NBA Starting 5: Saturday, January 14th
The Starting 5 Series will provide Grinders with a quick look at the day’s top positional plays, analyzed through the lens of our Daily Research Tools.
Today, we’ll take a closer look at the Ceiling and Consistency tool. I’ll sort by the last three weeks to see what players are performing well in relation to their FanDuel salary.
The Ceiling and Consistency tool shows you how often each player has hit their value based on that day’s salary. The percentage columns (%3x, %4x, etc) show the percentage of the time that particular player has hit that value multiplier. For example, if a player has a salary of $5,000, the %3x column will show the percentage of games in which he has scored at least 15 fantasy points ($5,000 divided by 1000, then multiplied by 3).
Point Guard: Elfrid Payton
This is a tough matchup for Payton, as he’ll be going up against George Hill. Even so, you have to like the price. Payton played 35 minutes while scoring 33 FanDuel points against the Blazers, and his price still dropped $800 to $4800. Tough matchup or not, if I can get a starting point guard who racks up stats in multiple categories for under $5k, then I need to have some exposure to him. Payton offers tournament upside, and at this price, he won’t kill you in cash even if he has a mediocre game.
Shooting Guard: Devin Booker
The Spurs can certainly be taken advantage of at the shooting guard position, and Booker is just the guy to do it. He’s gone for 6x and 7x in his last two games, and his price is still fair at $6300. He’s got the ultimate green light as of late, averaging 19 shots per game over his last five. The confidence is there, too, as he is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 53 percent from three-point range. Booker is somewhat blowout-proof, too, as he has rarely played below 30 minutes this season, even with the Suns big losses.
Small Forward: Aaron Gordon
Gordon is another fairly priced Magic player in a tough matchup, but even in a less-than-ideal matchup, I’m still comfortable with the play. Gordon has played at least 36 minutes in three of his last four, which makes him even safer for me tonight. The Magic played Utah earlier this season and Gordon put up 27 FanDuel points in only 25 minutes. If he can post a similar fantasy point-per-minute rate tonight while also playing his 36 minutes, then we will have an elite value play on our hands.
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge
Aldridge took a game off to recover form an illness and then played only 24 minutes in a blowout against the Lakers. This should mean that he should be fresh and ready to roll against the Suns. In two matchups with the Suns this season, LMA is averaging 20 points, eight boards and two assists. Marquese Chriss has been getting more run for the Suns as well, which only make me like the matchup for Aldridge even more. Aldridge is a solid play in all formats for only $7300.
Center: Marcin Gortat
Jason Smith has been getting some more run lately, but Gortat is still averaging 36 minutes per game over the last five. With Embiid sitting, Gortat is going to get at least 20 minutes of Jahlil Okafor “defense,” which is a plus matchup for just about anyone. Gortat double-doubled in his only matchup with the Sixers so far this season, and I expect the same tonight. The center position is not pretty on FanDuel tonight, so Gortat will likely be the mega chalk, but it’s probably not a spot to get cute and overthink tonight.
Starting your FanDuel lineup with these five guys will leave you with an average of $7,625 left per player.
Hopefully this information helps you with your roster construction today and leads you to a nice score. As always, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me on Twitter, @Socky21.