FanDuel Economics: NBA Wednesday, April 6th Picks
Welcome to FanDuel Economics! This is the NBA Wednesday, April 6th Picks edition. FanDuel Economics is a daily fantasy column focused on FanDuel player salaries and FanDuel points-per-game (PPG) trends. The purpose of this column is to evaluate player salary and PPG averages over a seven day period to provide daily fantasy sports players with a vital tool in their lineup tool belt. Finding the best value options often leads to a big pay day!
We’re back! FanDuel Economics took a brief vacation. I was in Atlanta attending the Nats/Braves opener on Monday and Master’s Practice Round on Tuesday and was unable to get a column in on time. However, we’re back to NBA today and through the rest of the season and will begin to turn our focus toward Baseball on Sunday. With eight games on the NBA schedule, I’m happy to be back and focusing on lineups for tonight. There are many value options. So let’s take a look at some now:
Point Guard (PG)
If you’ve been active on NBA FanDuel over the last several weeks, these two options probably won’t surprise you and should just be a good reminder of their tremendous value.
Jose Juan Barea (JJ) has averaged 36.4 PPG over the last week and while his salary also climbed $400, you’re still only paying $5,900 for JJ tonight. JJ is 7th among all PG’s over the last seven days and is one of the hottest PG’s in the league right now. The fact that Barea is still over a 6X value is amazing and I recommend you continue to use him his salary is still incredibly affordable. Keep an eye on the Mavs’ lineup for tonight, we could see a surprise come-back from Deron Williams. However, it does appear Williams could be done for the season with his sports hernia injury.
Tim Frazier is just below JJ Barea at 8th among all PG’s over the last week averaging 36.4 PPG. At a VERY cheap $5,000, Frazier is actually a much better value than JJ. Tim is getting a ton of minutes and he continues to rack up points each night. With the Pelican’s season essentially over, it’s more likely Tim will continue to see this level of production and, again, at this price you should use him while you can get him this cheap. Tim is a wonderful option to pair with a more expensive Chris Paul tonight.
Shooting Guard (SG)
Langston Galloway is an attractive option tonight. With Jose Calderon potentially done for the season with a bruised quad, Galloway is seeing a large jump in minutes. As a result, Galloway is now averaging 25 PPG over the last week and at a very cheap $4,000, this looks like a steal. Galloway could be a tremendous pairing with Harden tonight!
Gerald Henderson is quickly becoming the top scoring option for the Blazers off the bench. Most of Henderson’s FanDuel points are coming from his shooting, but he’s starting to develop a healthy trend. Over the last week, Gerald is averaging 21.7 PPG. While it may not seem like Henderson is getting you a lot of points, he’s only going to cost you $3,800 tonight which allows you to plug in a very expensive player in any other position for tonight. Gerald is a great value option for tonight.
Small Forward (SF)
Aside from Kent Bazemore (who we’ll talk about tomorrow), Maurice Harkless (Mo) jumps off the stat sheet list immediately at SF. Mo has averaged 30.8 PPG over the last week placing him 13th among all SG’s. His salary is only $4,400. So you’re getting 30+ points, he dropped 44 the other night, for $4,400 which is an outstanding deal! Harkless easily allows you to pair him with a LeBron James, Durant, or CP13.
Another player benefiting from the Pelican’s seasonal sun-setting is Luke Babbitt. Luke averaged 28.3 PPG over the last week and his salary, while climbing, is still only $5,000. Barring injury, Babbitt is a lock to get a ton of minutes again tonight, and very likely 25-30 points. At a $5,000, that’s quite a deal!
Power Forward (PF)
Power forward’s are weak on value tonight, but there’s at least one option I’d recommend paring with a Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, or Julius Randle.
Clint Capela isn’t a model of consistency, but he’s developing a trend we can’t ignore. Over the last week, Capela is averaging 24.6 PPG. Clint gets a lot of his points from his defensive play (steals & blocks), but it’s that very defensive play that is also earning him a lot of minutes and more time to rack up points. Capela’s salary did climb $200 recently, but he’s still only at $4,200 which is a fantastic deal for 25 points a game.
Center (C)
Cody Zeller is enticing tonight, but with Al Jefferson back in the mix, I’m more interested in Mason Plumlee. Mason is averaging 29.4 PPG over the last seven days and his salary is $5,300. Plumlee should continue to see increased playing time as the season comes to a close and he’s well worth $5,300 if he’s giving you around 30 points, with some upside potential. This pick also allows you more salary for bigger plays at other positions.
I wish you all well tonight FanDuelers! Spend smartly and enjoy the return on your savings!