3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 11/12/19
While building a daily fantasy basketball lineup, it's important to make sure you find the right studs to anchor your team. As the most expensive players in your lineup, they need big-time production to match their high price tag.
You may find it hard to fit some of these guys in while staying under the salary cap, but you can check out our projections to find value players for your rosters. Let's take a look at the top high-priced DraftKings plays of the day.
Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers
DraftKings Price: $9,500
On Sunday, the Portland Trail Blazers finally snapped their losing skid, putting their record at 3-6 through nine games. It's been a disappointing start with high expectations around the team, but Damian Lillard has held up his end of the bargain. The four-time All-NBA point man is shooting a career-high 49.3% on his way to 33.0 points, 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Over 38.6 minutes, that's 53.95 DraftKings points.
Lillard's average is enough to justify spending up at point guard, but his matchup makes him all the more juicier. Per NBA.com, the Sacramento Kings are 27th in defensive rating, which has them giving up 111.6 points per game despite a below average pace.
Individually, the matchup is just as good. According to Shams Charania, the Kings will be without starting floor general De'Aaron Fox for some time, and that leaves the likes of Yogi Ferrell and Cory Joseph to check Dame. Joseph has played the majority of the backup minutes, but his 115 defensive rating is four points worse than that of Ferrell.
Either way, our models have Lillard pegged for 44.5 DK points over 35.9 minutes of action.
Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets
DraftKings Price: $8,300
It's a considerable jump down from Lillard to Nikola Jokic, but should that really be the case? Just last year, the Denver Nuggets big man averaged 49.2 DK points a game on a 27.4% usage rate and in 31.3 minutes. This year, the minutes (31.2) and usage (25.9%) are still up there, but the results haven't been as great for fantasy purposes. Jokic is averaging 40.57 DK points due in large part to a drop in points (from 20.1 to 16.7) and lower shooting efficiency.
It looks like The Joker is bouncing back, though. In his last two games, he's averaging 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists, rewarding owners with 57.5 and 42.5 DK points, respectively. Even more encouraging are his 38 and 36 minutes, as well as his 22 and 23 shot attempts in those contests. Jokic is shouldering the load and is doing so with his price at its lowest this season.
He is far too cheap for this positively-charged clash with the Atlanta Hawks, who -- according to FantasyPros -- are allowing the 10th-most fantasy points (55.26) to opposing centers. Plus, Denver is favored by 12 over at FanDuel Sportsbook, meaning they should have a high implied total despite what should be a middle-of-the-road over/under.
Given the potential for a blowout, Jokic represents a better tournament than cash play. We project him for 51.6 DK points on the night.
Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz
DraftKings Price: $7,500
In tournaments especially, this might be a night where you want to roll out two centers. Rudy Gobert is never a super-exciting option because of his limited scoring upside, but he and the Utah Jazz find themselves in a superb spot versus the Brooklyn Nets.
Even with Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan on board, Brooklyn is one of the worst defensive teams in the Association. They give up 111.5 points per 100 possessions, and -- with their fifth-ranked pace -- 121.7 points per game. Only one team (the New Orleans Pelicans) allows more points on a per-game basis. But FantasyPros tells us that not a single squad allows more fantasy points (64.31) to opposing centers. They have averaged a league-high 2.7 steals and 3.72 blocks per game against the Jordan/Jarrett Allen frontcourt.
Utah averages just 101.0 points per game on the year, but versus these Nets, the oddsmakers project them for 112 as 7.5-point favorites. That raises the floor and ceiling of a guy like Gobert, who relies heavily on defensive and rebounding stats.
As for our models, they have him at 42.7 DK points at a value of 5.7 points per $1,000.
Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BrettOswalt. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
