NBA

FanDuel NBA Sim Sports Picks for 3/23/20

During this downtime in the sports calendar, FanDuel has been innovating a lot of different ways to get some daily fantasy sports action.

One of those includes NBA Sim Sports, a format that looks pretty much identical to the usual FanDuel offering. The only twist is that the games won't be played live. Players will instead be assigned a random game from their 2019-20 season.

Matchups don't come into play, and late-scratches and other games missed by players won't come into effect. Scores roll out throughout the night for a bit of a sweat.

It's free to enter, and here are some potential standout picks.

Finding Value

A rule of thumb in NBA DFS is finding certain value thresholds. For example, seeking players who can score 5.0 FanDuel points per $1,000 in salary. This is known as "five-times value" or "5x." The reason for that is if you max out your $60,000 budget and every player in your lineup scores exactly 5.0 points per $1,000, you'll total 300.0 FanDuel points. That's a good starting point.

Of course, for bigger totals, you'll want to shoot for 6x or higher, and for safety, 4x is a fine mark to uncover. What you will typically find is that the more expensive players hit 4x value often (because their roles are secure but their prices are high enough that they really need a huge game to pay off big price tags) and cheaper players hit 6x more frequently (because their bigger games are less about 50-point triple-doubles and more about a simple double-double at a cheaper price).

Value Leaders

These tables include the top-eight performers at each position based on how many times this season they had games that hit our three different value thresholds when compared to their current price for today's contest.

In parenthesis, you can see how often a player hit the given threshold. For example, Jamal Murray returned 4x value in 76% of his games and 6x value in 35% of his games.

Point Guard

PG 4x Value 5x Value 6x Value
1 Malcolm Brogdon (0.83) Malcolm Brogdon (0.63) Reggie Jackson (0.43)
2 Derrick Rose (0.8) Chris Paul (0.6) Kris Dunn (0.41)
3 Chris Paul (0.78) Kris Dunn (0.57) Ish Smith (0.38)
4 Jamal Murray (0.76) Spencer Dinwiddie (0.55) Seth Curry (0.37)
5 Markelle Fultz (0.75) Ish Smith (0.55) Shabazz Napier (0.37)
6 Spencer Dinwiddie (0.73) Eric Bledsoe (0.54) Aaron Holiday (0.36)
7 Goran Dragic (0.72) Elfrid Payton (0.53) D.J. Augustin (0.35)
8 Ish Smith (0.72) Derrick Rose (0.52) Jamal Murray (0.35)

Shooting Guard

SG4x Value5x Value6x Value
1Jimmy Butler (0.8)Tyler Herro (0.62)Terrence Ross (0.4)
2Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (0.8)Donte DiVincenzo (0.61)Gary Harris (0.39)
3Donte DiVincenzo (0.8)Devin Booker (0.59)Tyler Herro (0.36)
4James Harden (0.79)Terrence Ross (0.57)Jeremy Lamb (0.35)
5Dennis Schroder (0.78)Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (0.55)Jordan McRae (0.35)
6Zach LaVine (0.77)Jeremy Lamb (0.54)RJ Barrett (0.35)
7Khris Middleton (0.77)Jordan McRae (0.54)Duncan Robinson (0.34)
8Evan Fournier (0.75)Duncan Robinson (0.54)Caris LeVert (0.33)

Small Forward

SF4x Value5x Value6x Value
1Giannis Antetokounmpo (0.83)Gordon Hayward (0.56)Mikal Bridges (0.38)
2Danilo Gallinari (0.79)Danilo Gallinari (0.54)Derrick Jones (0.37)
3Jaylen Brown (0.76)Jaylen Brown (0.54)Gordon Hayward (0.36)
4Gordon Hayward (0.76)Tim Hardaway (0.54)Danuel House (0.36)
5Will Barton (0.76)Joe Harris (0.54)Luke Kennard (0.36)
6Tim Hardaway (0.76)Will Barton (0.53)Dorian Finney-Smith (0.34)
7T.J. Warren (0.75)Jae Crowder (0.52)Joe Harris (0.33)
8Luke Kennard (0.75)Troy Brown (0.52)Will Barton (0.33)

Power Forward

PF4x Value5x Value6x Value
1Kawhi Leonard (0.87)Blake Griffin (0.61)Paul Millsap (0.43)
2Bam Adebayo (0.8)Daniel Theis (0.57)Christian Wood (0.4)
3Blake Griffin (0.78)Davis Bertans (0.56)Frank Kaminsky (0.38)
4Jayson Tatum (0.77)Bam Adebayo (0.55)Nerlens Noel (0.36)
5Domantas Sabonis (0.76)Nerlens Noel (0.53)Jerami Grant (0.36)
6Aaron Gordon (0.76)Jarrett Allen (0.53)Daniel Theis (0.34)
7Robert Covington (0.76)Aaron Gordon (0.52)Dario Saric (0.34)
8Davis Bertans (0.76)Paul Millsap (0.52)Blake Griffin (0.33)

Center

C4x Value5x Value6x Value
1Nikola Vucevic (0.78)Willie Cauley-Stein (0.61)P.J. Tucker (0.41)
2Wendell Carter (0.77)Mitchell Robinson (0.51)Kelly Olynyk (0.39)
3DeAndre Jordan (0.75)Montrezl Harrell (0.51)Dwight Powell (0.38)
4Ivica Zubac (0.75)Steven Adams (0.51)Enes Kanter (0.37)
5Thomas Bryant (0.74)DeAndre Jordan (0.5)Ian Mahinmi (0.37)
6Deandre Ayton (0.73)Ivica Zubac (0.5)Ivica Zubac (0.36)
7Mitchell Robinson (0.72)Enes Kanter (0.49)Aron Baynes (0.36)
8Bobby Portis (0.7)Kelly Olynyk (0.49)Thomas Bryant (0.32)