Check out our individual analysis on all of these
NBA All-Star Break is here! The first half of the season is in the books. What better time than to review the first half of the season and the Fantasy Studs that have been dominating in your daily fantasy contests.
There’s a common thought among most amateur daily fantasy basketball players and any daily fantasy sports players for that matter. The thought is that there are some players that are simply uncoverable and that they are going to produce great value every single night. Well while there is some truth to this, there is a lot of evidence that disproves this thought. Stats tell a story and I have uncovered the facts of that story.
For the purpose of the research for this article and to keep things symmetrical, I have taken the top 5 daily fantasy basketball players for the first half of the 2014-2015 NBA season and I have compared their season averages to the top 5 defenses for each players respective position. Coincidentally enough, the top 5 players fill one spot for each NBA position. Imagine an NBA team having these players as their starting 5! Anyway, the top 5 players that I have evaluated include, Russell Westbrook(PG), James Harden(SG),LeBron James(SF), Anthony Davis(PF) and DeMarcus Cousins(C).
While each of these players have outperformed their opponents defensive averages, the most important factor for these players in daily fantasy basketball that were looking at is their value that they produce for their owners. The clear cut leader of the bunch and the winner of the award for Fantasy Stud for the first half of the NBA season is none other than… LEBRON JAMES! Surprised?! Me neither. From the results of this research it is clear that not only is LeBron the best player in the NBA, but when he is faced with stiff competition, he even outperforms himself. LeBron has outperformed his value against his toughest competition by an average of 17.98 daily fantasy points. That is an extremely impressive number against the top 5 defenses in the NBA.
Russell Westbrook deserves an honorable mention for the award of Fantasy Stud of the first half of the NBA season. He has outperformed his top competition by an average of 8.75 fantasy points better than his season average. DeMarcus Cousins was a finalist but couldn’t be considered for the winner of this award because he has been hurt for a decent part of the first half of the season and has missed a bunch of those games against the top defenses. There wasn’t enough data to get an accurate reading of how he performs against the top competition in the NBA. That doesn’t mean that he still isn’t an absolute animal for fantasy owners. He should be in your daily fantasy basketball lineups more often than not.
Here is what I came up with for all of the top 5 players. Take a look for yourself of how they have performed against the top defenses of the league. Surprisingly enough, despite how insane Harden has been playing over the last couple of weeks, he has struggled against the better defenses. Believe me, I have been on the wrong end of those games and the rest of my daily fantasy basketball lineup suffered, ultimately losing me the tournament I was entered in.
Russell Westbrook (PG)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 47.1 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.1
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 46.19 points (-0.91)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses – +4.23 (+0.13)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) - 37.44 points (+8.75)
James Harden (SG)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 45.6 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.20
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 36.72 points (-8.88)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses – +3.40 (-0.80)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) – 32.14 points (+4.58)
LeBron James (SF)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 44.20 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.00
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 49.18 points (+4.98)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses – +4.64 (+0.64)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) – 31.60 points (+17.58)
Anthony Davis (PF)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 47.10 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.10
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 42.99 points (-4.11)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses - +3.77 (-0.33)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) – 36.02 points (+6.97)
[h=4]King James, players values are affected by tougher competition, even if it is just by a little bit. After all this is a numbers game! When making your daily fantasy basketball lineups it would be wise to respect the top defenses of the league. You should only pay for these high priced players against mid to low level competition. Spending such a huge percentage of your salary cap against a top defense just because the player dropped 50-60 fantasy points on a weak defense the night before can hurt the overall value of your daily fantasy basketball lineup. Of course, if you have the extra cash waiting to be spent you wouldn’t be crazy to invest it in these guys, just don’t base your team around a top player just because of his name.[/FONT][/COLOR]
NBA All-Star Break is here! The first half of the season is in the books. What better time than to review the first half of the season and the Fantasy Studs that have been dominating in your daily fantasy contests.
There’s a common thought among most amateur daily fantasy basketball players and any daily fantasy sports players for that matter. The thought is that there are some players that are simply uncoverable and that they are going to produce great value every single night. Well while there is some truth to this, there is a lot of evidence that disproves this thought. Stats tell a story and I have uncovered the facts of that story.
For the purpose of the research for this article and to keep things symmetrical, I have taken the top 5 daily fantasy basketball players for the first half of the 2014-2015 NBA season and I have compared their season averages to the top 5 defenses for each players respective position. Coincidentally enough, the top 5 players fill one spot for each NBA position. Imagine an NBA team having these players as their starting 5! Anyway, the top 5 players that I have evaluated include, Russell Westbrook(PG), James Harden(SG),LeBron James(SF), Anthony Davis(PF) and DeMarcus Cousins(C).
While each of these players have outperformed their opponents defensive averages, the most important factor for these players in daily fantasy basketball that were looking at is their value that they produce for their owners. The clear cut leader of the bunch and the winner of the award for Fantasy Stud for the first half of the NBA season is none other than… LEBRON JAMES! Surprised?! Me neither. From the results of this research it is clear that not only is LeBron the best player in the NBA, but when he is faced with stiff competition, he even outperforms himself. LeBron has outperformed his value against his toughest competition by an average of 17.98 daily fantasy points. That is an extremely impressive number against the top 5 defenses in the NBA.
Russell Westbrook deserves an honorable mention for the award of Fantasy Stud of the first half of the NBA season. He has outperformed his top competition by an average of 8.75 fantasy points better than his season average. DeMarcus Cousins was a finalist but couldn’t be considered for the winner of this award because he has been hurt for a decent part of the first half of the season and has missed a bunch of those games against the top defenses. There wasn’t enough data to get an accurate reading of how he performs against the top competition in the NBA. That doesn’t mean that he still isn’t an absolute animal for fantasy owners. He should be in your daily fantasy basketball lineups more often than not.
Here is what I came up with for all of the top 5 players. Take a look for yourself of how they have performed against the top defenses of the league. Surprisingly enough, despite how insane Harden has been playing over the last couple of weeks, he has struggled against the better defenses. Believe me, I have been on the wrong end of those games and the rest of my daily fantasy basketball lineup suffered, ultimately losing me the tournament I was entered in.
Russell Westbrook (PG)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 47.1 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.1
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 46.19 points (-0.91)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses – +4.23 (+0.13)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) - 37.44 points (+8.75)
James Harden (SG)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 45.6 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.20
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 36.72 points (-8.88)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses – +3.40 (-0.80)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) – 32.14 points (+4.58)
LeBron James (SF)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 44.20 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.00
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 49.18 points (+4.98)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses – +4.64 (+0.64)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) – 31.60 points (+17.58)
Anthony Davis (PF)
Fanduel Points (Season Avg) – 47.10 points
Fanduel Value (Season Avg) – +4.10
Average Fanduel Points vs Top Defenses – 42.99 points (-4.11)
Average Fanduel Value vs Top Defenses - +3.77 (-0.33)
Opponent Avg Points Allowed (Season Avg) – 36.02 points (+6.97)
[h=4]King James, players values are affected by tougher competition, even if it is just by a little bit. After all this is a numbers game! When making your daily fantasy basketball lineups it would be wise to respect the top defenses of the league. You should only pay for these high priced players against mid to low level competition. Spending such a huge percentage of your salary cap against a top defense just because the player dropped 50-60 fantasy points on a weak defense the night before can hurt the overall value of your daily fantasy basketball lineup. Of course, if you have the extra cash waiting to be spent you wouldn’t be crazy to invest it in these guys, just don’t base your team around a top player just because of his name.[/FONT][/COLOR]
