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FanDuel: Who did I pick for my Fantasy Lineup today?

I reveal my lineup along with a quick rationale why each player was selected.

By Albert Lee

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Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Disclaimer: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is running a FREE money fantasy basketball league tonight. Half of the league win cash. Join now!

Also, even though this is a sponsored post with affiliate links, all of the opinions in this post are my own. And as an FYI, FanDuel gave me some cash to play its daily fantasy games.

So far this NBA season, I've simply shown you some tips on what to do in order to select a one-day fantasy basketball lineup. Today, I'm going to share you my fantasy lineup in a $2 early entry league, along with a rationale why I picked each player.

Some leagues in FanDuel let you pick the players from all available games, but in this league, the eligible players were only from these three Saturday games:

Now, let's get to the lineup I picked. Note that the dollar amounts next to the player names are the FanDuel salary cap hits:

  • PG: Russell Westbrook, Thunder, $10,500 - he is the best player in one-day fantasy basketball right now and has scored 29 or more fantasy points in each of his last nine games. Even though the Thunder's playing the Lakers, he should still get at least 30 in three quarters.
  • PG: Jeremy Lin, Hornets, $5,100 - Lin has played 20 or more minutes in each of his last ten games and can easily erupt for 25 or more fantasy points with the right matchup. He dropped a season-high 35 real points on Thursday against the Raptors. He's poised for another great performance against the Wizards tonight.
  • SG: Lou Williams, Lakers, $5,200 - Williams has 10 or more fantasy points in each of his last 10 games. He has also scored 24 or more fantasy points in each of his last six games.
  • SG: Jeremy Lamb, Hornets, $4,500 - Lamb averages over 20 fantasy points a game and is only $4,500. He's not a starter, but he gets his fair share of playing time, so he should be a safe bet to score in the teens worst case scenario.
  • SF: Kevin Durant, Thunder, $10,000 - Durant scored 30 or more fantasy points in his last 10 games. He is considered to be the second-best overall player in the NBA and LeBron James isn't playing tonight. He's an easy choice.
  • SF: Nikola Mirotic, Bulls, $5,300 - The Bulls are coming off a four-overtime loss to the Pistons. In the game Mirotic played 24 minutes which is more than average, but it's not like he was playing 45-50 minutes in the game. Therefore, he'll have fresher legs than some of his teammates and a safe bet to score in double digits for fantasy points.
  • PF: Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks, $6,400 - The Knicks' rookie star is usually a safe bet to get you at least 20 fantasy points and can erupt for 40 or more. But he also could lay some duds, especially when he plays less than 20 minutes. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often.
  • PF: Julius Randle, Lakers, $6,100 - The sophomore post (by technicality) is a double double machine. He has done so in seven of his last 10 games. Like Porzingis, he can easily erupt for 40 or more fantasy points. When you add that Randle also has a reasonable cap hit, he's that much easier to pick.
  • C: Marcin Gortat, Wizards, $6,600 - Gortat has scored 21 or more fantasy points in each of the last five games he's played since taking time off to be with his ailing mother in Europe. Since the Polish Machine is a safe bet for a double double, he should easily score 30 or more fantasy points tonight since Al Jefferson is out due to a five-game suspension.
Are there other players you'd select for your lineups? Would love to hear your thoughts.