NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 3/4/20

Coming off a subpar performance by his standards, Giannis Antetokounmpo will look to bounce back tonight. Should you target him on DraftKings?

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.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF, Milwaukee Bucks

DraftKings Price: $11,400

Giannis Antetokounmpo could fly under the radar tonight. I repeat: Giannis Antetokounmpo could fly under the radar. Reason number one lies in his most recent box score, as he managed only 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 40.25 DraftKings points against the Miami Heat. He hit just 6 of 18 shots with a lower usage in the presence of Khris Middleton.

Middleton will be back out there, and the Indiana Pacers (tonight's opponent) are seven spots better in NBA.com's defensive rating. But, sometimes, a few numbers lie when pitting against a guy like Giannis. After all, the MVP favorite has averaged 59.5 DK points in Milwaukee's previous meetings against Indiana and had not reached 31 minutes in either of those contests. He doesn't need a ton of time to get off his fantasy damage, so an 11.5-point line shouldn't scare you off of him in a potential blowout at home.

Giannis should be able to rebound in this spot. His usage is 3.2% higher at home, where he puts up 5.2 more fantasy points (62.9) over 30.5 minutes a game. Our models project him for 31.2 minutes and 59.1 DK points this evening.

Jayson Tatum, SF/PF, Boston Celtics

DraftKings Price: $9,900

(Update: Tatum wasn't at the arena last night, and his status for tonight is still up in the air)

Domantas Sabonis isn't a bad idea in the next tier, but it will be awfully hard to pass up Jayson Tatum for what should be a shorthanded Boston Celtics squad. Following last night's loss to Brooklyn, it was announced that Kemba Walker will sit Wednesday while the statuses of Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown are in doubt. And to top it off, Marcus Smart could face disciple and a potential suspension for going at officials on Tuesday night.

All in all, Boston could be without three to four usual starters, and while Tatum sat Tuesday with an illness, he should be back out there if he's at least 80%. Monitor his status, but in the event he plays, he finds himself in a more than favorable matchup. The Cleveland Cavaliers and their 30th-ranked defense are on tap.

Tatum will also get a good usage and a per-minute boost. According to NBA Wowy, the 22-year-old has averaged 1.38 DK points a minute on a 36.1% usage without Walker and Hayward, and when we remove Brown, those move to 1.43 and 38.1%, respectively. In a sample of 173 minutes, he averages 1.46 DK points per minute, thanks to a monster 39.5% usage. Our models project Tatum for a floor performance of 39.5 DK points, before accounting for the Celtics' potential absences.

Caris LeVert, PG/SG, Brooklyn Nets

DraftKings Price: $7,200

Speaking of floor performances, Caris LeVert had quite the opposite of that last night against those same Celtics. In the Nets' nine-point victory, the fourth-year guard popped all the off for 51 points on 17 of 26 shooting on his way to 66.5 DK points. He used 39.4% of the team's offensive possessions in his 35-plus minutes of work.

Usually, LeVert would be too cheap to meet our standard of a stud, but we are all about riding the hot hand here. It's hard to ignore a 50-burger, and a head-to-head with the Memphis Grizzlies is unlikely to stunt the momentum. Not only did LeVert account for 27 real-life and 40 fantasy points in his last game out against Memphis, but these Grizz are 10th- and 4th-worst against the point and shooting guard positions, respectively. And they are fifth in pace in their last 10 games, providing a friendly environment for the slower-paced Nets (27th in that span).

We don't expect LeVert to repeat his career outing, but there's a lot to love about him at this price point.



Brett Oswalt i
s 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.