This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are only three games on the schedule on Super Bowl Sunday, with the NFL championship dominating the sports day. All three games will be early, starting with the Raptors at the Nets at noon EST followed by the Clippers at the Celtics at 2 pm and the Trail Blazers at the Thunder at 3 pm. The Raptors' starting backcourt and star players, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, are both currently questionable to play and their potential absences shake up the value landscape. The Clippers at Boston is made more interesting by the continued absence of Chris Paul and return to form of Blake Griffin, as now the contest pits the dominant backcourt of the Celtics against the strong frontcourt of the Clippers. And the Trail Blazers at Thunder pits two back-court driven offenses against one another, with no clear advantage based upon styles of play and the highest likelihood of a scoring duel (Russell Westbrook vs Damian Lillard and/or C.J. McCollum) of the three games.
Russell Westbrook, OKC vs POR ($12,400): Westbrook is the best producer on the board on Sunday, and in FanDuel there is not that big of a money spread between he and Isaiah Thomas ($10,900). Westbrook is fresh off of a 38-points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists triple-double in his last outing against an elite Grizzlies defense. The Trail Blazers allow the 12th-fewest fantasy points to point guards in the FanDuel system, a respectable but ultimately average defense that does not seem likely to deter Westbrook from his normal production.
C.J. McCollum, POR at OKC ($8000): McCollum is clearly the best healthy shooting guard on the board on Sunday, especially with DeMar DeRozan (ankle) and Avery Bradley (Achilles) questionable to play. He has averaged 24.7 points, 5.3 boards, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals over his last three games, and faces a Thunder team that has given up the second-most fantasy points to shooting guards over the past 10 games.
Norman Powell, TOR at BKN ($4800): Powell has done well starting in place of DeMar DeRozan, averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 boards, 1.8 assists and 1.7 combined steals/blocks in 35.7 minutes in six games as a starting guard. DeRozan is questionable for Sunday, and if Powell starts again he'll face a Nets defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to shooting guards this season.
Blake Griffin, LAC at BOS ($9200): Griffin has returned to form over the past couple of games, showing recovery from his injury to the tune of 30 points, eight boards, 3.5 assists, two steals and a block in those outings. On Sunday he faces a Celtics defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to power forwards this season.
Jae Crowder, BOS vs LAC ($6500): Crowder is the best small forward on the board on Sunday, and has played consistently well to the tune of 18.5 points, 6.8 boards, 2.0 assists and 1.2 combined steals/blocks over his last 12 games. The Clippers have been experimenting with a three-guard line-up over the past few games, and if that continues then Crowder should be able to get what he wants physically against undersized wing Raymond Felton.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, BKN vs TOR ($4200): Hollis-Jefferson has been flirting with starter minutes lately, averaging 8.0 points, 8.3 boards, 2.7 assists and 0.6 combined steals/blocks in his last three games, primarily at power forward. On Sunday he'll face a Raptors defense that has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to power forwards this season.
DeAndre Jordan, LAC at BOS ($7600):Jordan had an outstanding January, but both his usage and effectiveness have gone down since Blake Griffin returned. However, that period has also corresponded with two games against a Warriors team that blew them out in one game and required more of a small-ball approach in the other. The Celtics have been weak against opposing centers all season, and worse recently having allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to centers over the last five games.
Steven Adams, OKC vs POR ($6100): Adams is the only game in town in the middle for the Thunder since Enes Kanter went down, and this has translated to him averaging 10.3 boards along with 11.8 points, 1.3 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.5 steals in the last four games. On Sunday he faces a Trail Blazers defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to centers over the last 10 games.
Lucas Nogueira, TOR at BKN ($4000):Jonas Valanciunas is the starter and has a good match-up against Brook Lopez and the porous Nets interior defense. However, if the Raptors do end up sitting their starting backcourt it is plausible that the entire game takes on more of a futures/reserves feel for the team. If this happens, Nogueira would be more likely to take a prominent role. And even if the Raptors play their regular rotation, Nogueira has played himself into a more prominent role of late with averages of 7.6 points, 6.3 boards, 2.3 blocks and 0.9 steals in 24.5 minutes over his last eight contests.
