Starting 5: Advanced Player Stats - Thursday, January 22nd
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 Advanced Player Stats tool.
We have a respectable four-game slate in the NBA tonight, and that is my threshold for playing in cash games, so feel free to use these five players in either cash game or tournament formats tonight, as options are still somewhat limited. Here are my favorite plays based on the advanced stats.
Point Guard – Derrick Rose (CHI)
Derrick Rose has been shouldering the offensive load for the Bulls recently. This is proven by his usage rate, which is sitting at 31.5%, just slightly below the usage monster James Harden. So, Rose clearly has the ball in his hands a ton and has been hoisting up shots at a pace similar to his MVP season.
Over the last five games, Rose is averaging 24 points per game while taking nearly 19 shots, with seven of those shots coming from three-point range. He shouldn’t have any trouble hitting value on his FanDuel price of $7,200.
Shooting Guard – Jamal Crawford (LAC)
Jamal Crawford is one of the few bench players that I will comfortably slot into my cash game lineups from time to time. His usage rating resembles that of Stephen Curry, and Crawford will get his minutes regardless of game flow.
Vegas expects the Clippers to win this one comfortably, so Crawford should see a few more minutes of garbage time with the second unit. Crawford is averaging 25 FanDuel points over the last four games, which is right where you need him to be for his $5,100 price.
Small Forward – Kawhi Leonard (SA)
Because Kawhi Leonard does it all on the floor, it makes him safe for cash games, but it also puts him in play for tournaments, because he could easily put up 16 points from just steals and blocks. I would like his minutes to get into the 35-36 range, but he is still a great play tonight against the Bulls.
This game has the closest spread of the night, and the Bulls aren’t the dominant defense that they have been in previous seasons.
Power Forward – Blake Griffin (LAC)
If I’m paying up for one player tonight, it’s going to be Blake Griffin. His usage rate ranks right up there with the big three wings in the league of LeBron, Durant and Melo.
Blake is nearly a lock for 40-plus FanDuel points, as he has hit that mark in six of the last eight games. I don’t see anyone on the Nets slowing him down tonight, and even if this game turns into a blowout, I expect Blake to be a big reason why.
Center – Brook Lopez (BKN)
Brook Lopez now has the second-highest usage rate in the league for the center position. He also just posted a monster 44 fantasy point game versus the Kings last night.
Lopez is averaging nearly 35 FanDuel points over his last three, which is nearly 6X his $6,200 price tag. DeAndre Jordan is a solid help-side defender but he isn’t the best on the ball. Look for the Nets to try exploit this matchup early and often, allowing Lopez to hopefully exceed value tonight.