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NBA DFS is back on DraftKings! With the season suspended due to coronavirus outbreak, we’ve had absolutely no basketball for almost two weeks now. DraftKings is rescuing us from this eternal damnation with Simulated Basketball contests. Here are the rules, so be sure to go over them before making a lineup. I’ll pull the part about how scoring works, since that’s most important:
All lineups will receive points for the performance of their players in a specific game from the 2019/20 season. Each individual player will be randomly assigned stats from a single game in the 2019-20 season prior to the contest going live. Points will be revealed per player as the game moves along. Players will receive points in accordance with our single-game NBA Showdown Captain Mode rules and scoring.
Okay, so let’s try to break down this Simulated Basketball Showdown contest on DraftKings between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.
Captain’s Picks
From first glance, Anthony Davis really stands out at $16,800. He’s significantly cheaper than both LeBron James ($19,800) and Giannis Antetokounmpo ($20,400). There’s so much we don’t know about how this simulation will really affect pricing for players. You could get a floor game or ceiling game from AD. You could also get a dud. I guess a strategy to consider is how often a player hits their basement in scoring. Players who are the most consistent should shine in the simulated format. We also need to consider ceiling games relative to price, which AD offers the best of I think.
FLEX Options
When we look at pricing here, things seem pretty normal. There aren’t many standout options since it’s the Lakers and Bucks. These two teams have most of their usage run through a few players. If I’m looking to stack, I’d go with some combo of LeBron, Giannis and Khris Middleton ($9,200). The interesting thing about Middleton is he has some pretty nasty ceiling games with Giannis out this season. If you somehow hit one of those, you’re golden for value. Avery Bradley ($4,000) or Kyle Kuzma ($5,800) seem favorable as well. Kuzma especially, he’s had some solid performances and we’re looking at a random box score from this season.