3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 11/5/19
While building a daily fantasy basketball lineup, it's important to make sure you find the right studs to anchor your team. As the most expensive players in your lineup, they need big-time production to match their high price tag.
You may find it hard to fit some of these guys in while staying under the salary cap, but you can check out our projections to find value players for your rosters. Let's take a look at the top high-priced DraftKings plays of the day.
Anthony Davis, PF/C, Los Angeles Lakers
DraftKings Price: $10,000
After opening the season on a low note for his standards, Anthony Davis has caught fire. On his way to being named player of the week for the Western Conference last week, the Brow averaged 32.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 57.9 DraftKings points per game. He's averaging 54.5 DK points as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, while using 32.7% of the offensive possessions, according to NBA.com.
Tuesday night's matchup is unlikely to slow the big man down. The Chicago Bulls were talked up prior to the year, but during the early part of the season, they are 19th in defensive rating and dead last in both defensive rebound rate (68.2%) and total rebound rate (46.2%). And in the last three games, they have given up 20, 24 and 15 boards to the likes of Andre Drummond, Kevin Love and T.J. Leaf, all of whom put up double-double performances against this weak Chicago front line.
FanDuel Sportsbook has this game down for 213.5 total points (a 110.0 implied total for the Lakers), which isn't all that high, but the concentration of the production starts with Brow. On what projects to be a lower-scoring night, you can't go wrong with him as your building block. Our models expect him to put up 53.2 DK points at a value of more than 5.0 points per $1,000.
Jimmy Butler, SG/SF, Miami Heat
DraftKings Price: $8,100
Jimmy Butler had his own kind of slow start to the season. After leaving the team for the birth of his daughter, the new Miami Heat star has look like a man on a mission. After all, he kind of is playing with a chip on his shoulder.
Over 31.0 minutes, he's averaging 44.6 DraftKings points with a 23.8% usage rate and 33.8% assist rate not to mention 4.3 steals a game. He has back-to-back games with at least 48.75 DK points with 20 combined assists, which has helped to make up for his somewhat poor shooting (38.9%) to date.
His opponent, the Denver Nuggets, is no pushover on the defensive end. Led on the wing by Gary Harris, they are 14th in defensive rating, but again, this is expected to be a low-scoring night (the over/under is 209); we have to find leverage somewhere. Plus, Miami might just help to push the pace, as they are sixth in the league so far, averaging nearly 10 more possessions per game than the slow and methodical Nuggets.
If you are looking to tournaments, Butler is a solid play. He's projected for 38.9 DK points in 36.8 minutes of action.
Domantas Sabonis, PF/C, Indiana Pacers
DraftKings Price: $8,300
Another player you will likely want to target -- and primarily in GPPs -- is Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis was not practicing for the Indiana Pacers due to a calf contusion, but a questionable tag suggests a chance to play Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets. But they are already without Myles Turner, who is doubtful with an injury of his own. Sabonis could lean more toward playing in Turner's absence, and if he can do so, this has all the makings for a big game.
Per NBA Wowy, Sabonis has averaged 1.23 DraftKings points per minute going back to the beginning of last season. However, when we remove Turner from the equation, that rate rises to 1.28 on a 24.9% usage rate and 18.5% assist rate, and increases yet again -- 1.31 DK points per minute -- when we account for Victor Oladipo's continued absence in his return from injury.
By simple math, Sabonis needs to play just 31.5 minutes to reach his salary-implied output. If he plays, reaching 40-plus points is certainly in the cards in Charlotte.
The Hornets are 26th in defensive rating and 25th in defensive rebound rate through six games, and they've given up the 10th- and 2nd-most points per game to the power forward and center positions, according to FantasyPros. Sabonis -- averaging 42.3 DK points -- has two straight games with 48.5 DK points along with three double-double outings. As long as he plays, he makes for a sneaky-great option.
Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BrettOswalt. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
