3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/7/20
Basketball is the most consistent sport for daily fantasy purposes.
A top slugger in baseball will have his fair share of 0-for-4 days, and an elite fantasy football player is at risk of having games where his team's offense as a whole is shut down. A high-priced NBA stud is generally going to get his, though. With so many possessions in a game providing opportunities to produce, top fantasy basketball options will be posting high scores just about every night.
While this consistency puts us in a good position to identify top plays, it also means you can't afford to miss when you're paying up for someone. Even with strong value plays in your lineup, paying up and getting a dud is likely going to leave your lineup drawing pretty close to dead.
Let's get right into it and look at which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today.
De'Aaron Fox, PG, Sacramento Kings ($8,000)
The notable action here is that Joel Embiid does not lead this article. Personally, I am not huge into Embiid in a brutal matchup against the well-coached Orlando Magic, who as-is give up the fewest FanDuel points to opposing centers--all at astronomical ownership in tournaments. Embiid is the only stud priced over $8,000, but we have some great options on this slate to look right around that price tag.
De'Aaron Fox is the second-most expensive player, and a tremendous option. Unlike Embiid, he has a phenomenal matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, who could be without all four of thjeir starting point guards Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie, as well as rim protectors DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen, who is questionable with an ankle injury. Even with those players in and out, the Nets give up the second-most points to opposing point guards. Fox will be a threat to once again eclipse 30 points, as he has done in two of his four bubble games, which should pay off yet again at this salary.
Caris LeVert, SG, Brooklyn Nets ($7,900)
On the other side of that matchup in the Nets' current do-it-all ballhandler in Caris LeVert. LeVert's huge 37.2% usage rate without Irving and Dinwiddie is closer to LeBron James or Luka Doncic than anyone priced comparably here, as LeVert is a shade under $8,000.
Really, there is no doubt that, with this usage, LeVert would eclipse value if he sees his entire allotment of minutes, as he did against the Washington Wizards. In that contest, he scored 45.9 FanDuel points in 36 minutes, but failed to hit 30 minutes or eclipse 29 FanDuel points in either of his other two games that were blowouts. This one should stay tight, however, as Brooklyn is only a four-point underdog heading into this clash with Sacramento.
Brandon Ingram, SF, New Orleans Pelicans ($7,500)
The top usage option against the Wizards appears to be a lock inside the bubble, as the lowest-performing FanDuel point performance was Devin Booker for the Phoenix Suns, and he even still hit value with 39.75 FanDuel points. Ingram's 28.4% usage is second on the New Orleans Pelicans to Zion Williamson, but Zion remains a non-option on his minutes limit. There's an argument for Jrue Holiday at 24.4% usage as well, but there is just much more competition at shooting guard of solid plays like LeVert. It also helps that the matchup does not get better than this for a wing bucket-maker like Ingram, as the lowly Wizards give up the most FanDuel points per game to opposing small forwards, and many of those are not as talented a scorer as B.I.
Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his 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.
