NBA

NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 3/31/22

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?

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/SF, Milwaukee Bucks ($11,900)

The 243.5-point total in Brooklyn squashes all others on this five-game slate, but we know the hassle that targeting Nets can be.

On the other side, though, is a fantasy basketball staple. That's Giannis Antetokounmpo on the visiting Bucks, and Antetokounmpo caps his world-class month of March in what is arguably his best matchup.

Giannis is averaging 1.82 FanDuel points per minute this month -- second only to Nikola Jokic (1.83) amongst qualifying players. Even though MVP voters have forgotten, this is a reminder that Antetokounmpo is doing his work with two other All-Star caliber players as well.

FanDuel was fully aware of the spot that "The Greek Freak" resides in today. He saw a massive salary increase to the highest mark we've seen all season for a player. On a short slate, though, Antetokoumpo is the only one realistically with upside to score 70 FanDuel points across from the rare team, Brooklyn, that can keep pace.

That's a dangerous fade in tournaments -- even if Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are at fair salaries themselves.

Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks ($9,900)

Trae Young has had a five-digit salary month, yet he closes with a four-digit salary in this spot.

Young posted 41 points in just 29 minutes of action in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. That was the first time all month that Trae had played less than 30 minutes, so the final period off of work likely has him a bit fresher heading into this matchup with Cleveland.

When it comes to environments on this slate, all others are fighting Milwaukee-Brooklyn for second place. This one definitely is the favorite, though, as the Hawks are just 5.5-point favorites in a matchup that has a 225.0-point total.

Danilo Gallinari is questionable for Atlanta with an elbow issue that kept him out of Wednesday's contest. That's an impactful injury for Young; he's seen a 1.1 percentage-point increase in usage rate with Gallo off the floor this month as Gallinari has been starting for John Collins.

Value is absolutely brutal to find on this five-game slate, so the sizable discount between Trae or someone like Giannis, Joel Embiid, or Kevin Durant on this slate goes a long, long way to filling out lineups in tournaments.