There are now enough NBA games for the season in the books to give us a decent idea of what players are capable of, and this makes drafting daily fantasy teams a lot easier on your part. The downside, of course, is that it is a bit easier for everyone else, too. With superior information, though, you can give yourself a big advantage. Let’s look at a couple examples and see how you should proceed with your team tonight.
DeMarcus Cousins is currently the highest priced player on DraftKings at $10,600, but is he actually the best choice for you? First of all, expensive doesn’t necessarily mean bad, it just means that you will not have money to spend elsewhere. First of all, he’s a Center, and he is way beyond every other Center that is playing tonight. The second best choice is DeAndre Jordan at $7,800, and he is not a bad choice at all. Cousins is averaging 23.7 points a game right now, but in other categories, he is only decent stats. He has 3.2 assists per game, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks. These are all worth more points in fantasy play than actual points scored in the game. Jordan has only 10.4 points per game, but he’s also behind Cousins in the other categories, too. So, yes, Cousins might not be the absolute best choice, but Jordan is an even worse play at Center.
In other words, if you want to maximize value, you need to see if there is more potential at other positions. The second best choice is LeBron James at $10,500. At Forward, there’s no one in the same company as him, and this makes him the most obvious choice. Drafting both Cousins and James would be theoretically possible, but it would put a serious damper on the rest of your team. James has 26.2 points per game on average, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks. These other categories are weaker than Cousins, but not enough to actually make it worthwhile to not draft James. In fact, James has a lot more upward possibility in every other category to make him a far better choice than Cousins. So, if you decide to go with only one of these two players, James is the better choice. By focusing on finding better value in other areas, you can maximize your team, save a little bit of salary money, and then draft Cousins only if you find enough value out of other players to make it worth the cost to you. This is a great way to stretch your cash out further and beat your opponents in your one day fantasy leagues the smart way.
Your strategy will vary slightly depending upon where you are playing, but DraftKings and FanDuel both have similar structures and pricing methods. However, at the upper levels of play, finding the little things like saving a hundred dollars here and there on your salary will give you a big advantage over the course of the NBA season. Just remember, your money is only worth something if the players you pay for are producing. The money isn’t the point, winning the game is. Your money is just the tool that gets you there.
