FanDuel NBA Single-Game Strategy: Bucks/Lakers DFS Preview
Update – Dion Waiters is unlikely to make his debut today
Hello Grinders. FanDuel has a solid single-game offering for tonight’s Milwaukee Bucks vs Los Angeles Lakers game. Let’s dive in and see what we can make of this game.
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The Spread
This game is opening with a modest 227.5 over/under, with this game essentially being a pick em on the Lakers’ home court. Both teams are among the top three in defensive efficiency, so I’m expecting a lot of good defense in this game for both sides.
The Injuries
Both teams enter relatively healthy, with George Hill the only question mark. Hill is questionable with a groin injury and should he miss another game, Donte DiVincenzo and Pat Connaughton would split up Hill’s minutes (Donte is the preferred option of these two). There are no major injuries to report on the Lakers side as Anthony Davis continues to carry his normal “probable” injury designation.
The Options
Before diving into the options, let me state you can’t jam in all three of Giannis, LeBron and AD as that leaves you with just $5,250 per player and the minimum priced player is $6,000. So if your goal was to YOLO and jam in the trio to soak up all the usage, that’s a no-go here. When these two teams met back on Dec 19, the Bucks won 111-104 and all three posted monster games.
Giannis finished with a 34/11/7 line and 59.7 FanDuel points, LeBron finished with a 21/12/11 line with 47.9 FanDuel points, and AD finished with a 36/10/5 line with 66.5 FanDuel points. With that said, he’s my preferred strategy:
Giannis Antetokounmpo + Anthony Davis – Yes, I realize pairing these two is uber expensive, but I love the ceilings on both of them and if this game truly does stay close as Vegas expects, then that only enhances their ability to reach that ceiling game. Plus it still leaves you with $9,000 per player, which is very reasonable. You can easily make a case to play LeBron over AD and I have no problem with that argument, but for $500 less I like Davis’ ceiling a bit more in this matchup. There is major usage from these players and I want to jam them in and build around them.
Danny Green – All of the Lakers guards take a slight hit with the Lakers signing Dion Waiters to bolster their bench, but I’m skeptical Waiters is a factor on this team given his recent history and the Lakers already showing a willingness to prioritize Rajon Rondo, KCP and Alex Caruso in that second unit. With that in mind, I do still like Danny Green, as he’s going to continue starting and is in a good matchup. The Bucks allow the most three pointers made per game in the league at 13.7, while Green is second on the Lakers in three-point attempts per game at five (to put this into context, LeBron is first on the Lakers with 6.3 three-point attempts per game). Green isn’t a great per-minute producer and I hate banking on a three-point shooter here, but the matchup is an elite one for Green on paper. I’ll also mention that when these two teams played in December, Green went 7-for-12 beyond the arc in that game.
Brook Lopez – I really wanted to write up Khris Middleton and I think he has a safe floor, but Lopez is really interesting from a matchup standpoint. The Lakers have Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee to deal with down low. The Bucks have…Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez. I struggle to see how the Bucks go small here against the Lakers, and that could mean Brook Lopez sees a bit more run than his 26.5 minutes per game he’s averaging this season. When these teams played in December, Lopez played 33 minutes, which is tied for the second most minutes he’s played all season in a non-overtime game. He finished that game with a massive 10/4/2/4 steal/3 block night, good for 37.8 FanDuel points. It’s hard to bank on another seven STOCK night or him getting 33 minutes again, but if there were ever a time for him to see extended run, it would be this game.
Thanks for reading, and good luck tonight. May variance be on your side.