NBA Sim Sports Picks for 4/14/20 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, Khris Middleton returned 4x value in 78% of his games while hitting 5x value in 51% of his games.
Point Guard
| PG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collin Sexton (0.78) | Kris Dunn (0.57) | Reggie Jackson (0.43) |
| 2 | Jamal Murray (0.76) | Luka Doncic (0.54) | Kris Dunn (0.41) |
| 3 | Luka Doncic (0.74) | Eric Bledsoe (0.54) | Seth Curry (0.37) |
| 4 | Trae Young (0.73) | Kendrick Nunn (0.53) | Jamal Murray (0.35) |
| 5 | Spencer Dinwiddie (0.73) | Elfrid Payton (0.53) | Tomas Satoransky (0.34) |
| 6 | Goran Dragic (0.72) | Tomas Satoransky (0.51) | Jeff Teague (0.32) |
| 7 | Kendrick Nunn (0.71) | Lonzo Ball (0.51) | Elfrid Payton (0.31) |
| 8 | Tomas Satoransky (0.71) | Seth Curry (0.51) | Darius Garland (0.31) |
Shooting Guard
| SG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Butler (0.87) | Tyler Herro (0.64) | Tyler Herro (0.45) |
| 2 | Donte DiVincenzo (0.8) | Donte DiVincenzo (0.61) | Gary Harris (0.39) |
| 3 | Khris Middleton (0.78) | Duncan Robinson (0.54) | Josh Hart (0.39) |
| 4 | Zach LaVine (0.75) | RJ Barrett (0.54) | JJ Redick (0.37) |
| 5 | Jrue Holiday (0.75) | Devin Booker (0.53) | RJ Barrett (0.36) |
| 6 | Garrett Temple (0.75) | JJ Redick (0.52) | Duncan Robinson (0.34) |
| 7 | Devin Booker (0.74) | Delon Wright (0.52) | Delon Wright (0.32) |
| 8 | Lou Williams (0.73) | Khris Middleton (0.51) | Donte DiVincenzo (0.31) |
Small Forward
| SF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giannis Antetokounmpo (0.82) | Cedi Osman (0.57) | De'Andre Hunter (0.43) |
| 2 | Brandon Ingram (0.77) | De'Andre Hunter (0.57) | Cedi Osman (0.38) |
| 3 | Will Barton (0.76) | Tim Hardaway (0.54) | Mikal Bridges (0.38) |
| 4 | Tim Hardaway (0.76) | Joe Harris (0.54) | Derrick Jones (0.37) |
| 5 | Taurean Prince (0.75) | Brandon Ingram (0.53) | Otto Porter (0.36) |
| 6 | Kelly Oubre (0.73) | Will Barton (0.53) | Dorian Finney-Smith (0.34) |
| 7 | Joe Harris (0.73) | Jae Crowder (0.52) | Cam Reddish (0.34) |
| 8 | Dorian Finney-Smith (0.72) | Derrick Jones (0.51) | Joe Harris (0.33) |
Power Forward
| PF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zion Williamson (0.9) | Kevin Love (0.61) | Paul Millsap (0.41) |
| 2 | Kawhi Leonard (0.88) | Zion Williamson (0.55) | Frank Kaminsky (0.38) |
| 3 | Bam Adebayo (0.82) | Bam Adebayo (0.55) | Jerami Grant (0.36) |
| 4 | John Collins (0.78) | Jarrett Allen (0.53) | Dario Saric (0.34) |
| 5 | Julius Randle (0.75) | Paul Millsap (0.52) | Michael Porter (0.33) |
| 6 | Kevin Love (0.75) | Julius Randle (0.5) | Larry Nance (0.32) |
| 7 | Maxi Kleber (0.74) | Maxi Kleber (0.48) | Jarrett Allen (0.31) |
| 8 | Thaddeus Young (0.72) | Larry Nance (0.48) | Kristaps Porzingis (0.31) |
Center
| C | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wendell Carter (0.79) | Willie Cauley-Stein (0.61) | Dwight Powell (0.38) |
| 2 | Andre Drummond (0.75) | Clint Capela (0.51) | Ivica Zubac (0.36) |
| 3 | DeAndre Jordan (0.75) | Mitchell Robinson (0.51) | Aron Baynes (0.36) |
| 4 | Ivica Zubac (0.75) | Montrezl Harrell (0.51) | Kelly Olynyk (0.34) |
| 5 | Clint Capela (0.72) | DeAndre Jordan (0.5) | Derrick Favors (0.33) |
| 6 | Mitchell Robinson (0.72) | Ivica Zubac (0.5) | Brook Lopez (0.33) |
| 7 | Deandre Ayton (0.7) | Wendell Carter (0.49) | Willie Cauley-Stein (0.31) |
| 8 | Derrick Favors (0.7) | Dwight Powell (0.48) | Mitchell Robinson (0.3) |
