3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 1/6/20
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: $10,900
On Monday, it comes down to Luka Doncic versus Giannis Antetokounmpo for the honor of top dog. And while Luka's matchup is more favorable, he will take up 24.4% of your salary cap at his $12,200 price tag. At less than $11,000, you can consider Giannis a bargain.
The last time Antetokounmpo came in under $11,000 was back on November 21, one of only six times he has been that cheap this year. He's a great buy-low candidate despite a road matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
Last time out, he tallied a very mortal 47 DraftKings points at home against San Antonio, but he did so in only 29 minutes and scored 32 on 12 shots. His one assist marked only his second game without two or more this season, too.
The positives are there for Giannis. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, Milwaukee is favored by 7.5 in a game with a 229.5 over/under, supplying them with a 118.5 implied total. So long as he plays 30-plus minutes, Antetokounmpo should have no problem meeting the 54.5 he needs for five-times value. In fact, we project him for 59.3 in 32.5 minutes.
Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic
DraftKings Price: $8,300
Dipping way down in price, we get to Nikola Vucevic, who has gone quite overlooked again for the Orlando Magic. The veteran center is averaging a double-double (18.4 points and 10.8 boards) for a second straight season and contributing 3.4 assists in his 31.3 minutes a night. That's amounted to 42.1 DK points a game.
Lately, though, Vooch has really been dealing. Since December 27, he is putting up 45.3 DK points per game on a 26.1% usage and over 32.5 minutes, according to NBA.com. A large reason for that is the injury to teammate Jonathan Isaac, who has now missed the last two-plus games and will be out for the foreseeable future. In the two full games sans Issac, the big man has put up identical totals of 47.75 DK points and 33 minutes.
Per NBA Wowy, Vucevic is now averaging 1.36 DK points per minute and a 27.7% usage in the 280 minutes he has spent without Isaac on the floor this year. He would need only 35 minutes to hit value at that rate and at this price -- and that's not considering the matchup with a Brooklyn Nets team ranked fourth-worst against centers, according to FantasyPros. We're in for a true ceiling game tonight.
Jayson Tatum, SF/PF, Boston Celtics
DraftKings Price: $8,000
For most of the season Jayson Tatum has been in the $7,000 to $7,500 range, but this is a spot where we can take an approach opposite to that which we are taking with Antetokounmpo at a lower price. At one of his highest prices of the year, Tatum is well worth the investment due to the absence of Kemba Walker.
On Monday, the Boston Celtics will take the floor without Walker for a third straight game due to illness, leaving Marcus Smart to start but more importantly leaving valuable shots and usage out there for the taking. How much? The first-year Celtic point guard is averaging 17.3 shots a game with a 27.9% usage rate that ranks first among qualified players on his team. Tatum is second on the team at 26.9%.
However, NBA Wowy goes further to tell us that without Walker on the floor -- in 415 minutes -- Tatum has tallied 1.25 DK points a minute on a 34.1% usage compared to 1.05 and 24.5% with him on. That's a sizable uptick for an offensively gifted player like Tatum, and it's showed. The young forward put up 47.25 in his last game, giving him five 40-plus games in the last 10. Consider that his floor against the lowly Washington Wizards. The Wiz are top-five in pace and dead last in defensive rating (116.2) -- a recipe for success for an opposing fantasy player.
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.
