3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 11/14/19
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.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF/PF, Milwaukee Bucks
DraftKings Price: $11,700
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the highest-priced player on the slate -- by a longshot. His salary is $1,700 clear of Luka Doncic -- the next most expensive player -- as he and his Milwaukee Bucks host the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. Yet, he is well worth nearly a quarter of your total salary.
On the season, Giannis is averaging 63.8 DraftKings points on the back of a career-high 29.7 points, accompanied by 14.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists a night. He's averaging 68.7 DK points over his last five, including one in which he tallied 81.5 points against the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to NBA.com, Antetokounmpo already possesses a 33.4% usage rate on the year, and he's in for more responsibility in the absence of Khris Middleton. Per NBA Wowy, Antetokounmpo's usage rate escalates to 35.7% while he increases his per-minute average to a ridiculous 2.14 DK points over 114 minutes of work without Middleton on the floor. And when we expand our sample to last year, that sits at a more concrete 1.82 DK points per minute.
As if it could get any better, Giannis faces a Bulls team that ranks 15th in defensive rating and -- according to FantasyPros -- 27th in DK points allowed to the power forward position. We project him for a slate-best 57.0 DK points, but at his rate without Middleton, he has a ceiling of 65-plus if he plays 35-plus minutes.
Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks
DraftKings Price: $9,600
Trae Young is flaming hot as he enters Thursday's matchup against the Phoenix Suns. The Atlanta Hawks' star floor general is putting up 64.8 DK points over his lat three, during which he has averaged 35.7 points on 46.6% shooting and 4.7 threes on 12.0 attempts a game. He's managed a double-double and played 40-plus minutes in each. So his $400 jump in price is justified.
With Ricky Rubio on board, Phoenix has been better against point guards in 2019, ranking seventh-best in both DK points and points per game allowed to the position. However, Young isn't your average point guard, and he stands to benefit from a 227.5 over/under. Even with the Hawks listed as 7.0-point underdogs, their 110.25 total is above a number of other teams on this slate.
In the other two games Atlanta has played in with at least a 225 over/under, Young has accounted for 61.0 and 65.5 DK points. And when they've scored at least 110, he has averaged 65.3 across three contests. Lock him in with a projected output of 43.2 DK points -- his floor at 34.5 minutes.
Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets
DraftKings Price: $8,600
Following his noticeably sluggish start to the campaign, Nikola Jokic has awoken from his slumber in recent games. After his worst fantasy performance of the year, the big man has turned around with 57.5, 42.5 and 43.5 DK points in consecutive games. He's scored at least 20 points with only one double-double in that span.
Even still, Jokic could be doing more with his opportunity. He's gotten up 64 shots over the last three, but he's converted at just a 40.6% clip overall and a dreadful 16.7% from three. In his first four seasons, the versatile Denver Nuggets' center shot at least 49.9% from the floor in each year, including a 30-plus percent from beyond the arc.
In other words, Jokic will see some positive regression with time and in the right spots. This happens to be one of them, as the Nuggets invite the Brooklyn Nets into Pepsi Center.
Brooklyn is 26th in defensive rating and second-worst against opposing centers, but Jokic has also been much better at home. This year, he's averaging an additional 11.3 DK points in Denver despite shooting a lower percentage. Can you say double-double (maybe even triple-double) threat?
At his price, Jokic is expected to tally 48.6 DK points at a return of 5.65 points per $1,000, per our models.
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.
