At this point in the game, the FanDuel Partners Basketball Championship (FPBC) has brought nine sites in the fantasy sports industry within striking distance of the top spot after wiping away the two lowest scores for each entity. RotoWire sits comfortably in sixth place with a pair of 300-point nights among six contests and four remaining on the slate. Once again, we'll explore the Top 5 FanDuel plays of the day to aid in the decision-making process.
Brandon Jennings, PG, ORL at CHA ($3,500) – The Brandon Jennings plan is entirely contingent upon the health of Elfrid Payton's right elbow, which is reflected in RotoWire's Daily Lineup Optimizer:
Jennings' own health was in question heading into Tuesday's game against the Nuggets due to a sore foot, but Emmanuel Mudiay and D.J. Augustin were unable to contain the veteran point guard, who submitted 12 points, 11 assists, three rebounds, and one steal en route to 33.1 FanDuel points (FDP). Returning 9.45 Jennings' minimal sticker price will be difficult to repeat, though, as the Magic shot nearly 10 percentage points better than their season-long mark (54.3 percent versus 44.9 percent). In addition to regression to the mean, the Magic-Hornets matchup carries with it the fourth-lowest over/under (212) on Wednesday evening. Nonetheless, Jennings only needs to reach the upper teens in terms of FDP to give back 5X his value, and trotting him out there frees up valuable cash to use on big-ticket players.
Victor Oladipo, SG, ORL at CHA ($7,000) – We've been singing Oladipo's praises often during the FBPC, and for good reason. Since sitting out on March 4 with a lower-back contusion, Oladipo has rolled out 35 FDP in four of five games, with the sole exception Saturday's lopsided defeat in Portland. All told, he's one of two shooting guards to reap 5X his salary while also accruing at least one FDP per minute in that span– the other: Lance Stephenson – as RotoWire's Daily Fantasy Value Report reveals.
Provided that knowledge, the stat-stuffing Oladipo is among the best values on the schedule, especially if he takes on some of the distributing duties left behind by an absent Payton.
Kevin Durant, SF, OKC at BOS ($10,300) – The Knicks' west-coast swing has landed in Golden State, but the game with the highest over/under Wednesday (222) also includes a far amount of blowout potential. Moving to the next tilt on the list – Oklahoma City at Boston (220) – yields two teams within the Top 8 in pace, and one doesn't waver too far after viewing Kevin Durant, who is averaging 51.2 FDP per 36 in seven road games since the break. In order to break the streak, Celtics head honcho Brad Stevens is tasking Marcus Smart with the defense of Durant, as Jae Crowder is unavailable due to a high ankle sprain. Smart isn't a slouch on that end of the court, but Paul George torched him for 46.4 FDP on Tuesday, which may cause the second-year pro to puff on fumes as he settles into the back end of the double feature. Consequently, look for Durant to one-up the fellow All-Star.
Anthony Davis, PF, NOP at SAC ($10,100) – Circling back to the optimal lineup above, Davis' name pops off the page as the No. 1 projected player Wednesday. A matchup with the Kings awaits to prime the engine of the first pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, who put up 44.5 and 47.5 FDP in two previous showings this season. Another high-scoring affair is expected, as evidenced by an over/under of 222, while the Kings boast a below-average defensive-rebounding percentage (75.7). With those facts in the back pocket, a double-double is easily attainable, but even if he fails to achieve his eighth such performance in a row, Sacramento's frontcourt has conceded the most FDP per game (48.5) to power forwards, furthering his cause as he arrives in the California capitol.
Andre Drummond, C, DET vs ATL ($7,900) – Speaking of double-doubles, the king of the statistic has hit a lull over the past three games, two of which got out of hand early and contained Drummond to 15.8 FDP last Friday in Charlotte and 23.4 FDP on Monday at Washington. Prior to that stretch, he tallied at least 40 FDP in five of six contests, producing at a ridiculous clip of 1.32 FDP per minute. He'll be looking to return to form versus the Hawks, who have allowed the fifth-most FDP per game (48.5) to centers in 2015-16. Considering his price has dipped below the $8,000 threshold, the potential return on the investment makes the decision to count on Drummond an easy one.
