FanDuel NBA 3-Man Challenge Strategy: Wednesday, November 13th
Hello Grinders. Let’s get that awful taste of Cory Joseph chalk out of our mouths and dive into today’s FanDuel 3-Man Challenge. Below are some of my favorite daily fantasy basketball plays at their respective price tiers.
NOTE: Be sure to check out RotoGrinders’ NBA DFS news and alerts before you lock in your teams!
$1 Range
Patrick Beverley – This is the front end of a B2B for the Clippers, but Beverley is interesting here. The Clippers just lost Landry Shamet and Paul George is expected to debut on Thursday (although he’s officially questionable for Wednesday as of this writing), meaning the Clippers will remain a bit short-handed here. Beverley also gets to match up against his rival Russell Westbrook, who have some beef dating back many moons ago. James Harden and Russell Westbrook are also 1st and 3rd in the league in turnovers, meaning there should be a lot of chances to rack up some defensive stats. On a site like FanDuel that heavily weighs defensive stats, that’s a good thing for Beverley.
Rudy Gay – It’s point chasing with Gay, who had 32.6 FD points last game against the Grizzlies. That was a bit of a dream matchup, as the Grizzlies rate among the bottom third of the league in defensive rating. The Timberwolves, however, rate as league average. Gay will probably see minutes in the mid 20s, but he does have five games this season of 27+ FD points, so there is a solid floor here.
$2 Range
Jaylen Brown – I love the $2 range a lot more, meaning I struggle with the 5-1-1 construction as the $1 plays are pretty meh. In the $2 range, we have Jaylen Brown, who takes over a larger role on the offense with Gordon Hayward out. Brown is coming off a 41.7 FD point performance and has now reached 40+ FD points in back-to-back games. He gets a tasty matchup against a Wizards team that is bottom-three in defensive rating. Yes, there may be some blowout concerns here if the Wizards can’t keep this game close (they’re huge underdogs on the NBA odds board, but if it stays competitive, Brown should benefit greatly. Per CourtIQ, this season when Hayward has been off the court, Brown has a 22.6% usage rate and averages one fantasy point per minute.
Dejounte Murray – Murray has dropped back-to-back duds where he’s failed to reach 20 FD points, but prior to that, he had 42+ FD points in two of his last three games. His minutes continue to be a huge problem, as he’s played just 19, 24 and 25 minutes in his last three games. If you can tolerate some risk, Murray has upside here against a Timberwolves team ailing at the guard spot. I wouldn’t go too heavy on Murray given the wide range of outcomes that comes with his low minutes, but he has a 40 FD point ceiling if things go right.
Montrezl Harrell – Harrell gets a #revenge game against his former team, the Rockets, who traded him in the Chris Paul deal a few seasons ago. Harrell has thrived off the bench and has reached between 30-62 FD points in five straight games. Harrell will have his hands full with P.J. Tucker and Clint Capela, but this game environment is elite as the Rockets lead the league in pace. Harrell would take a hit if Paul George debuts here, but I still think $2 is too cheap for someone of Harrell’s skillset.
$3 Range
Lou Williams – Everything I just wrote about for Harrell is true of Williams: pace up spot, revenge game and the Clippers will need his scoring to keep pace with Harden and Westbrook. And like I wrote for Harrell, Williams should take a hit as well if George plays. It’ll be interesting to see how the Clippers stars all co-exist, but Williams’ floor and ceiling are high here. I personally prefer Harrell for $2 over Williams at $3 if choosing between one of these Clippers reserves.
LaMarcus Aldridge – It’s been a rough season for Aldridge who has seen his production all over the place. Aldridge posted a 58 FD point performance against the Thunder three games ago, but has since poo-pooed the bed with a 10.3 FD point crapper and a 33.3 FD point performance against the Grizzlies. This spot against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves isn’t an ideal one, as KAT has grown on the defensive side over the years. Still, it’s hard to find someone of Aldridge’s talent and ceiling at just $3, so I do think he deserves some consideration if targeting the mid-tier.
Jayson Tatum – Nobody is going to want to play Tatum after his dreadful 1-for-18 shooting performance. Despite missing 17 shots, he still finished with 22.6 FD points, which shows you how he can fill up the rest of the box score even if his shot isn’t falling. Like Jaylen Brown, the offensive burden will fall more on Tatum, and this is a prime bounceback spot against the weak Wizards defense.
Kemba Walker – My guess is if people are playing a Celtic in the $3 range, it will be Walker. Walker had 42.5 and 50 FD points in his last two games, and the numbers just look better on paper for Kemba. I’ll admit, I also do prefer Kemba over Tatum, and given he’ll be up against Isaiah Thomas defense, it’s hard not to like Kemba in this spot. Of the players in the $3 range, Kemba is probably my favorite. Just sticking with this game, I am not going to write up Bradley Beal even though I do think he deserves some consideration in the $3 range. My biggest concern is the Wizards staying close in this game, as well as Beal facing a tough individual matchup against Marcus Smart.
$4 Range
Karl-Anthony Towns – It feels like KAT should be a $5 player, but perhaps his matchup against the Spurs is why FanDuel gave him a slight discount. KAT did have a 57.2 FD point explosion against the Nuggets two games ago, but since then has hovered in the 43-48 FD point range. His matchup against Jakob Poeltl and LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t a good one, but I love a 4-2-1 build of putting KAT as your 2X MVP and someone like a Jaylen Brown in your 1.5X Star to capture some ceiling. I will mention he hasn’t had great success against the Spurs historically if that factors into your decision.
Russell Westbrook – Westbrook is right there with KAT for me on today’s slate if choosing a $4 player. Westbrook has to go up against Patrick Beverley defense and a Clippers team anchored by Kawhi Leonard, but we know Westy will be motivated against his nemesis and can easily break the slate. He’s reached 58-60 FD points in multiple occasions this season so there is massive upside.
$5 Range
Let me just say I love James Harden and will never bet against him, but the makeup of the slate makes it hard for me to jam him in. I don’t love the 5-1-1 roster construction as the $1 players feel kind of gross. I personally prefer the 4-2-1 or 3-2-2- build more on this slate, even if it means fading Harden.
Thanks for reading, and good luck today. May variance be on your side.