Victiv Daily Fantasy Basketball: Lineup for January 30th

Michael Carter-Williams

XN Sports is introducing a new daily fantasy site called Victiv, which has one of the best features in all of daily fantasy, in addition to a sleek design, and a few ways to play daily fantasy basketball.

Victiv has what is called a substitution position, which you can learn more about on the site. Essentially, it’s one extra position for under $5,000 (does not affect your salary cap) where you can select a bench player. This player will come in handy, as it replaces anyone in your lineup that scores less than the substitute. Think of it as a free mulligan, and an option to take a risk on a player.

For example, if you like a specific player one night but he is a game-time decision, put him into your lineups. The substitute can be his backup, or another player that you think could have an excellent night, and if your player does not play, no worries. In addition, this adds another level of strategy. On Victiv, the minimum price for a player is a lotlower than on other sites. You can afford to take risks with these cheap players, because if this player does not have an excellent game, your substitute can pick up the slack. Be sure to take advantage of this, and try Victiv today.

After you have signed up, be sure to take on Victron. This is Victiv’s computer, and if you beat it, you can win cash prizes. This is yet another way to play daily fantasy basketball.

On Victiv, you are given $50,000 in cap space to play a lineup composed of two guards, three forwards, a center, and two flex positions. As aforementioned, the substitute does not count against your cap. The scoring is as follows (taken directly from Victiv’s website):

– Point +1

– Rebound +1.25

– Assist +1.25

– Steal +2

– Block +2

– Turnover -0.5

How can we beat Victron, other players and win real money? First, sign up for Victiv here.

Second, take a look at XN Sports’ suggested plays and lineup for Victiv for tonight’s slate:

Point Guard

Michael Carter-Williams ($8,900) vs MIN- I wrote about MCW in my stock report column, and I love him again tonight. With Tony Wroten nursing a partially torn ACL, Carter-Williams will dominate the 76ers offense. With Wroten off the court, his usage rate is about four points higher, and no player in all of basketball is averaging more offensive touches per game than Carter-Williams (101.8). He already ranked 9th in the NBA in usage rate before Wroten’s injury, so expect Carter-Williams to see tons of volume for the high-pace 76ers. Tonight’s matchup figures to be a perfect game for him, facing the defensively inept Timberwolves who are allowing 107 points per game this year, the most in basketball. These two units ranks 6th and 7th in pace, respectively, so expect a large amount of points to be had in this contest. The last time he faced Minnesota, MCW finished an assist and rebound shy of a triple-double, while scoring 20 points and racking up three steals.

Note: Staying in the same game, Zach LaVine once again makes for a great value play, assuming he starts at point guard again. He’s coming off a 17-point, 6-assist, four-rebound, three-steal outing against Boston in 24 minutes, and both the 76ers and Wolves allow the most FanDuel points per game. Of course, Mo Williams is meeting with the team in Philly tonight, but whoever starts makes for a good play.

Jeff Teague ($8,600) vs POR- The 38-8 Hawks continue to roll, and Teague is driving this train. The 2015 All-Star is averaging an impressive 14.4 points, nine assists and two rebounds over his last five games, and over his last six, has recorded a strong three double-doubles. I love his matchup tonight against a Portland defense that is allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards, and Damian Lillard isn’t exactly a lock-down defender. In fact, he’s quite the opposite, as he played a large role in Kyrie Irving’s 55-point night from Wednesday. His price has come down a little bit, too, making him a fine play for this evening.

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan, ($6,900) @BKN- DeRozan is starting to get it together as of late, averaging 20.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and four assists per game over his last three outings. During that span, he’s attacking the basket again, getting to the free-throw line 19 times, proving that he appears to be fully healthy. Meanwhile, opponents against the Nets this season are averaging a healthy 22 free-throw trips per game this season, and DeRozan is playing relatively heavy minutes again, logging 32.2 minutes per game over his last five. The Nets are allowing the 7th-most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards this season, and I think DeRozan’s days of being a value are numbered. Take advantage.

Small Forward

Rudy Gay ($7,600) @CLE- LeBron James is already listed as doubtful for tonight’s tilt, and it looks like DeMarcus Cousins is a game-time decision with an ankle sprain. If Cousins sits, Gay will see all of the usage against a likely LeBron-less Cavs defense that is already allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to the small forward position (37.27). Gay has been playing well, scoring at least 20 points in nine of his last 11 games, and it could have easily been 10 if he hadn’t been given an early ejection on the 21st of January. With Boogie off the court, Gay is seeing a strong usage rate of 29.1 this year, but even if Cousins suits up for this game, Gay still makes for a good play. Opposing small forwards are hauling in over eight rebounds and recording almost five assists per game against the Cavs this year, to go along with a 17.32 usage rate. Gay might see some coverage from J.R. Smith, too, which is never a bad thing.

Power Forward

Donatas Motiejunas ($6,00) @BOS- With Dwight Howard nursing a knee injury that could force him to miss extended time, Motiejunas should see some extended run for the Rockets, despite Terrence Jones returning to the lineup. As Chris Towers of CBS points out, during the 11 games Howard missed from late November to December, Donatas filled in admirably, averaging 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and averaging over 25 FanDuel points per game. With Howard sidelined, Motiejunas has played 34 and 32 minutes over the last two nights, and should hover around that range against the Celtics, who are allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to the power forward position this season. The position is averaging a healthy 12.47 rebounds per game, as well as 21.53 points. This game will be fast-paced, giving Donatas strong rebounding and scoring opportunity against a bad defense allowing the 6th-most total rebounds and points per game in 2014-15.

Thaddeus Young ($7,500) @PHI- Revenge is always a fun narrative to target, as Young heads back to his former town in Philadelphia to take on the 76ers. The transition back to small forward appears to have worked wonders for Thad, as he’s been thriving as of late. Over his last three games, Young is averaging 20 points, 7.6 rebounds, four assists and 1.6 steals per game. He’s also logged at least 40 minutes in all three of those games, which is awesome. Meanwhile, the 76ers can’t play defense, allowing the seventh-most fantasy points per game to small forwards on the season. They also rank dead last in rebounding differential so far, and again, we love when two bad defenses play each other. Young is one of the best sources of steals in fantasy, so expect him to have a handful against the 76ers tonight, who allow the opposition to record 10.4 steals per game, which easily leads all of basketball.

Center

Hassan Whiteside ($7,200) vs DAL- Whiteside continues to get it done for the Heat. After that monstrous triple-double from the weekend, he followed with a 16-point, 16-rebound effort against Milwaukee, resulting in nearly 40 fantasy points. An awesome per-minute player, Whiteside is recording 1.34 fantasy points per, and Miami will continue to rely on him with both Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng banged up. Dallas, on the other hand, is allowing the second-most offensive rebounds (12.2) and 8th-most defensive rebounds (33) per game on the year. Whiteside played 36 minutes the other night, and should play equal minutes tonight for the depleted Heat unit.

Lineup

G- Zach LaVine

G- Michael Carter-Williams

F- Donatas Motiejunas

F- Joe Ingles

F-Jerami Grant

C- Tyler Zeller

FX-Rudy Gay

FX-Derrick Rose

 

author avatar
Adam Pfeifer
Adam Pfeifer is a fantasy sports writer for ProjectRoto and XN Sports. He covers the NFL, NBA and MLB. You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.