NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 2/27/20

Brett Oswalt  —  @bRo14thekid Feb 27th, 2020
Anthony Davis will get the keys to the Lakers' offense with LeBron James on the mend. How high can he go against the re-building Warriors?

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.

Anthony Davis, PF/C, Los Angeles Lakers

DraftKings Price: $10,300

On Thursday night the Los Angeles Lakers will be without the services of LeBron James for the third time this season as a result of a sore groin. That will force Anthony Davis to take over as the unquestioned number-one guy on the offensive end, and that's gone well over a healthy sample this season.

In the only game Brow has played in the absence of LeBron, he totaled 54.75 DraftKings points, but according to NBA Wowy he's put up 1.51 DK points per minute with a 34.8% usage rate over a sample of nearly 500 minutes. That's quite an improvement from the 1.30 rate and 27.7% usage when James has been on the floor. In other words, Davis needs just 34.1 minutes to attain five-times value against the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors present a great opportunity for Davis. They are 25th in defense this season and have surrendered 3.9 more points per 100 possessions in their last five games. Our models project AD for 34.4 minutes and 48.2 DK points on the evening.

Domantas Sabonis, PF/C, Indiana Pacers

DraftKings Price: $9,100

In the opening game of Thursday's national doubleheader, we'll see the Indiana Pacers look to hold down their homecourt against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. Victor Oladipo is questionable and Damian Lillard will remain out, leaving Domantas Sabonis is the fantasy star to target. The All-Star big man has had a giant year, averaging a double-double and 43.9 DK points in 34.3 minutes. He's as steady as it comes in this price range.

Over the course of the last 10 games, Sabonis has tallied fewer than 35 DK points just once while exceeding 45 on five separate occasions. He has seven double-doubles in that span, and his assist rate (21.1% for the year) has taken a jump to 27.6% on a 22.9% usage rate.

This sets him up for success against the Blazers, who have struggled to contain opposing power forwards. While Hassan Whiteside has helped to keep centers to middle-of-the-road numbers, Carmelo Anthony and others have given up the most fantasy points per game, according to Fantasy Pros. Given the landscape of the four-game slate, we like Sabonis, projecting him at 43.2 DK points as part of a Pacers team carrying a nice 113.5 implied total.

Tobias Harris, SF/PF, Philadelphia 76ers

DraftKings Price: $7,500

If you haven't been keeping up with things, you might be asking yourself why Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid are being passed up for Tobias Harris as the Philadelphia 76ers' top option on Thursday night. But the thing is, neither of the two are looking likely to play. Simmons has been out with a back injury, and Embiid left Wednesday's game with a shoulder sprain. Al Horford will be super-popular, but don't sleep on Harris.

Harris got big money in the offseason, so naturally, he will be asked to step up as a scorer and playmaker in the Sixers' home matchup with New York (and possibly beyond). And when the dynamic duo has been sidelined to this point he's been able to do just that. NBA Wowy's splits tells us that over 171 minutes Harris has taken a 25.9% usage rate and turned it into 1.18 DK points per minute -- 0.38 above his average with both Simmons and Embiid.

Harris is right at 35.0 DK points on a per-game basis, and he's exceeded 37.5 DK points (his salary-implied output) 23 times out of his 59 games this season. All 23 of those went for at least 40. On this slate, you can't be too picky, so be confident in Harris in a lead role.

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.