3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Wednesday 11/16/22
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, Bucks ($11,800)
If Monday bought any sort of popularity discount on Giannis Antetokounmpo tonight, we should all be better for it.
No doubt, Giannis' effort in that one was one of his worst full games as a pro since reaching this MVP-caliber status. He did score 27 points, but it came on just 38.0% shooting. He also didn't contribute above his average in any other category and added eight turnovers. Add it all together for a lackluster 37.6 FanDuel points.
However, even with that clunker factored in, Giannis is still in a phenomenal role here with Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton potentially both sidelined again for the Bucks on Wednesday. He's still turned a massive 40.1% usage rate into 61.0 FanDuel points per 36 minutes.
Cleveland is dealing with injury issues of its own on the other side here, so while it's a bit uncomfortable to turn back to "The Greek Freak" after Monday's dud, it's the right process.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG/SG, Thunder ($10,400)
The Oklahoma City Thunder probably wanted to tank this season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't letting them.
SGA has blossomed into a full-blown All-Star. Gilgeous-Alexander's 32.4% usage rate -- without much offense around him -- hasn't been a surprise. However, it's been a canyon-sized leap in efficiency that's made all the difference this year.
He's leapt from 45.3% from the field to 53.9%, and his three-point shooting has bumped up from 30.0% to 38.8%. I wrote his early-season improvement off as a hot stretch, but in 13 games played, the hot stretch hasn't disappeared.
His supreme role has turned him into one of the most consistent studs in fantasy basketball. He's posted over 45 FanDuel points in 11 of his 13 contests, which is an absurd floor for this salary.
Given OKC's battle with Washington has a lofty 228.0-point total on Wednesday, expect another 30-point scoring effort from their emerging star.
Devin Booker, SG, Suns ($9,000)
There's one player in numberFire's projections today with a salary above $9,000 and a projected value score of at least 5.00: Devin Booker.
I can get behind the model's line of thinking. It's even projecting Booker for this mark with Chris Paul factored in, and Paul is questionable to play for the Suns tonight due to his ongoing heel injury.
With Paul, Booker should still benefit from this matchup with Golden State. The Dubs play at the league's fastest pace, and they've also ceded the fifth-most three-point attempts per game (38.5) this season.
Without Paul, Booker's role gets even better. He sees a team-best lift of 0.04 FanDuel points per minute when CP3 is off the floor. His 1.5 percentage-point decrease in usage rate during that situation shows he takes on more of a facilitation role without him.
Either way, Booker is a solid piece to roster in this national television spot with a sizable 226.0-point total.
