NBA Starting 5: Saturday, March 18th
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 four 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: Kemba Walker
Kemba just had of his worst games of the year against the Pacers. Tonight, he gets a fast-paced matchup with the Wizards, so it’s a great time to jump back on as the game log watchers will likely pass on him. Kemba is averaging nearly 35 FanDuel points per game in two previous matchups with the Wizards this season, and he gets a home matchup bump, as his averages for points, rebounds, and assists are all better at home. The Hornets a still clinging to hope that they can make the playoffs, so Kemba will be in for a massive workload if this game stays close.
Shooting Guard: Gary Harris
You’re going to want pieces of this game, and Harris is one of the safer, likely lower-owned options. He has gone for over 30 FanDuel points in three of the last five games. Perhaps more importantly, the Nuggets only rolled out an eight-man rotation last game with Gallo and Chandler out, which means Harris should be locked into nearly 40 minutes once again. He’s also shown the ability to put up some solid volume, putting up 15 shots in three of the last five. Tonight should be another double-digit shot attempt game with the over/under sitting at a massive 239 points.
Small Forward: Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi returned from his rest game and put up two big scores. He’s also gone for over 50 FanDuel points in five of his last seven. The matchup tonight isn’t the greatest, but Kawhi is matchup-proof, and LeBron might be priced up too high with Kevin Love back in the mix. You’re probably going to need one or the other tonight at small forward, and I’ll be rolling with Kawhi at a reduced price with a similar ceiling. The Spurs have been leaning on Kawhi heavily lately, as he has put up at least 21 shot attempts in five games this month, while LeBron’s shot attempts are usually capped around 20 per game.
Power Forward: Nikola Mirotic
Mirotic has now played well in three straight games and is averaging 32 FanDuel points per game. At only $4300, even his low performance of 25 FanDuel points would be more than enough. I’m hoping that the matchup with the Jazz will scare some people off, but I still like Mirotic in this matchup, as the Jazz have been rolling out Joe Johnson in some small-ball lineups. That’s a matchup that Mirotic can certainly take advantage of with his size.
Center: ZaZa Pachulia
The Warriors are going to need Zaza for at least low-20s minutes tonight so that he can bang down low with Monroe. Thon Maker is no match strength wise for Zaza, so I think he will get the quick hook in favor of Monroe. Zaza has two double-doubles in the last three games, and I would expect him to get close to that again tonight. The Bucks are not a good rebounding team, as they allow over 16 rebounds per game to the center position. Greg Monroe has never been know for his defense, and that’s not going to change tonight.
Starting your FanDuel lineup with these five guys will leave you with an average of $6,850 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.