3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 11/1/21
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-salaried 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.
Which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today?
Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Minnesota Timberwolves ($10,400)
There is blowout risk against the Magic but Karl-Anthony Towns got off to a start worthy of forgiveness for a couple of down contests.
Towns is still averaging 1.34 FanDuel points per minute despite a bizarre night where no Timberwolves starter broke 15 points on Saturday. His usage (28.4%) is elite for a man that gets most of his work done through rebounds (8.29 per 36 minutes) and blocks (2.2 per 36 minutes).
The Magic are a solid matchup if the game stays tight. They're allowing the ninth-most offensive boards (11.4 per game) in the league, and their 115.4 defensive rating is last in the league.
Expect "Big KAT" to eat for as long as he needs to play.
Paul George, F, Los Angeles Clippers ($10,100)
Even with a guy like Towns, other Minnesota starters compete for his usage and per-minute production. That makes the role Paul George has worth appreciating.
George is in his own zip code on the Los Angeles Clippers. His 33.8% usage rate and 1.52 FanDuel points per minute are comfortably ahead of all starters, and he turned in 42 points in a blowout loss on Friday.
Like Towns, George has definite blowout concerns as an 11-point favorite over the lowly Thunder. Still, OKC's third-worst defensive rating in the league (111.1) should allow for plenty of quality looks for PG13.
Both Towns and George have roles solid enough to hit requisite value in three quarters at their respective salaries with monster games. Deploy both with confidence.
Bradley Beal, G, Washington Wizards ($9,100)
There's a reason to buy low on a good player in a good role with poor shooting from the field.
Washington's Bradley Beal demonstrated that this weekend. Beal posted over 50 FanDuel points twice despite not really resolving his shooting woes. He was aided by double overtime against Boston despite 37.5% shooting, and he posted just 42.3% from the field against Atlanta.
The reality is Beal's role is infinitely better than this salary. His 35.1% usage rate is tops amongst all players in the NBA with over 100 minutes played. He just has shot 36.3% from the field this season, and that mark is well behind his 48.5% shooting figure from a year ago.
Even elevated from last week, the salary remains too low, and Beal's true nightly ceiling returning to last season's form hasn't even been demonstrated yet. That's terrifying to fade in a repeat matchup on Monday with the Hawks.
