NBA Sim Sports Picks for 4/11/20 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, Kyle Lowry returned 4x value in 75% of his games while hitting 5x value in 55% of his games.
Point Guard
| PG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De'Aaron Fox (0.85) | Mike Conley (0.62) | Mike Conley (0.4) |
| 2 | Jamal Murray (0.76) | Kyle Lowry (0.55) | Derrick White (0.38) |
| 3 | Kyle Lowry (0.75) | De'Aaron Fox (0.54) | D.J. Augustin (0.35) |
| 4 | Markelle Fultz (0.75) | Derrick White (0.54) | Jamal Murray (0.35) |
| 5 | Derrick White (0.72) | D.J. Augustin (0.51) | Rajon Rondo (0.33) |
| 6 | Trae Young (0.71) | Dejounte Murray (0.5) | Jeff Teague (0.32) |
| 7 | Jeff Teague (0.71) | Jamal Murray (0.49) | Kemba Walker (0.31) |
| 8 | Russell Westbrook (0.69) | Ricky Rubio (0.49) | Monte Morris (0.31) |
Shooting Guard
| SG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Harden (0.79) | Buddy Hield (0.59) | Gary Harris (0.39) |
| 2 | D'Angelo Russell (0.78) | Marcus Smart (0.57) | Jordan Clarkson (0.35) |
| 3 | DeMar DeRozan (0.77) | D'Angelo Russell (0.56) | Malik Beasley (0.35) |
| 4 | Fred VanVleet (0.75) | DeMar DeRozan (0.54) | Terrence Ross (0.32) |
| 5 | Donovan Mitchell (0.75) | Terrence Ross (0.54) | Norman Powell (0.32) |
| 6 | Buddy Hield (0.75) | James Harden (0.52) | D'Angelo Russell (0.31) |
| 7 | Devin Booker (0.73) | Fred VanVleet (0.52) | Bogdan Bogdanovic (0.31) |
| 8 | Terrence Ross (0.73) | Devin Booker (0.52) | Danny Green (0.31) |
Small Forward
| SF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeBron James (0.84) | Gordon Hayward (0.62) | De'Andre Hunter (0.43) |
| 2 | Jaylen Brown (0.76) | Harrison Barnes (0.58) | Joe Ingles (0.39) |
| 3 | Gordon Hayward (0.76) | De'Andre Hunter (0.57) | Gordon Hayward (0.38) |
| 4 | Will Barton (0.76) | Jaylen Brown (0.54) | Rudy Gay (0.38) |
| 5 | Harrison Barnes (0.75) | Will Barton (0.53) | OG Anunoby (0.38) |
| 6 | Kelly Oubre (0.73) | Joe Ingles (0.53) | Mikal Bridges (0.38) |
| 7 | Bojan Bogdanovic (0.72) | Rudy Gay (0.53) | Harrison Barnes (0.37) |
| 8 | Eric Gordon (0.71) | OG Anunoby (0.51) | Kent Bazemore (0.36) |
Power Forward
| PF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LaMarcus Aldridge (0.81) | Daniel Theis (0.57) | James Johnson (0.5) |
| 2 | John Collins (0.78) | Naz Reid (0.53) | Paul Millsap (0.41) |
| 3 | Jayson Tatum (0.77) | Richaun Holmes (0.53) | Nemanja Bjelica (0.38) |
| 4 | Aaron Gordon (0.76) | Serge Ibaka (0.52) | Frank Kaminsky (0.38) |
| 5 | Robert Covington (0.76) | Paul Millsap (0.52) | Naz Reid (0.37) |
| 6 | Daniel Theis (0.76) | LaMarcus Aldridge (0.51) | Jerami Grant (0.36) |
| 7 | Anthony Davis (0.71) | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (0.5) | Jabari Parker (0.36) |
| 8 | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (0.71) | Kyle Kuzma (0.5) | Kyle Kuzma (0.35) |
Center
| C | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Vucevic (0.78) | Jakob Poeltl (0.53) | P.J. Tucker (0.41) |
| 2 | Rudy Gobert (0.75) | Clint Capela (0.51) | Jakob Poeltl (0.4) |
| 3 | Karl-Anthony Towns (0.74) | Alex Len (0.51) | Aron Baynes (0.36) |
| 4 | Clint Capela (0.72) | Enes Kanter (0.49) | Marc Gasol (0.36) |
| 5 | Marc Gasol (0.72) | JaVale McGee (0.49) | Alex Len (0.33) |
| 6 | Deandre Ayton (0.7) | Rudy Gobert (0.48) | Enes Kanter (0.31) |
| 7 | Mason Plumlee (0.66) | Aron Baynes (0.48) | Dewayne Dedmon (0.3) |
| 8 | Enes Kanter (0.65) | Marc Gasol (0.47) | Mo Bamba (0.28) |
