FanDuel NBA Picks and Pivots November 9
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 13 slates, we have seen the average winning GPP score at 365.1 a night which means we have needed 6.1x value to win big!
Wednesday’s Main NBA action kicks off at 7:00PM EST with eleven 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 Point Guards
J.J. Barea ($5,700) With Deron Williams out with an injury, Barea has stepped into the starting lineup for Dallas and delivered back to back 34 FD point performances which exceeds 6x at this price point. Barea is getting massive minutes for the Mavericks, playing over 30 minutes in each of his last three and gets a favorable match-up against Golden State.
The Warriors are 26th in the league in DvP against opposing PG’s and the Mavericks should see the highest pace increase of any team on the slate which makes Barea a top value play with GPP upside.
Kyle Lowry ($7,600) With a deflated price and a match-up against Oklahoma City, this is a great spot to target Lowry as a solid cash game foundation with GPP upside. The Thunder are 24th in the league against opposing PG’s and Toronto should see one of the highest increases in pace of any team on this slate as Lowry tries to keep pace with Russell Westbrook.
The point guard position is loaded on this slate but there is tremendous value to be had at a position where I usually advocate paying up! Lowry/Barea makes for a great cost savings strategy that allows you a more balanced lineup where you can exploit two of the more favorable match-ups.
FanDuel NBA – Top Shooting Guards
Is tonight the night to fade James Harden? For the first time this season I actually think the answer may be yes in a tough match-up against the Spurs. From a DvP perspective the Spurs are most vulnerable in the back court but Hardens recent numbers against the Spurs tell a different story.
Last season over 4 games, Harden averaged only 21 points, 3 assists and 4 assists against the Spurs which across the board reflects sharp declines in his usual per game totals. With Westbrook in a tough spot against Toronto and Harden having to deal with the Spurs, this may be a night to take a more balanced approach in your roster construction!
Bradley Beal ($5,600) Beal comes into Wednesday night on the heels of his best outing on the season where he hit for 35.9 FD points (6.4x) and steps into a match-up against a Celtics team that is 28th in the NBA in DvP against opposing SG’s.
Beal is averaging a career high in shot attempts per game, having put up between 16-18 shots in each of his last three games with an increased 24.1% usage rate on the season. The price point allows you to build a steady 5x cash game floor while providing 6x upside which is exactly how I look to build my lineups!
Klay Thompson ($5,900) The price point here just begs for us to click Klay’s name and although the fantasy production has been down, the biggest key for me is that his shot attempts per game remain at his career norm. So far this season, Klay is averaging 17 shots per game which is in line with his averages for the last two season so even with Durant in tow, the offensive opportunities remain high for Thompson.
The issue so far has been his efficiency, as he has shot a career low 41.2% but Klay gets to take on a Dallas team he torched for 33.5 actual points per game last season which was his highest scoring mark against any Western Conference team. This is a great spot to target Klay at a price point that is not reflective of his usage and talent and I will look to get heavy exposure to him tonight!
FanDuel NBA – Top Small Forwards
Carmelo Anthony ($7,500) Although we are still awaiting a few of the Vegas totals this morning due to injuries, the Knicks at this point come into tonight with the highest projected team total at 110 against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets are dead last in DvP against opposing SF’s this season and the price point at only $7,500 makes Carmelo an easy plug and play in all formats for me! Carmelo comes into this game off back to back 40+(5.5x) point FD outings and his price has not budged which presents a fantastic opportunity for us to roster him!
Kawhi Leonard ($8,800) I love the idea of paying up at SF tonight as the match-ups and price points allow us to roster elite talents are value prices! The Spurs take on the Rockets tonight and currently have the third highest point projection of any team on the slate so this is a spot we should look for exposure.
Kawhi is more of a cash game play as he has only eclipsed 6x one time this season but his all around game builds one of the safest floors of any player in the NBA. Leonard is averaging 26.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals and should be able to put up big time fantasy numbers in a high scoring game against the Rockets!
FanDuel NBA – Top Power Forwards and Center
Kristaps Porzingis ($6,600) As noted earlier, the Knicks have the highest projected team total and with their two top stars at reasonable price points, a 1-2 stack of Melo and Porzingis is a great way to maximize your exposure against a Nets team on the second night of a back to back!
Porzingis has stepped up his game recently, putting up 37.8 FD points over his last two starts while better managing the foul troubles that have plagued him early this season. The Nets present some of the best match-ups on the board and if they decide to rest Lopez on the second night of a back to back, this could open up massive opportunity for Porzingis inside!
More from FanSided
- 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
- MLB rumors: Nolan Arenado suitor, Tim Anderson landing spots, Mets reliever not enjoying trade talk
Marquese Chriss ($3,500) The Suns made the move late Tuesday to insert the talented rookie into their starting lineup and I made sure to have heavy exposure to him last night where he only delivered 12.8 FD points. This may keep some gamers off him today but any time I can get a starter for minimum price we should not be shy to lock them into our lineups! Chriss has massive upside and goes up against a Pistons team 28th in the NBA in DvP against PF’s – lock in the Suns new starting PF tonight if you need salary savings!
Karl-Anthony Towns ($8,700) I recommended the big KAT on Tuesday and at half time he had 30 FD points against the Nets so I was hopeful that a monster outing was in the works. Towns however only finished with 34.4 FD points which is going to disappoint many but he gets the best match-up any center could ask for going against the Orlando Magic who are 30th in DvP against starting centers.
With center being relatively weak on this slate, I love the idea of paying up when others may opt to go for value as Towns showed in just one half of basketball Tuesday night the kind of upside he has!