3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target for 8/5/20
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.
Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets ($9,100)
Nikola Jokic remains a top option on any slate, especially since the Denver Nuggets might still be without Jamal Murray, Will Barton, and Gary Harris. As an added bonus, Jokic did not see a price increase after a monster performance. For any doubters on his strength and his newfound, thinner frame, Jokic popped in 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for another triple-double against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
His floor continues to remain elite because of his monstrous 30.6% usage without Murray. For context, that mark would put him 14th overall for the entire season in the league. And this is a seven-foot center also averaging 10.2 rebounds per contest, as well. He gets his turn at a San Antonio Spurs' frontcourt struggling to defend bigs without LaMarcus Aldridge.
Ben Simmons, PG, Philadelphia 76ers ($8,000)
Exposure to any team facing the Washington Wizards is key. The Wizards are an elite option for any player to score on, as you may have noticed, as they give up the second-most points and field goal makes in the NBA. Every Philadelphia 76ers' player is in play at the high-end, such Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid, but I prefer the 76ers' floor general at his respective price tag.
Ben Simmons should see lower rostership as a result of a dreadful, 25-minute performance on Monday. Is his role in question? No -- he battled foul trouble much of the day. It has substantially reduced his price tag against a Washington squad that has been especially bad to opposing point guards, giving up the sixth-most opposing FanDuel points to them. Do not let Monday's performance fool you -- Simmons was averaging 46.7 FanDuel points in the last five full games he played before that contest, and he sees a glorious matchup here.
Pascal Siakam, SF, Toronto Raptors ($7,900)
The Toronto Raptors' deep roster makes them tricky for fantasy, but nothing is tricky about Pascal Siakam at this price tag. This is an interesting salary for Siakam, given that he has eclipsed 40 FanDuel points, which would be fine value here, in five of his last eight games.
His floor, playing primarily as a power forward, is solid, as well, as Siakam averages 0.21 rebounds per minute, and has been seeing a lot of minutes. He is averaging 38 minutes per game in his last six contests and now gets to take his turn at an Indiana Pacers team on the second half of a back-to-back.
numberFire is high on Siakam to eclipse his expected value, as he is currently projected for another solid 40.2 FanDuel points on Wednesday.
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.
