list goes on.

If you want value, though, bypass DeMarcus Cousins and these other guys and head for Turner, who is putting up over 30 fantasy points per contest when PG-13 sits. Turner is giving way to backup Al Jefferson a bit, but this is a great matchup for him and he should be active early.

It’s hard to hate on Joel Embiid even in limited minutes, either, as he’s been a total machine and will draw a weak Sacramento defense. Embiid can do a ton of damage in just 24 minutes and is a fine price in a GPP tournament.

Plumlee is in the same game as Myles Turner and actually has an even better matchup by the numbers. I don’t love his offensive ability, but he’s a gifted passer and always a threat to notch a double-double.

Lastly, let’s not forget about Lopez, who has safely topped 27 FD points in 6 of his last 8 games. He’s not sexy and he doesn’t have a ton of upside, but he gets the job done and is a great price. He also gets the Lakers at home, and not much more than that really needs to be said.

As we’ve noted, there is a ton of value tonight and not necessarily all that many top-end elite plays. You could really just pick one or two value plays tonight and stack the rest of your roster with rock solid guys.

Hopefully our daily fantasy basketball picks help you win some cash tonight. Regardless, we wish you luck in your NBA DFS contests!