FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks

As you recall, SBNation has partnered with FanDuel this season to give our readers a chance to see what is the latest breaking trend in the fantasy basketball industry, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS).

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.

The excellent thing about daily fantasy sports, and especially fantasy basketball, is that it's a new game every day. No worries about injuries, deadbeat owners in your league, etc. It's just day after day of heart pounding, game following excitement.

I am taking you guys through a season of NBA games from the daily fantasy point of view, complete with tracking my every day wins and losses. When will I bust out and lose it all? Come back and find out!

What Happened Thursday?

Aye, yai, yai. Russell Westbrook left his game midway through the second quarter when his hand met Kendrick Perkins' back. As a Hawks fan, I never liked Perk, now that's he's cost me a buck or two, he's even further down the list. Grrrr.

Oh, and thanks LeBron! That confetti raining down BEFORE the game sure was swell. Too bad there was no excitement left for the actual game, where you LeFlopped. But no bitterness here. Nope. None whatsoever. *stares*

Even with LeBron's bad night, if Westbrook had played a full game, we're across the money line in our matchups. Alas, he didn't, and we didn't. Time to change the Going Broke Pace bar....

We're 1-9 in the money (btw, that's brutal), and down $6 overall for a bankroll of $44. Going Broke Pace: Thanksgiving.

Friday's Lineup:

We are into one tourney tonight (Halloween Spooky Special!) and two 50/50 games. One of the 50/50 games is a $2 double up. We need to get some solid bankroll back, so we're go heavy on the 50/50 games tonight.

In the tourney game you have to be in the top 12.5% to cash in, but the winnings (2.5x) starts to get higher from there with 10K to the winner (57000 entries) . Is that a problem when we've struggled to get to even 50% - why yes, yes it is!

Here is my lineup for tonight for one of the 50/50s and the tourney:

PG: Chris Paul, Clippers @ Lakers ($9,600)
PG: Derrick Rose, Bulls vs. Cavaliers ($8,200)
SG: Wesley Matthews, Blazers @ Kings ($5,900)
SG: Danny Green, Spurs @ Suns ($4,400)
SF: LeBron James, Cavaliers @ Bulls ($10,400)
SF: Kawhi Leonard, Spurs @ Suns ($6,100)
PF: Ed Davis, Lakers vs. Clippers ($4,200)
PF: Nerlens Noel, 76ers @ Bucks ($6,000)
C: Jordan Hill, Lakers vs. Clippers ($5,100)

Stand by your man! This is a star based lineup, getting CP3, DRose, LeBron and Kawhi Leonard all in the same lineup. I don't particularly like going in a Bulls game because Thibs, but Rose and LeBron are the ones to get there, obviously.

Noel is an intriguing boards and blocks guy who could score 20 on ten dunks. Jordan Hill and Ed Davis are soaking up minutes and stats in the Lakers frontcourt, especially with Julius Randle out for the season, and we fill in the gaps with steady shooting guards Green and Wesley Matthews. Besides, Matthews' dad was a Hawk -- legacy!

Here's my other lineup I'm using in the $2 50/50 game:

PG: Chris Paul, Clippers @ Lakers ($9,600)
PG: Tony Wroten, 76ers @ Bucks ($6,800)
SG: Wesley Matthews, Blazers @ Kings ($5,900)
SG: Danny Green, Spurs @ Suns ($4,400)
SF: Kawhi Leonard, Spurs @ Suns ($6,100)
SF: Nicolas Batum, Blazers @ Kings ($7,300)
PF: Ed Davis, Lakers vs. Clippers ($4,200)
PF: Blake Griffin, Clippers @ Lakers ($9,600)
C: Jordan Hill, Lakers vs. Clippers ($5,100)

Wanted to be able to play Blake with Paul in a game, so I had to downshift into Batum, who can be a FP monster when he's on for Portland, and Wroten, who I drafted for the Hawks in the 2012 Mock Draft here at the network. Synergy!

As always, I am very interested in hearing from others in the comments area about what they are doing in DFS and if you have any questions, feel free to chime in!

Jason Walker is the Managing Editor for Peachtree Hoops and is an avid fantasy sports player in both seasonal and daily sports leagues. You can read other fantasy related items at his site dedicated to such things, RotoAdvice.com and hit him up on Twitter @JasonWalkerRoto.

How to Play and The Rules of Engagement:

The way that FanDuel works is as follows:

1. Head over to FanDuel today, register and check out the NBA games they have running.

For example: One of the NBA games they have for pay is a $5 entry, 100 first place tourney.

2. Once you enter, you set a lineup based on a salary cap of $60K and enter 2 PG, 2 SG, 2 SF, 2 PF and a Center (yes, Horford is considered a center).

3. Once your cap-friendly lineup is complete, click Enter and BOOM!, the fun begins!

Now, a bit of bad news. Here are specific rules. They include this: "In order to deposit money to play paid entry games you must be able to represent and warrant that you are not a resident of any of the following states: Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana or Washington."

But there are still free games on the site, in which you can take part if you are from those states, and I know most of our readers don't fall into this category, but if you do, you can still have some fun!