How to Win at NBA on Fanduel.com
New Lowest Score Dropped Rule
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In an effort to combat late scratches and foul trouble, FanDuel issued a rule where the lowest scoring player of your lineup is dropped. This is the first time we have seen anything like this in the industry, and opinions have been split about it. This also throws a wrench into strategy, where you can simply take a punt trying to jam in higher priced players, or take a chance on a lower owned questionable player. There are a lot of ways to view this, but when Derrick Rose is a late scratch after lock, your night will not over immediately like when they had no late swap or this new rule. Of course there is a sliding scale on how bad it can hurt you. Anthony Davis being dropped from your lineup is a lot different from Danny Green.
FanDuel Adopts Higher Scoring
When season long fantasy leagues dropped their new scoring change to bump up blocks and steals to three points each, FanDuel did as well. This certainly changed the aspect of fantasy basketball, as a Hassan Whiteside would have more weight on a site like FanDuel with his ability to rack up blocks. This has brought some truly high scores to FanDuel, where they already produce higher scores mainly due to the added player in their roster, where most sides have just eight. This has added more of an emphasis on finding players who also add to the defensive categories instead of just offensive stats.
Single Game Contests
FanDuel has adopted single game contests, which have been gaining steam in terms of prize pools. FanDuel has a unique twist on their contests, as most other sites just have one differing position player that accumulates double points or 1.5x. FanDuel has added an MVP spot that gains 2x points, a Star spot that gets 1.5x, and a Pro spot that gets 1.2x. There are also two utility spots that gain normal scoring. You have five utility spots, but using the three multiplying spots is key for success. The only potential downside to these contests is the possible duplication of lineups, or if a game is low scoring and doesn’t lead to a lot of fantasy production.
Building FanDuel Lineups
You have nine spots on FanDuel, with two of every position except center. There are various ways of creating lineups, and each slate will push you into a specific direction. You have your expensive studs like Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook to build around, but you also have a wave of guys like Kyle Lowry, Aaron Gordon, and Rudy Gobert who sit often a few thousand cheaper. FanDuel pricing has been on the rise because of their lowest scorer dropped rule. This makes it tougher to just punt one spot to fit in a lineup of superstars. You have two different ways to go here, and going balanced is always a preferred method in cash games, while balanced and stars and scrubs can go in various formats.
The average remaining salary to start with is $6,667. Now if a punt value opens up for around $4,000-$5,000, this can certainly open things up for exposure to higher priced players. If there is not a lot of value on the slate, a balanced approach is floating between $5,500 and $9,000 priced players. Going more stars and scrubs, you are spending up for the $12,000 Davis and finding deeper value to get a couple more named value players in.
Finding Value
Value is a key part of daily fantasy sports, and in NBA it can come in various ways. The first is FanDuel just simply pricing a player too low or not adjusting quick enough to them producing above average. Injuries will create value on almost every slate, and it has become a big part of lineup building up until lineup lock. A starting player sitting out will have a fill-in option for a cheap price, but also create usage for some of the other starters on the court that may or may not be cheaper. Being ahead of the curve on lineup trends and rotations will give an edge for taking advantage of cheaper plays before they come expensive or more notable to the public.
How Vegas Translates To Fantasy Points
Vegas is the best predictor for what is going to potentially happen. When you see that the Lakers and Timberwolves are playing, and the overall total is set at 239, that should register as a game to target. Vegas is expecting both teams to be well over a 100 points, and the spread is the next thing to look at. If it is a sub double-digit spread then the game will be close at competitive. We have often seen Golden State games with 15 point spreads, and their players do not even see the fourth quarter. This can be viewed the opposite as well. A Memphis-Miami game might have a sub 200 total, which isn’t going to generate as many fantasy points as other games on the slate. Want to learn more about Vegas and betting on NBA? Check out our Guide to Betting on NBA.
Defense Vs. Position
Defense vs. position is often referred to as DvP, and is a broad subject when trying to breakdown a matchup for a player. A team will rank differently defensively across all five positions. For example the Pistons might rank 26th against opposing point guards, but 12th against centers. DvP varies across the sites, mainly because you have different formulas that get added in. It will usually sum up the amount of production given up to the opposing position. This is one of the ways to determine if an individual player has a good matchup or not. DvP can be sometimes misleading, where a player like Kawhi Leonard might move off a small forward for one night to guard a higher usage shooting guard or point guard. An injury might also make a team weaker. If Hassan Whiteside sits out, the Miami DvP is not as high as it says on a season long basis.