NBA Sim Sports Picks for 4/12/20 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 | Malcolm Brogdon (0.83) | Malcolm Brogdon (0.63) | Derrick White (0.38) |
| 2 | Derrick Rose (0.8) | Kyle Lowry (0.55) | Seth Curry (0.37) |
| 3 | Jamal Murray (0.76) | Derrick White (0.54) | Aaron Holiday (0.36) |
| 4 | Kyle Lowry (0.75) | Eric Bledsoe (0.54) | Jamal Murray (0.35) |
| 5 | Derrick White (0.72) | Elfrid Payton (0.53) | Jeff Teague (0.32) |
| 6 | Luka Doncic (0.71) | Derrick Rose (0.52) | Brandon Knight (0.32) |
| 7 | Trae Young (0.71) | Luka Doncic (0.52) | Malcolm Brogdon (0.31) |
| 8 | Jeff Teague (0.71) | Seth Curry (0.51) | Elfrid Payton (0.31) |
Shooting Guard
| SG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donte DiVincenzo (0.8) | Donte DiVincenzo (0.61) | Gary Harris (0.39) |
| 2 | James Harden (0.79) | Marcus Smart (0.57) | Jeremy Lamb (0.35) |
| 3 | DeMar DeRozan (0.77) | DeMar DeRozan (0.54) | Jordan McRae (0.35) |
| 4 | Khris Middleton (0.77) | Jeremy Lamb (0.54) | RJ Barrett (0.35) |
| 5 | Fred VanVleet (0.75) | Jordan McRae (0.54) | Delon Wright (0.32) |
| 6 | Jeremy Lamb (0.74) | RJ Barrett (0.53) | Norman Powell (0.32) |
| 7 | Devin Booker (0.73) | James Harden (0.52) | Donte DiVincenzo (0.31) |
| 8 | Gary Harris (0.73) | Fred VanVleet (0.52) | Bruce Brown (0.31) |
Small Forward
| SF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giannis Antetokounmpo (0.81) | Gordon Hayward (0.62) | De'Andre Hunter (0.43) |
| 2 | Jaylen Brown (0.76) | De'Andre Hunter (0.57) | Gordon Hayward (0.38) |
| 3 | Gordon Hayward (0.76) | Jaylen Brown (0.54) | Rudy Gay (0.38) |
| 4 | Will Barton (0.76) | Tim Hardaway (0.54) | OG Anunoby (0.38) |
| 5 | Tim Hardaway (0.76) | Will Barton (0.53) | Mikal Bridges (0.38) |
| 6 | T.J. Warren (0.75) | Rudy Gay (0.53) | Danuel House (0.36) |
| 7 | Luke Kennard (0.75) | OG Anunoby (0.51) | Luke Kennard (0.36) |
| 8 | Kelly Oubre (0.73) | Dorian Finney-Smith (0.5) | Dorian Finney-Smith (0.34) |
Power Forward
| PF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LaMarcus Aldridge (0.81) | Daniel Theis (0.57) | Paul Millsap (0.41) |
| 2 | John Collins (0.78) | Serge Ibaka (0.52) | Christian Wood (0.4) |
| 3 | Jayson Tatum (0.77) | Paul Millsap (0.52) | Frank Kaminsky (0.38) |
| 4 | Domantas Sabonis (0.76) | LaMarcus Aldridge (0.51) | Jerami Grant (0.36) |
| 5 | Robert Covington (0.76) | Julius Randle (0.5) | Daniel Theis (0.34) |
| 6 | Daniel Theis (0.76) | Blake Griffin (0.5) | Dario Saric (0.34) |
| 7 | Julius Randle (0.75) | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (0.5) | Blake Griffin (0.33) |
| 8 | Maxi Kleber (0.74) | Jayson Tatum (0.48) | Michael Porter (0.33) |
Center
| C | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clint Capela (0.72) | Willie Cauley-Stein (0.61) | P.J. Tucker (0.41) |
| 2 | Mitchell Robinson (0.72) | Jakob Poeltl (0.53) | Jakob Poeltl (0.4) |
| 3 | Marc Gasol (0.72) | Clint Capela (0.51) | Dwight Powell (0.38) |
| 4 | Deandre Ayton (0.7) | Mitchell Robinson (0.51) | Aron Baynes (0.36) |
| 5 | Bobby Portis (0.7) | Enes Kanter (0.49) | Marc Gasol (0.36) |
| 6 | Myles Turner (0.69) | Dwight Powell (0.48) | Brook Lopez (0.33) |
| 7 | Willie Cauley-Stein (0.67) | Aron Baynes (0.48) | Willie Cauley-Stein (0.31) |
| 8 | Mason Plumlee (0.66) | Marc Gasol (0.47) | Enes Kanter (0.31) |
