3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 2/21/20
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.
Luka Doncic, PG, Dallas Mavericks
DraftKings Price: $10,600
Tonight, only four players are priced above $10,000, but only two of them will play. Luka Doncic tops the list at his price, yet he's underpriced relative to his earlier salaries and monster fantasy potential. Going back to November 16 his price has been below $11,000 just once (in his last game), and in that one, he went for 61.0 DraftKings points at a value of 5.6 points per $1,000.
That's a great start to any argument for Doncic over LeBron James here, but a road matchup with the Orlando Magic bodes well for him and his Dallas Mavericks. On top of the Mavs checking in as 2.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook, Luka has actually been a better fantasy asset away from Dallas. Over 33.2 minutes, he's averaging better numbers in every category but blocks on his way to 59.5 DK points per game (compared to 55.7 at home).
In his first game out of the break, the young All-Star is projected for 33.2 minutes and 55.5 DK points at a nice return of 5.24-times value.
Andre Drummond, C, Cleveland Cavaliers
DraftKings Price: $9,100
If you're locking in Luka at your point guard spot, you should also give strong consideration to big man Andre Drummond as he plays his third game as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. So far, things haven't looked all that great for his fantasy prospects, as the former Detroit Piston has been held to 47.5 and 37.25 DK points in his first two appearances. However, a pair of blowouts have limited him to 29 and 22 minutes, meaning he's still averaged 1.66 DK points per minute.
Including his brief Cavs career, Drummond is now averaging 1.46 DK points per minute for the year, so he only needs 31.2 minutes to surpass his salary-implied total (45.5). That's something he has accomplished in 58.9% of his contests across the two teams, and we shouldn't expect the Washington Wizards to slow him down here.
Washington is terrible defensively, coming in dead last in defensive rating and tied for 30th with a 70.5% defensive rebounding rate, according to NBA.com. Centers have hit them up for a league-high 58.8 DK points thanks to averages of 18.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks.
Jayson Tatum, SF/PF, Boston Celtics
DraftKings Price: $7,800
If you are opting for a more balanced lineup, look no further than Jayson Tatum. The young forward's price is down, but we can't go too far as to overlook his recent play and breakout. Before playing in this past week's All-Star game he concluded the first portion of the season by averaging 29.0 points and 51.2 DK points in the last five games. He shot 50% from the field with a 28.9% usage rate -- 1.5% above his season average.
Tatum's numbers have been bolstered by the absence of teammates like Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward and Kemba Walker, the last of which will sit this one out due to a sore knee. That will help to make him even more of an offensive priority, and it shows from the splits over at NBA Wowy. In 707 minutes without Walker on the floor, Tatum has taken a 32.4% usage rate and turned it into 1.30 DK points per minute.
Everything is stacked in Tatum's favor, even the matchup. At Minnesota, Boston Celtics is a seven-point favorite with an implied total of 117.75, and with Robert Covington now elsewhere there's no lengthy forward to contest Tatum's well developed mid-range game. With that in mind, we project him for 40.4 DK points in 34.1 minutes.
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__14. 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.
