NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 1/24/22
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?
DeMar DeRozan, SG/SF, Chicago Bulls ($9,000)
On a four-game slate lacking firepower, a lot of studs have been juiced to a higher salary than their per-game production would justify.
DeMar DeRozan is the first stop where you could realistically see a value score above 6.00. DeRozan did just that his last time out with 54.1 FanDuel points, but his role is also just tremendous at the moment without Zach LaVine. LaVine is listed officially as questionable for Monday, but his return would likely be limited at best -- if it happens.
Without LaVine and Lonzo Ball on the floor this season, DeRozan has turned a gigantic, 38.9% usage rate into a sporty 1.24 FanDuel points per minute.
The 215.5-point total isn't high in a vacuum as the Bulls travel to Oklahoma City, but it's amazingly the second-highest of an injury-riddled Monday slate. The OKC defense is also starting to show its age after a hot start; they have the 11th-worst defensive rating in the NBA (112.8) over each team's last 10 contests.
Julius Randle, PF/C, New York Knicks ($8,600)
Julius Randle is a fantasy basketball player I'd prefer to have nothing to do with. However, the Knicks' constant presence on small slates makes him a reality.
Randle has wildly fluctuated to just 1.10 FanDuel points per minute this season -- well below this salary mark's expectations. However, Randle has had had "pop" games all season, and that includes two spikes over 55 FanDuel points in the month of January as well.
Personally, Randle's outlook is a bit more stable on Monday due to the Knicks' situation at center. Mitchell Robinson left Sunday's game with an ankle injury and did not return. He's questionable at best for Monday. Nerlens Noel played 26 minutes in his stead on Sunday, but he's been fighting a knee injury, too.
Randle has averaged 1.24 FanDuel points per minute in court situations without both. That's dipped to just 1.08 per minute with Noel, but it's been worse (1.04) with Robinson.
Overall, the result should be at least some additional usage in the frontcourt for Randle, and that lofts him into consideration on a slate short on stars.
