NBA Sim Sports Picks for 4/9/20 on FanDuel
During this downtime in the sports calendar, FanDuel has been innovating a lot of different ways to get some daily fantasy sports action.
One of those includes NBA Sim Sports, a format that looks pretty much identical to the usual FanDuel offering. The only twist is that the games won't be played live. Players will instead be assigned a random game from their 2019-20 season.
Matchups don't come into play, and late-scratches and other games missed by players won't come into effect. Scores roll out throughout the slate for a bit of a sweat.
It's free to enter, and there are even beginner contests. Here are some potential standout picks.
Finding Value
A rule of thumb in NBA DFS is finding certain value thresholds. For example, seeking players who can score 5.0 FanDuel points per $1,000 in salary. This is known as "five-times value" or "5x." The reason for that is if you max out your $60,000 budget and every player in your lineup scores exactly 5.0 points per $1,000, you'll total 300.0 FanDuel points. That's a good starting point.
Of course, for bigger totals, you'll want to shoot for 6x or higher, and for safety, 4x is a fine mark to uncover. What you will typically find is that the more expensive players hit 4x value often (because their roles are secure but their prices are high enough that they really need a huge game to pay off big price tags) and cheaper players hit 6x more frequently (because their bigger games are less about 50-point triple-doubles and more about a simple double-double at a cheaper price).
Value Leaders
These tables include the top-eight performers at each position based on how many times this season they had games that hit our three different value thresholds when compared to their current price for today's contests.
In parenthesis, you can see how often a player hit the given threshold. For example, DeMar DeRozan returned 4x value in 77% of his games and 5x value in 54% of his games.
Point Guard
| PG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De'Aaron Fox (0.85) | Malcolm Brogdon (0.63) | Reggie Jackson (0.43) |
| 2 | Malcolm Brogdon (0.83) | Mike Conley (0.62) | Mike Conley (0.4) |
| 3 | Jamal Murray (0.76) | Ish Smith (0.55) | Ish Smith (0.38) |
| 4 | Derrick White (0.72) | De'Aaron Fox (0.54) | Derrick White (0.38) |
| 5 | Ish Smith (0.72) | Derrick White (0.54) | Shabazz Napier (0.37) |
| 6 | Patrick Beverley (0.71) | Elfrid Payton (0.53) | Aaron Holiday (0.36) |
| 7 | Lonzo Ball (0.68) | Lonzo Ball (0.51) | Jamal Murray (0.35) |
| 8 | Elfrid Payton (0.67) | Dejounte Murray (0.5) | Malcolm Brogdon (0.31) |
Shooting Guard
| SG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D'Angelo Russell (0.78) | Buddy Hield (0.59) | Gary Harris (0.39) |
| 2 | DeMar DeRozan (0.77) | Damion Lee (0.57) | Josh Hart (0.39) |
| 3 | Jrue Holiday (0.75) | D'Angelo Russell (0.56) | JJ Redick (0.37) |
| 4 | Donovan Mitchell (0.75) | DeMar DeRozan (0.54) | Jeremy Lamb (0.35) |
| 5 | Buddy Hield (0.75) | Jeremy Lamb (0.54) | RJ Barrett (0.35) |
| 6 | Jeremy Lamb (0.74) | RJ Barrett (0.53) | Jordan Clarkson (0.35) |
| 7 | Lou Williams (0.73) | JJ Redick (0.52) | Malik Beasley (0.35) |
| 8 | Gary Harris (0.73) | Donovan Mitchell (0.51) | D'Angelo Russell (0.31) |
Small Forward
| SF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Ingram (0.76) | Rodney Hood (0.62) | Joe Ingles (0.39) |
| 2 | Will Barton (0.76) | Harrison Barnes (0.58) | Rudy Gay (0.38) |
| 3 | T.J. Warren (0.75) | Will Barton (0.53) | Harrison Barnes (0.37) |
| 4 | Harrison Barnes (0.75) | Joe Ingles (0.53) | Kent Bazemore (0.36) |
| 5 | Bojan Bogdanovic (0.72) | Rudy Gay (0.53) | Trevor Ariza (0.36) |
| 6 | Troy Brown (0.7) | Brandon Ingram (0.52) | Will Barton (0.33) |
| 7 | Kent Bazemore (0.7) | Troy Brown (0.52) | Troy Brown (0.33) |
| 8 | Paul George (0.69) | Bojan Bogdanovic (0.5) | Jarrett Culver (0.3) |
Power Forward
| PF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kawhi Leonard (0.87) | Davis Bertans (0.56) | James Johnson (0.5) |
| 2 | Zion Williamson (0.86) | Naz Reid (0.53) | Paul Millsap (0.41) |
| 3 | LaMarcus Aldridge (0.81) | Richaun Holmes (0.53) | Nemanja Bjelica (0.38) |
| 4 | Domantas Sabonis (0.76) | Zion Williamson (0.52) | Naz Reid (0.37) |
| 5 | Davis Bertans (0.76) | Paul Millsap (0.52) | Eric Paschall (0.36) |
| 6 | Julius Randle (0.75) | Rui Hachimura (0.52) | Jerami Grant (0.36) |
| 7 | Draymond Green (0.72) | LaMarcus Aldridge (0.51) | Jabari Parker (0.36) |
| 8 | Jabari Parker (0.7) | Julius Randle (0.5) | Richaun Holmes (0.33) |
Center
| C | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rudy Gobert (0.75) | Marquese Chriss (0.53) | Jakob Poeltl (0.4) |
| 2 | Ivica Zubac (0.75) | Jakob Poeltl (0.53) | Ian Mahinmi (0.37) |
| 3 | Karl-Anthony Towns (0.74) | Mitchell Robinson (0.51) | Ivica Zubac (0.36) |
| 4 | Thomas Bryant (0.74) | Montrezl Harrell (0.51) | Marquese Chriss (0.34) |
| 5 | Mitchell Robinson (0.72) | Alex Len (0.51) | Alex Len (0.33) |
| 6 | Hassan Whiteside (0.7) | Ivica Zubac (0.5) | Derrick Favors (0.33) |
| 7 | Derrick Favors (0.7) | Rudy Gobert (0.48) | Thomas Bryant (0.32) |
| 8 | Bobby Portis (0.7) | Ian Mahinmi (0.47) | Myles Turner (0.31) |
