NBA Starting Five: Thursday, March 24th
The Starting Five 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: Shelvin Mack – $6,300 vs. Oklahoma City
Mack is coming off a bad game against Houston last night, but I think he’s in a great spot for a bounce back. He’s hit 5x the second most in the last three weeks, and has a great matchup against the Thunder tonight. The Thunder is allowing the eighth most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.
Utah is eighth in the West right now, and this game has a lot of meaning for them. I love targeting players in games like this, and Mack has at least 30 fantasy points in six of his last seven games.
Shooting Guard: J.R. Smith – $4,300 vs. Brooklyn
Smith is one of my favorite tournament options tonight. Vegas only have the Cavs favored by six in this game, and I have a gut feeling that one of the big three may sit tonight. The coach has said that he will be resting his guys down the stretch, so I would be extra careful tonight.
Smith has a great matchup against the Nets tonight. Brooklyn has struggled against shooting guards all season, and they’re allowing the most fantasy points to shooting guards over the last three weeks. With the struggles of the defense, and the potential for a star sitting, I’m going to have a lot of exposure to Smith tonight. Smith has at least 23 fantasy points in three of his last five games, and is still priced fewer than 5K at FanDuel.
Small Forward: Nikola Mirotic – $4,700 vs. New York
The Knicks have been one of the best teams against small forwards all season. With that being said, Mirotic had a great game against the Knicks last night. Gasol is questionable to play tonight, and they might take it very easy with him tonight. Mirotic is averaging 21.75 fantasy points over his last 10 games, and he’s hit 5x in 50% of those games. I wouldn’t play him in cash games, but I think he’s a guy you consider in GPPs.
Power Forward: Ed Davis – $4,000 – vs. Los Angeles Clippers
I hate to keep recommending GPP plays, but Davis is another guy I like in GPPs tonight. He would be a clear-cut option if he played more minutes, but his minutes make him tough to play in cash games. The Clippers are allowing the second most fantasy points to opposing forwards over the last three weeks. Davis has at least 22 fantasy points in four straight games, and should keep that going with Leonard out again tonight.
Center: Robin Lopez – $6,000 vs. Chicago
I think Jordan is a great option tonight, but I also love the type of production from Lopez over the last month. Lopez has averaged over 30 fantasy points in his last ten games, and he had 39 fantasy points against the Bulls last night. Earlier in March, he played 32 minutes in back-to-back games, and I’m not too worried about the back-to-back set for him tonight. The Bulls have been a frontcourt to target all season long, and that’s not changing with Lopez and Porzingis tonight. I like Lopez for all formats tonight.