3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/4/20
Basketball is the most consistent sport for daily fantasy purposes.
A top slugger in baseball will have his fair share of 0-for-4 days, and an elite fantasy football player is at risk of having games where his team's offense as a whole is shut down. A high-priced NBA stud is generally going to get his, though. With so many possessions in a game providing opportunities to produce, top fantasy basketball options will be posting high scores just about every night.
While this consistency puts us in a good position to identify top plays, it also means you can't afford to miss when you're paying up for someone. Even with strong value plays in your lineup, paying up and getting a dud is likely going to leave your lineup drawing pretty close to dead.
Let's get right into it and look at which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today.
James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets ($11,100)
James Harden had a terrible matchup against the top-rated Milwaukee Bucks defense, had an "off night" scoring for him with 27 points, and still hit value on FanDuel -- in large part to six steals. Harden is a definite lock against the Portland Trail Blazers, who should at least keep up with the high-paced, small-ball Houston Rockets.
At 12th in pace in the NBA, and giving up the fifth-most three-point attempts in the league, Harden will have several more good looks to score than against the Bucks. He should encroach 40 points again with solid peripheral playmaking and rebounding--as the perennial MVP candidate has been known for.
Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers ($9,300)
On the other side of that matchup, currently with a blistering total of 244 on FanDuel Sportsbook, is Damian Lillard and the Blazers. The Rockets have been a fantasy gold-mine for stars, with Giannis Antetokounmpo posting 69.6 FanDuel points on Sunday against them, and Luka Doncic posting 56.6 FanDuel points in Houston's other game inside the bubble. Enter Damian Lillard, who has continued his career year in Orlando, averaging 50 FanDuel points in his two contests so far.
This matchup is pristine, with Houston giving up the most field goals in the NBA inside the bubble, and Lillard as good as anyone at making them. That's not even factoring in or discussing his continued beef with Russell Westbrook as the slightest bit more added motivation.
Bam Adebayo, PF, Miami Heat ($8,000)
It is well documented in Boston Celtics media that team has a concern with their size, with Daniel Theis certainly limited offensively, and Enes Kanter near the bottom each year in defensive metrics. Those issues have not exactly been alleviated inside the bubble, as the team just gave up 30 points and 9 rebounds to returning Portland center Jusuf Nurkic. Enter Bam Adebayo. The All-Star center is a great way to access a Miami Heat team with an incredibly inconsistent rotation, as he has played over 30 minutes in every contest he was active for decided by 10 points or less. His 1.18 FanDuel points per minute should help make use of that playing time in a favorable matchup.
Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his 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.
