RotoWire is vying with eight other sites in the fantasy industry for the top prize in the FanDuel Partners Basketball Championship (FPBC), which runs each Wednesday and Friday for a five-week period. Using RotoWire's various daily fantasy tools, we currently stand fifth among the competitors after three stages, but the eventual winner will have their two lowest scores dropped in order to arrive at a final result. Once again, here are Friday's Top 5 FanDuel plays.
Kyle Lowry, PG, TOR vs POR ($9,100) – With so many elite options at point guard, Lowry has returned the most on the investment over the last five games, averaging 46.9 FanDuel points (FDP) and 5.15 times his value.
A showdown awaits against Damian Lillard, who has admittedly grown more committed on defense as the season has progressed, but Lowry did go off for 50.2 FDP (30 points, eight assists, seven three-pointers, six rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in 40 minutes) in their first matchup on Feb. 4 in Portland. In four home tilts since the break, Lowry has put up 28.5 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 boards, and 2.3 steals in 41 minutes en route to 46.2 FDP per game. If he replicates or surpasses that line, he'll give back at least 5.1X his value.
Zach LaVine, SG, MIN at MIL ($5,300) – LaVine has accomplished such a feat in four of seven contests since the break, during which he's averaged 26.9 FDP on the backs of 16.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 three-pointers, and 1.3 steals+blocks in 34 minutes. Meeting LaVine at opening tip are the Bucks, who have yielded 40.3 FDP per game to opposing shooting guards over the past five, according to RotoWire's NBA Defense vs. Position tool. Afforded at least 36 minutes in three straight outings, he'll look to exploit a weak wing defense in a game that boasts the second-highest over/under (213.5) of the night.
Robert Covington, SF, PHI vs MIA ($5,100) – When Covington is afforded a healthy amount of run, he has the potential to put up attractive stat lines, which he's demonstrated over the last four games. Granted, he posted 21.5 and 18.5 FDP along the way, but the other outings produced at last 34 FDP. If he merely sticks to his averages in that stretch – 13.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 treys, 1.8 steals, 1.3 assists. and 1.3 blocks in 32 minutes per game – the result would equate to 5.4X his value for the evening. Helping his cause is a Heat squad that has surrendered the 10th-most FDP (38.8 per game) over the course of the past 10 tilts.
Paul Millsap, PF, ATL at LAL ($7,900) – Calling upon RotoWire's NBA Daily Lineup Optimizer, Millsap sticks out for his matchup with the Lakers, who have been consistently dominated by power forwards in 2015-16.
In particular, Los Angeles' frontcourt has given up 47.8 FDP per game over the past 10 outings, or the fourth-most accommodating in that span. Previously, he notched 33.6 FDP in 34 minutes versus the Lakers on Dec. 4, but his recent results have been sporadic, to say the least (30.6, 52.2, 21.9, 44.6, 23, and 45.4 FDP). With two days of rest and an exploitable encounter on tap, he'll ideally be in the market for another 40-plus FDP performance.
Alex Len, C, PHO at ORL ($5,300) – A double-double machine in the second half, Len has so far amassed four in six contests since the break. He's posted at least 28 FDP in all but one of those outings, with his ceiling ringing in at 46.7 FDP last Saturday against the Grizzlies. More importantly, he's cobbled together 1.04 FDP per minute during that spell, meaning he must be allotted 27 or more minutes to realize 5X his value, which he's earned in four of the past five contests. Even if he does not, his presence in the highest over/under outing of the night (217) aids in the case for Len in the majority of DFS lineups.
Taking the preceding plays into account, take a gander at Friday's nine:
