If you have played daily fantasy sports for very long, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field and find players that you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership can really separate yourself from your opponents.
It’s a lot easier in NFL to identify the players who will be low-owned due to Thursday Night slates, but NBA can be much more difficult if you aren’t an experienced player.
The purpose of this article will be to bring you some high-upside players at each position who will likely go overlooked and give you an edge.
Keep in mind when constructing rosters that these are contrarian picks. There is a reason that they will be overlooked by many; they are risky plays. If possible, I’d try to relegate these players to GPP-only use, where their high risk-reward styles make more sense.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF, Milwaukee Bucks
FanDuel Price: $9,700
Why He Will Go Overlooked:
Giannis Antetokounmpo is unlikely to see extremely low ownership tonight, but there is a decent chance he is much lower owned than he should be.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant are both on the slate, which will pull some ownership from Antetokounmpo, and there are several viable value plays as well. Rudy Gay will be a very popular option, while Andrew Wiggins, Evan Fournier, P.J. Tucker, and Luke Babbitt will get some attention as well.
Why You Should Use Him:
The Greek Freak has averaged 50.1 FanDuel points over his past five games and draws an appealing matchup against Orlando tonight.
Evan Fournier, who ranks 77th among 82 small forwards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, will likely be tasked with defending Antetokounmpo. At 6'7" with a 6'8" wingspan, Fournier simply doesn't have the length or athleticism to slow down the 6'11" Greek Freak and his 7'3" wingspan.
Orlando has allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards, and Antetokounmpo has taken advantage in his past two matchups, averaging 48.3 FanDuel points.
He is a safe play tonight and one that you may be able to get at much lower ownership than you should.
Jeff Teague, PG, Atlanta Hawks
FanDuel Price: $7,000
Why He Will Go Overlooked:
Jeff Teague draws a matchup against a tough Cleveland defense and is part of a plentiful point guard player-pool.
Why You Should Use Him:
While Teague's production is always difficult to predict, he has been hot recently, averaging 36.4 FanDuel points over his past six contests.
Cleveland boasts one of the league's stingiest defenses. While their defense as a whole is excellent, their effort against point guards has not been. Other than point guard, Cleveland has been a top-10 team against every position in terms of fantasy points allowed. A big reason for their struggle against the position is Kyrie Irving, who ranks 81st in Defensive Real Plus-Minus among 84 qualified point guards.
Teague has done well against Irving in his career, averaging 37.9 FanDuel points per game in their last six matchups, including a 52.3 FanDuel point performance against Cleveland a little over a week ago. Target him liberally in tournaments.
Jordan Clarkson, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
FanDuel Price: $5,400
Why He Will Go Overlooked:
James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Devin Booker, and potentially Bradley Beal will all be popular options at shooting guard, leaving Jordan Clarkson under-owned again.
Why You Should Use Him:
Clarkson has picked up his play in his two most recent games, averaging 31.6 FanDuel points in 35 minutes per game.
With the Lakers resting several players, Clarkson should continue to get all the minutes he can handle. Those minutes could translate to big fantasy production tonight against the Thunder, who have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards.
Clarkson doesn't offer quite the upside of someone like Booker or Beal tonight, but he comes at a nice discount and makes it easier to fit in studs such as Harden or Antetokounmpo. Give him a look in tournaments.