DeMarcus Cousins and Wednesday’s Top Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks

Tuesday night was pretty insane in daily fantasy basketball. Not only did the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers defy logic be combining for an insane 238 points, but they also produced some of the best NBA DFS goodness a short Tuesday slate had to offer.

The night wasn’t done appeasing our DFS brethren, of course, as the Hornets and Timberwolves also totaled 223 points and the night was capped by – you guessed it – the Lakers and Nets topping everyone else with a combined 243 points.

Needless to say, on a would-be light five-game daily fantasy basketball slate, there were a ton of points to be had.

Hopefully you found amazing success. If you targeted Blazers, Heat and probably Hawks players, it was the DFS equivalent to a punch in your unsuspecting face:

via GIPHY

Sadly, that was you.

But if it was, don’t get too down in the dumps over it, as Big NBA Wednesday returns with a ridiculous 11-game slate.

And studs, my goodness, the studs.

via GIPHY

I’m giddy just thinking about all of the immense upside.

Tuesday really offered LeBron James and Damian Lillard in the elite option department, but Wednesday goes way overboard with truly all the big names you could imagine.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden face off in the same game, DeMarcus Cousins takes on the Spurs, Anthony Davis takes on the Magic and the Warriors are playing in Canada.

It’s a crazy slate and that doesn’t even touch on all the intermediate studs we can get our hands on (Blake Griffin, John Wall, etc).

That’s all fine and well, but who do we actually trust on a slate as crazy as this? That’s what we’re here for. Let’s take a quick look at each position and see which NBA DFS picks make the most sense at DraftKings and FanDuel tonight:

Point Guard

• Top Pick: Russell Westbrook – Thunder
• Top Values: Darren Collison – Kings or Marcus Smart – Celtics

It doesn’t get any easier than sliding Russ into the PG slot when he’s going up against a Rockets team that is giving up 104 points per game. There’s no Patrick Beverley tonight, either, so the idea of James Harden “covering” Westbrook is scary fun for DFS gamers.

The only issue with Russ at all is that he’s super pricey ($11k+ on both DK and FD), especially with solid alternate options like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and a really nice intermediate value play like Isaiah Thomas.

That being said, Russ is a triple-double machine and this is a dream matchup at home. It’s pretty likely he’s the highest scoring point guard of the night.

Whether or not you use Westbrook, you’ll need value. You can get in at a few spots, but at PG your best bets tonight are Collison and Smart.

Collison finally got his run back in his last contest (38 minutes) and almost hit 30 fantasy points at FanDuel. Tonight he’s at home against a beatable matchup in the Spurs (Tony Parker, etc). He remains under $6k on both of the main sites and if he can top 30 fantasy points, that’s a win.

Marcus Smart is around the same price range and with Jae Crowder out, he also continues to get solid run. He can fall on his face pretty badly, but he’s chipped in 32+ fantasy points in two of his last three outings. He does a lot of things and can hit open treys, so perhaps consider him in a solid date with Dallas.

Shooting Guard

• Top Pick: James Harden – Rockets
• Top Values: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Pistons or Evan Fournier – Magic

We won’t waste a ton of time on the elite picks starting now, as it is fairly obvious. That being said, James Harden is our favorite SG across all sites. He’s pricey, but he’s been consistently elite and I think he’s a tad safer than Westbrook.

Harden is probably our favorite elite play of the slate, as he absolutely crushes it against the Thunder – specifically in OKC. The revenge factor is alive and well, and for a guy who is already averaging over 55 FD points per contest, that might be a pretty big deal.

I don’t personally want to pay up for The Alphabet or DeMar DeRozan on this slate. If I’m spending cash at shooting guard, it’s on Harden and then I’m looking to save here.

That brings us to guys like KCP and Evan Fourier, both of which get awesome run and can score the bell. Fournier is the more reliable scorer/shooter and feels like the safer play, but it should be known he doesn’t do much more than that. Still, 30+ fantasy points isn’t a reach in a date with a bad Pelicans defense.

KCP does more outside of scoring on average, but he’s picked it up lately after a slow start. I don’t think we need to worry about him, but of the two he feels more like a GPP play. Either way, both of these guys are below $6k on FD and DK and could easily top 30 fantasy points tonight.

Small Forward

• Top Pick: Kawhi Leonard – Spurs
• Top Values: Marcus Morris – Pistons or Harrison Barnes – Mavs

Okay, here’s a mild curveball. Most people will likely be on LeBron James, Kevin Durant or maybe even guys like Paul George or Carmelo Anthony. Again, tonight offers options so I might suggest fading the top priced small forwards and just pairing Kawhi with a mid-level or punt option.

Kawhi has been relatively quiet lately, but he did resurface in his last game with a solid 40 fantasy points. He’ll be on the road tonight, but he wrecked the Kings last time (50 fantasy points) and we all know by now they don’t defend well. Leonard is a good price and with this matchup, he’s an easy call on a night where his ownership could be surprisingly low.

Whether you roll with Leonard or not, you might not be stacking SFs on FanDuel or using many on DK. Regardless, there is value to be had at the position.

Danilo Gallinari and T.J. Warren stand out on FD, but Marcus Morris is cheap on both sites and Barnes is way too cheap right now at FanDuel.

Barnes loses a little bit of steam with Deron Williams returning tonight (which is why we’re not plugging J.J. Barea or Seth Curry), but with Dirk Nowitzki still unlikely to return, he should still hoist all of the shots.

Morris has fared well against a bad Knicks defense in the past and is way cheaper on both sites. He tends to be a bit erratic, but this is a sweet matchup for him and the price is nice.

Power Forward

• Top Pick: Anthony Davis – Pelicans
• Top Values: Mike Muscala – Hawks or Markieff Morris – Wizards

We needn’t waste much time on The Brow. He’s a total machine and he faces a weak Magic defense that is allowing over 102 points per game. One needn’t delve into matchups wth Davis, though. He has the ability to drop 70-90 fantasy points and is one of the safest options you can choose.

That being said, this will be me if he exits another game with a chest bruise:

via GIPHY

Whether you’re into The Brow or not, he’s the top option. Beyond him, you’re rolling the dice on guys like Kevin Love and Paul Millsap (on second games of b2b sets) or underwhelming plays like LaMarcus Aldridge.

Taking a deep dive could be in order, especially since Markieff Morris is a good price and Mike Muscala could have an expanded role with Dwight Howard (thigh) iff tonight.

Kieff’s value inflates a bit here because his role has to be big, as Brad Beal is out and John Wall will be on a minutes limit:

JUST IN: Bradley Beal is out tonight as the #Wizards play at the #Sixers. Plus, notes on John Wall https://t.co/jIA22fDKfr

— CSN Wizards (@CSNWizards) November 16, 2016

Also, SIXERS. Morris can definitely flame out, but the matchup, price and role all make him a pretty good play tonight.

Muscala is a dive in every regard, but he’s insanely cheap and a lock to start and get good run if Howard is out. It is sounding like that will be the case, so target him as long as the news comes out.

Center

• Top Pick: DeMarcus Cousins – Kings
• Top Values: Aron Baynes – Pistons or Steven Adams – Thunder

Center could be a ton of fun tonight, as a large portion of people will undoubtedly be drawn into two of our favorite plays – Harden and Russ. On top of that, 11 games offers so many elite options that Brow, James, Curry – the list goes on – could draw ownership away from a very deserving stud like Boogie.

DeMarcus Cousins is one of our favorite plays for Wednesday night, partially because he might be overlooked, but also because he’s at home and wrecked the Spurs earlier this year (55 fantasy points). He’s a great play on both sites, but probably a must-play at DraftKings, where he’s a disrespectful $8.9k.

via GIPHY

Aside from our love for Boogie, it’s tough to completely discount the value at center – specifically at FD – where Aron Baynes is under $4k and Steven Adams remains a good price.

FanDuel only rosters one center, so you need to get this spot right. Going with Boogie might be our move, but if Andre Drummond sits, how can we bypass Baynes, who dropped 30 fantasy points in a start two days ago?

via GIPHY

Crazy, I know.

Oddly, the GPP play might be to hope Drums sits, fade Baynes and then use Boogie.

That could be a lot of fun, or we could just fade both and roll with Adams, who people should be off of after he sacked hard against Detroit in his last game. He was clearly tired and tonight should be more mentally into it with a plus matchup against the Rockets on hand.

That does it for our look at the top daily fantasy basketball picks for Wednesday night. It’s a loaded slate and it’s going to be tough to find one team we love, but hopefully this dive into some of our personal favies helps you win big. Either way, good luck!