3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 3/14/23
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 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 post high scores just about every night.
While this consistency puts us in an excellent 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 will likely leave your lineup drawing pretty close to dead.
Which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today?
Anthony Davis, PF/C, Lakers ($11,300)
Revenge narratives are always fun, but they're even more fun when they make sense. Anthony Davis' does today against the Pelicans.
Davis' slow past couple of games have largely overshadowed his extremely successful run in fantasy basketball with LeBron James sidelined this year. Overall, he's posed 59.7 FanDuel points per 36 minutes without his co-star, and he can thrive in this matchup against the Pels.
Over their last 15 games, New Orleans has allowed the 10th-most FanDuel points to centers. They've limited Jonas Valanciunas to no more than 20 minutes since he returned from injury, so the production rate ceded matches the on-court personnel -- and lack of size -- the Pels have at present.
The 225.5-point total might be a bit low in this one with both of these squads top-15 in pace. As a result, the Lakers' center is a contrarian, top-shelf stud on this slate, one that also has Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.
Bradley Beal, SG, Wizards ($9,000)
Bradley Beal is usually a tough sell at this mark with the Wizards fully healthy, but they're not.
Kyle Kuzma will sit out Tuesday's game with a knee injury, and that should open Beal to firmly control Washington's scoring hierarchy. He's held a team-best 33.5% usage rate during floor situations with Kuz this year, and that's translated to a respectable 44.8 FanDuel points per 36 minutes for this salary.
His upside comes from this matchup, though. The ragtag Pistons have a loaded injury report again on Tuesday, and all in all, it's resulted in a sublime spot for opposing fantasy production. Specifically, Detroit has allowed the third-most FanDuel points per game to shooting guards this year.
The $8,000 to $9,000 range will be loaded with quality options, so Beal isn't projected to be too chalky at the moment, either.
Darius Garland, PG, Cavaliers ($8,800)
The impact injury news of the day lies with Cleveland.
The Cavs are still missing Jarrett Allen due to an eye injury he suffered in Miami, but now they'll rest Donovan Mitchell tonight with the finger injury he's been fighting. As a result, we can flock to Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
Garland is who I want to focus on. He is another option in that loaded range of guards that doesn't have much separation. He still deserves his own recognition, holding a rate of 42.9 FanDuel points per 36 with Allen and Mitchell off the floor this year. On the strength of his 30.5% usage rate in the split, he dropped 60 FanDuel points in a game without Mitchell this year.
The opposing Hornets aren't quite the defensive cupcake they were with LaMelo Ball in the lineup, but they still play at the league's eighth-fastest pace. That's a huge boon for Cleveland, who ranks dead last in that category.
Garland's floor has already been tremendous as he's topped 38 FanDuel points in each of his last seven at this salary. With increased shot volume tonight, he's a great cash-game play.
