Welcome to the FanDuel NBA edition of Picks and Pivots, a fantasy basketball column focused on helping you find the best FanDuel NBA lineup!
The purpose of this FanDuel NBA column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big payday!
For those of you that are new to Picks and Pivots, we will go through the season tracking trends in this space by looking at the winning GPP lineups each day.
One of the most basic questions when starting out the NBA season is how many points should I be targeting for tournament entries? A good rule of thumb is that you want your players to exceed 6x their salary so on a $60k team salary you are looking for 360+ points. If you spread that out over a roster of 9 players, that is an average of 40 points per player.
A good rule of thumb is that you want your players to exceed 6x their salary so on a $60k team salary you are looking for 360+ points. If you spread that out over a roster of 9 players, that is an average of 40 points per player.
Now it is unreasonable to expect every player to hit that target, especially when you are utilizing value plays but remember that is the average you need over the course of your roster!
To start the year, I would simply build your roster with the simple 6x rule in mine and do the math quickly. Can I see player X hitting 6x their salary? For example, LeBron James is priced at $9,600 so in order to return value he would need to exceed 57 points.
This is not a hard and fast rule, but as we go through the season I will track the trends each night to understand the target multiplier we should use as our baseline.
Over the first 5 slates, we have seen the average winning GPP score at just over 375 a night which means we have needed 6.25x value to win big!
Sunday’s Main NBA preseason action kicks off at 6:00PM EST with six games on the main slate and no shortage of superstars to choose from. Without further ado – let’s get into our top picks for the day!
FanDuel NBA – Top PG’s
The point guard position to me is the one spot on this slate I struggled with the most in terms of roster construction as frankly it will determine how the rest of your roster unfolds. With Russell Westbrook priced at $13,000 has he finally hit a price where we simply have to fade him? My gut instinct was no, but with a small slate and other superstars at cheaper prices, this may be the right time to employ that strategy.
Stephen Curry ($8,800) Part of the reason the Westbrook fade is in play is because of the price point on Curry. Think about it this way – for $4,200 less (32% discount) we can get Curry instead of Westbrook.
The Warriors have the highest team total on this slate, 118 points, and I will look to maximize my exposure to them against the Suns.
Curry has not yet had a game that warrants his price point, averaging 32 points a game, but with such a high team total and a reasonable price point, this is a spot to target Steph for a big night.
Patty Mills ($3,900) If you are going to pay up for some of the stars on this slate, you will need to find value elsewhere and that will be the trickiest part for Sunday’s roster construction. Mills represents solid value at a near minimum price point as he has averaged 20.7 FD points per game which would exceed 5.x value.
Tony Parker is expected to return to the lineup but I do not expect that will impact Mills role(and it may reduce his ownership) as he has played over 20 minutes in the two games Parker did start.
FanDuel NBA – Top SG’s
James Harden ($11,200) With the increase in price for Westbrook, I assumed FanDuel was ready to hike the Beard into the same price point but thankfully he still sits at a price point we should feel comfortable rostering.
The Rockets have the second highest team total on the slate at 111 points and face off against the same Dallas team they played in their last game when Harden had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists for 44 FanDuel points.
Harden has an incredible 50% true usage rate and with the offense running through him as the point guard in this up-tempo attack, he is a nightly triple-double threat we should lock into our lineups for as long as his price allows!
Rashad Vaughn ($3,900) As you can tell, I am looking at a starts/scrubs approach on this slate and will look to go high/low at shooting guard!
Vaughn is a risky pick, but in his last game he played 27 minutes, scoring 22 points and 28 FD points which would exceed 7x value!
Vaughn is a scoring dependent option in the always volatile Bucks offense so this is a GPP option only but with his performance on Saturday, it may have earned him even more run for Milwaukee on Sunday!
FanDuel NBA – Top Small Forwards
Kevin Durant ($9,700) In his first two games as a Warrior, KD has been everything Golden State could have asked for as he has averaged 59.2 FD points per game with back to back double-doubles.
Durant is averaging 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals and is priced below $10k. This is a must play for me on this slate with the Warriors team total being the highest of any team and I will make Durant the first player I put in any of my lineups!
Harrison Barnes ($5,400) Barnes was a popular target in his last game and was found on many GPP winning lineups after he put up 31 points and 5 rebounds with 39 FanDuel points against the Rockets. Well guess who gets the same exact match-up on Sunday?
Barnes is locked into major minutes, logging 35 and 39 in his first to starts and as the primary offensive option on the Mavericks, he makes for an easy play to pair with KD at the SF spot on FanDuel.
FanDuel NBA – Top PF’s and Center
Draymond Green ($8,300) I am looking to employ a Warriors stack on this slate with Curry/KD/Draymond as the price points are all reasonable and I can maximize my exposure to the highest scoring team on a six game slate.
Going into the year, I was taking a wait and see approach with Draymond as I was not sure how his fantasy game would be impacted by the arrival of KD, but after two games it is becoming clear that his all-around game can produce even with fewer offensive chances.
In two games, Green has averaged 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists while racking up 7 steals and averaging 42 FanDuel points per game. Power forward is actually a tough spot to roster on this slate so paying up for the security and upside of Draymond is a strategy I want to employ Sunday!
More from FanSided
- Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
- 3 reasons the Blazers should trade Damian Lillard to the Heat and 2 reasons they shouldn’t
- LeBron James, Giannis, Damian Lillard all want that Mbappé money
- Is this Alex Morgan’s last Women’s World Cup with the USWNT?
- 3 reasons the NY Giants won Saquon Barkley contract negotiations
Jon Leuer ($4,100) From a value perspective I love the point per minute production of Leuer who has put up 22.3 FanDuel points per game, which exceed 5.4x value at this price.
Leuer has played 25+ minutes over his first two games with near double-doubles in both games as he has scored 8 points and 9 rebounds per contest to start the season. As a key part of the Pistons rotation with guaranteed minutes he makes for one of the best value plays on the board when utilizing a stars/scrubs approach.
Clint Capela ($4,600) He burned us big time in his last start and I expect the masses to move away which may give us GPP ownership upside! Capela is locked in as the starting center for an up tempo offensive squad with a match-up against a Mavericks team that does not have the big men to stop him.
Capela could only muster 15.8 FD points in this match-up last game out but was able to put up 28 FD points on opening night with 16 points and 9 boards and at this price point would hit 6x value with a similar effort.