NBA DFS Picks: Value & Stud for 9/24

NBA playoff action is underway, and there is NBA DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel. Greg Ehrenberg looks at some NBA DFS Picks to build around for the Thursday, Sept. 24 slate.

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NBA DFS Picks: Value + Stud for Sept. 24

NBA DFS Value Pick: Dwight Howard

DraftKings $3,600, FanDuel $8,000

The Lakers got destroyed on the glass in Game 3. Out-rebounded by a margin of 44-25, I expect the Lakers to make some adjustments. As is, JaVale McGee is starting in this series over Markieff Morris to match up against the size of the Nuggets. Los Angeles isn’t playing the same small lineups it played against the Rockets. This also means more minutes for Howard. I have a hunch that Howard could end up starting over McGee tonight. He is the more effective player for the Lakers, but even if Howard comes off the bench, he should play more minutes than McGee as he has all season, and Howard is the better per-minute fantasy producer. The easiest way to close the rebounding gap is to get Howard more playing time.

NBA DFS Stud Pick: LeBron James

DraftKings $12,800, FanDuel $16,500

The first thing that stands out about the ownership projections we have at Awesemo is that everybody is gravitating towards the stars from the Nuggets. Initial ownership projections have Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray as the two most popular plays on the slate by a wide margin. James and Anthony Davis have less than half of the projected ownership at Captain than Jokic and Murray. For leverage, the Lakers’ stars look like much stronger plays.

Not only is ownership a factor, LeBron is a much better fantasy producer than Jokic or Murray for the season. This feels like some recency bias since the Nuggets won Game 3. For the year, James averages 54.98 DraftKings points. Compared to an average of 47.37 DraftKings point for Jokic and 36.28 for Murray, LeBron comes out on top, and I project him as the top overall fantasy producer in this game. Even though Denver won last game, and Murray’s shot making down the stretch garnered a ton of attention, LeBron still put up a triple-double and scored 69 DraftKings points.

NBA DFS Contrarian Pick: Rajon Rondo

DraftKings $7,400, FanDuel $10,000

With most lineups shaping up in stars-and scrubs-construction by the field, Rondo will go overlooked. As of now, he’s projected for the least amount of ownership of any core rotation player in this contest. I can see why this is the case. Most lineups will jam in either two or three of the star caliber players in this contest. Projection-wise, this makes sense. However, Rondo is still a high-upside player, and it makes sense to roster him if the field isn’t. He is consistently playing well in the playoffs and has the chance to score over 40 fantasy points. By rostering Rondo, not only do you get a player the field isn’t on, it changes the entire dynamics of roster construction and differentiates the lineup from everybody else. Rondo is in a very unique pricing tier.

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Author

Greg Ehrenberg

Greg is a former stand up comedian who quit telling jokes to pursue a career in the world of DFS. He started playing fantasy sports in 6th grade when Greg and his friends would skip classes to meet in the bathroom for 20 team fantasy basketball drafts. Considering his current career path, it was the best education he could have asked for.