FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 8/5/20
After a 4.5-month hiatus, the 2019-20 NBA restart is officially underway.
If you're new to daily fantasy basketball -- maybe you started your DFS journey during the MLB or NFL seasons, or maybe basketball is your sport and this will be your first year giving it a shot -- you're in for a treat. The NBA scene changes on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach -- and that's especially the case now.
With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of other great resources to help give you an edge.
Daily fantasy NBA is very reliant on opportunity, so you'll need to make sure that you're up-to-date with key injuries. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news, we have player news updates, and the FanDuel Scout app will send push notifications for pressing updates regarding your players.
We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position.
Let's take a look at who you should target on Wednesday's six-game slate.
Point Guard
Ja Morant ($7,500) is in a good spot on Wednesday. His opponent, the Utah Jazz, have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing point guards since the beginning of February. Morant has already had two performances of 45-plus FanDuel points since the league restarted, and a third one could be in short order. Our model has him surpassing 5X value (or 5.0 points for every $1,000 in salary). Monte Morris ($4,500) could be a fantastic value once again if Jamal Murray has to sit. Morris has totaled 21.1 and 30.8 FanDuel points in the two bubble contests. His opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, have allowed the sixth-most points to the position in the bubble.
numberFire's models really like Chris Paul ($7,300), projecting him as the third-best value at point. Paul's floor is among the safest, though his ceiling isn't as high as you'd like in that price range. I'd rather pay up for the upside of Ben Simmons ($8,000), who is more than due for an explosive performance.
If the Brooklyn Nets' inactives list once again reads like a CVS receipt, there could be plenty of value there.
Wednesday morning update: Michael Carter-Williams left last night's game with an injury and is doubtful for today's match. Markelle Fultz ($4,600) should benefit from MCW's absence. He's our model's top projected value at point. With Kemba Walker out, Brad Wanamaker ($4,100) is a bargain option worth considering.
Shooting Guard
With Dennis Schroder out of the bubble, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($6,900) could be an elite play. SGA has shown massive upside this season and will get to face a Los Angeles Lakers team that surrenders the most fantasy points to the shooting guard position. SGA needs 34.5 points to reach 5X, and he has exceeded that number on 20 occasions this season. DeMar DeRozan ($8,000) should be able to take advantage of the shorthanded Denver Nuggets. Denver could be without Will Barton, Gary Harris, and Jamal Murray for this match. DeRozan has posted 44 or more in two of his three games out of hiatus.
Grayson Allen ($3,700) has seen 27.6 and 31.1 minutes in his last two contests, resulting in 22.6 and 23.2 fantasy points, respectively. He's a salary-saving target to consider, as is Garrett Temple ($3,700). Both are currently inside out model's top five values at the position.
Small Forward
Is this the slate where it's finally worth rostering LeBron James ($10,100)? I'd say so. After being priced at $11.4K in his first bubble game, LeBron's price tag is all the way down to $10.1K. At that number, he'd need 50.5 FanDuel points to reach 5X -- he exceeded that total in both of his matchups with the Thunder this season. King James hasn't had a stretch this season where he failed to reach at least 51 FanDuel points in four straight -- he's failed to do so in three straight. In order words, he's due. Bigly.
Tobias Harris ($6,900) has been a fantastic play so far, and look for that to continue. Harris has posted 45.6 and 41.2 in his two games since the restart, and yet is still priced under $7.0K. Better yet, he'll face a Washington Wizards that doesn't seem to be familiar with the concept of "defense."
Kyle Anderson ($4,000) and Rudy Gay ($4,600) are two of our model's preferred options if you're looking to conserve salary.
Power Forward
I'm looking to Jayson Tatum ($8,300) to feast on a decimated Nets team. Tatum has already dropped 57.8 fantasy points in a game since his return, and that's the kind of upside you can get with a guy priced at just $8.3K. On the season, Brooklyn has had one of the league's worst defenses against frontcourts, and it's not about to get any better. Tatum's a lock for me.
The Toronto Raptors have allowed 48.4 fantasy points to power forwards since the league's return, making Aaron Gordon ($6,100) a plus play. Gordon has yet to pop this season, but the Orlando Magic will need him to come up big against one of the East's elite teams. Our model likes Paul Millsap ($4,800) against a Spurs team that is also missing a number of bodies.
Al Horford ($5,400) and Brandon Clarke ($4,900) are currently our algorithm's top two projected values at power forward.
Wednesday morning update: With Walker out, Tatum becomes even more of a lock. In the last 10 games Walker has missed, Tatum has averaged 51.6 -- not scoring less than 40.6 in any of those contests.
Center
Joel Embiid ($9,500) is under $10K and is facing the Wizards -- need I say more? Washington has allowed an average of 55.3 fantasy points to centers since play resumed, and it's not difficult to picture Embiid going over that number all by himself. He's a great anchor for your lineups.
If Jarrett Allen ($6,700) plays, he's worth considering. His upside without DeAndre Jordan is undeniable, and the matchup is decent.
Our models prefer Embiid to Nikola Jokic ($9,100), though Jokic has similar upside.
