3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 12/30/19
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.
Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers
DraftKings Price: $8,500
Monday's slate is a very unique one. It's a departure from what we're used to seeing, when we normally have building blocks like Luka Doncic and James Harden worthy of their super-high price tags.
Instead, we don't have a single player above that $10,000 mark who is certain to take the floor. Trae Young is out, and both Karl-Anthony Towns and Giannis Antetokounmpo are considered questionable for their contests. And between $9,000 and $10,000, only Andre Drummond is expected to play.
So, for that reason, we dip down below those two points to Damian Lillard. Lillard is a guy who saw his price tag exceed $9,000 not too long ago, and his production is nearly on par with the other names above. Dame is averaging 46.8 DraftKings points per game with 27.0 points and a career-high 7.6 assists in 36.8 minutes. Over his last five, he's up to 47.9 DK points a game, including three games above the 50-point threshold.
Two of those monsters games took place in Portland, where Lillard has really shined all year. On 47.2% shooting and 37.7% from three, he's managing 48.8 DK points a game.
We shouldn't expect that to change here against the Phoenix Suns, either. Per NBA.com, Phoenix is two spots higher in pace, and -- according to FantasyPros -- they give up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to floor generals. We have Lillard down for 45.5 DK points in this advantageous matchup.
Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat
DraftKings Price: $7,600
Pretty much everywhere you look, Bam Adebayo isn't getting enough respect. He has arguably been the best player in a Miami Heat uniform this season, and despite a number of monster games, his salary is much lower than where it should be.
The reason for the price drop has to be Bam's last game against the Philadelphia 76ers, when he was held to 11 points, 3 rebounds and 21.75 DK points. However, he posted at least 34.5 and averaged 50.1 DK points in the 10 games leading up to that dud. I think we can give him one.
On top of that sustained fantasy goodness, Adebayo tore apart the Washington Wizards in their only other matchup this season. He went for 24 points, 14 rebounds and 52.0 DK points. So long as this one stays close, he's going to eat again. Washington is already second-worst against centers, and with injuries all over the frontcourt, they will rely on a number of backups to try and hold Bam in check. That's not going to happen, so lock him in.
Hassan Whiteside, C, Portland Trail Blazers
DraftKings Price: $7,100
It's shaping up to be a great night to roll out two centers. Neither Adebayo nor Hassan Whiteside are all that pricey (Whiteside was $7,800 in his last game), and both have high-upside opportunities in front of them.
Like with Lillard, Whiteside will also benefit from a slight pace-up game versus the Suns. That, along with the fact that Phoenix is 24th in rebound rate and tied for 26th in blocks allowed to their opponents (5.7 a game) is particularly encouraging for a center of Whiteside's skillset. In fact, FantasyPros' data tells us that two of those blocks have gone to centers, leading to a total of 55.1 DK points per game at that position.
Whiteside, on the back of 13.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per night, is averaging 40.4 DK points for the year and 45.0 over his last 10. There's room for both him and Lillard to flourish in a game with a juicy 231-point total.
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__14. 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.
