Starting 5: Player Stats - Thursday, February 5th
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 Player Stats tool. I like to use this tool to look at player usage rates over a period of time. Usage rate attempts to estimate how many plays a player “uses” while he’s on the floor, which we can interpret as opportunities for fantasy points.
For this writeup, I’ll be looking at the last three weeks and seeing which players have strong usage rates, and therefore plenty of chances to provide big scores tonight.
Point Guard: Isaiah Thomas (PHO)
Isaiah Thomas is tough to roster in cash games because of his minutes cap, but he is great for tournaments.
As you can see, his usage rate falls just below Damian Lillard over the last three weeks. In the Suns’ last game versus Memphis, Thomas attempted 19 shots in only 24 minutes. Look for Thomas stay aggressive in the highest over/under game of the night. We might even get lucky with some overtime minutes.
Shooting Guard: Jamal Crawford (LAC)
J.J. Redick is listed as DTD, but I highly doubt he plays tonight. That puts me all aboard the Jamal Crawford train tonight at $5,200 on FanDuel. His usage rate is among the highest at his position, but as you can see above, he averaged under 30 minutes over the span of games considered in this sample. With Redick out, he’ll be on the floor more often, and will see even more of the basketball.
Crawford is a high volume scorer, so look for him to shoot early and often in this prime time matchup versus the Cavs.
Small Forward: LeBron James (CLE)
I don’t think that I need to give much analysis on this one. The small forward position is never pretty on FanDuel and tonight is no different. LeBron could easily be the highest scoring player of the night against the Clippers, who struggle to defend the wing. His usage rate is strong because he’s the best player on the floor at all times.
Don’t get cute with this one. Roster LeBron and move on.
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge (POR)
I think Blake Griffin will be the higher owned power forward tonight, which makes Aldridge a nice differentiation play. He also sports a higher usage rate than Griffin. The Suns just don’t have the size at the power forward spot to contain Aldridge in the post, and his high release point on his jumper makes it almost impossible to block.
Blake Griffin probably has a higher floor tonight, but Aldridge has the higher upside. Since returning from his injury, he’s been heavily involved, and could have a big night that will set your lineup apart from the competition.
Center: DeMarcus Cousins (SAC)
It’s Boogie or bust for me tonight. His usage rate is through the roof. They are playing at home versus a Dallas team that just gave up 128 points to Golden State. To top it all off, Cousins put up 61.7 FanDuel points versus Dallas less than a month ago. Al Jefferson is a solid play tonight, but he just doesn’t have that kind of upside versus the stingy Washington defense. Go Boogie or go home!
Hopefully this information helps you with your roster construction tonight and leads you to a nice score. As always feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me on Twitter, @Socky21.