NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 4/9/21

Elisha Twerski  —  @ElishaTwerski Apr 9th, 2021
Bradley Beal is a worthwhile target in tonight's high-octane matchup between the Wizards and Warriors. What other high-salaried players should we focus on?

Basketball is the most consistent sport for daily fantasy purposes.

A top slugger in baseball will have his fair share of 0-for-4 days, and an elite fantasy football player is at risk of having games where his team's offense as a whole is shut down. A high-salaried NBA stud is generally going to get his, though. With so many possessions in a game providing opportunities to produce, top fantasy basketball options will be posting high scores just about every night.

While this consistency puts us in a good position to identify top plays, it also means you can't afford to miss when you're paying a heavy salary to roster someone. Even with strong value plays in your lineup, getting a dud from a stud is likely going to leave your lineup lacking.

Let's get right into it and look at which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today.

All injury updates are via the NBA's official injury report or numberFire's player news.

Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors

FanDuel Salary: $9,600

The matchup of the slate is that of the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards, which has an over/under that's currently 11.5 points higher than any other contest, according to numberFire's Matchup Heatmap. That makes Stephen Curry an easy play.

Per NBA.com, the Wizards and Warriors rank first and second in pace this season. In other words, if you blink, you're at risk of missing three or four possessions. That bodes well for Curry, who's had rock-solid form. The two-time MVP has racked up at least 47 FanDuel points in four consecutive outings, and he's managed 45.5 or more in 24 of his 44 games in 2020-21.

On the season, Washington ranks 29th versus point guards, according to numberFire's DvP tool. In eight other matchups against teams that are bottom-six at defending the position, the sharpshooter has averaged 52.3 FanDuel points per game.

Bradley Beal, SG, Washington Wizards

FanDuel Salary: $8,300

Given the projected total and pace of this matchup, it should come as no surprise that I'm going right back there with the second stud -- this time, it's Bradley Beal.

Beal returned from a five-game absence on Wednesday and amassed 38.7 fantasy points in 30.4 minutes of action. His second game back should see his minutes return closer to normal, especially in a bout where his scoring will be key.

The league's leading scorer has showcased ridiculous upside this campaign, and at $8,300, he doesn't need an otherworldly performance in order to return adequate value. In fact, to achieve five-times value (or 5.0 fantasy points for every $1,000 in salary) tonight, Beal would need 41.5 FanDuel points, which is a number he's eclipsed in 28 of his 42 outings (usually with ease).

numberFire's algorithm has the 27-year-old going for 43.8 FanDuel points, which would make him the top-projected scorer at the position and third-best point-per-dollar play.

Jayson Tatum, PF, Boston Celtics

FanDuel Salary: $8,800

The second-highest implied total on tonight's nine-game belongs to the Boston Celtics, who are facing a Minnesota Timberwolves squad that's bottom-four in defensive efficiency and top-four in pace. That's a boon for Jayson Tatum, who has been in a bit of a funk lately.

Tatum has failed to reach 40 FanDuel points in four consecutive games, which is his longest such streak in two seasons. I fully expect that to end tonight.

This season, the Wolves rank 23rd versus power forwards, and they've been even worse in recent play, surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points to the position over their last seven games. Tatum has played 22 games against teams that are below-average at defending fours, and he's averaged 44.3 FanDuel points in those efforts.

Look for Tatum to get back to form here at a very reasonable salary.