The NBA season is in full swing, and DraftKings has released a new Snake Draft fantasy format! Below, we break down strategy for Tuesday’s DraftKings NBA Snake slate.
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Favorable Early Round Targets
Domantas Sabonis, F/C, Indiana Pacers
NBA Snake Rank: 10th
Sabonis is one of the most undervalued fantasy assets in the league. He’s capable of filling up the stat sheet – he’s averaging 20.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game this season – resulting in an average of 46.7 DKFP per game. He’s coming off two-straight subpar games, so this is a nice opportunity to buy low on him.
Sabonis is barely coming off the board in the first round of 12-team leagues, but he’s someone who has the potential to be the highest-scoring player on the slate. I like his prospects tonight more than most of the players who are ranked ahead of him.
Nikola Vucevic, F/C, Orlando Magic
NBA Snake Rank: 12th
Vucevic has been a reliable producer all season, but he’s in a potential smash spot tonight. He’s taking on the Raptors, who have played at a top-10 pace this season, and the Magic are also dealing with a couple of key injuries. They’re essentially down their top three PG options, with Markelle Fultz, Michael Carter-Williams, and Aaron Gordon all out of the lineup.
Vucevic has been one of the biggest beneficiaries with all three players off the court this season. He’s increased his usage rate by a team-high 4.6 percentage points, and he’s also increased his assist rate by 5.4 percentage points. That gives him the potential to improve upon his average of 1.40 DKFP per minute this season.
He’s one of my favorite players on today’s slate, so being able to grab him outside of the top 10 in most drafts is pure larceny.
Early Round Player to Avoid
James Harden, G, Brooklyn Nets
NBA Snake Rank: 1st
Harden ranks first on the slate in both rank and ADP, and he’s also the most expensive player on the classic format. That said, I don’t think he necessarily deserves that designation.
Harden – and the Nets’ offense in general – has been red hot recently, but Harden’s usage rate is still down with his new team. He’s scored 61.5 DKFP or more in each of his past two games, but he was at 43.75 DKFP or less in each of his previous three.
The Nets' current matchup vs. the Clippers is also less than ideal. They rank eighth in defensive efficiency and 29th in pace this season, which is a dreadful combination for DFS purposes. Harden still deserves to be selected early, but I’d feel much more comfortable with him as the No. 5 pick than the No. 1 pick.
Also, make sure to remove CJ McCollum (rank 13) and Caris LeVert (rank 22) from your draft boards since neither player will be in the lineup.
Late Round Flyers
It should be noted that these players are ranked below the threshold of players that would be drafted. This section simply tries to exploit players who are in favorable matchups and are down the rank list.
Terrence Ross, G, Orlando Magic
NBA Snake Rank: 53rd
Ross is not being drafted in most formats, and his 50.3 ADP in 12-team leagues makes him a fifth-rounder. That’s a mistake. Ross always has the ability to fill it up as a scorer, and he should see a few additional minutes with Gordon out of the lineup.
Daniel Theis, F/C, Boston Celtics
NBA Snake Rank: 62nd
Theis has been playing some of his best basketball of the season recently. He’s emerged as the preferred target at center for the Celtics and has been seeing much more minutes than Tristan Thompson. He logged nearly 35 minutes vs. the Lakers on Sunday and responded with 27.9 DKFP. Overall, he’s scored at least 27.9 DKFP in four of his past six games, and he’s scored at least 37.5 DKFP in three of them.
Theis is in a fantastic spot Tuesday vs. the Warriors. They’ve struggled on the defensive end this season, and they also rank just 28th in team rebound rate. That’s made them one of the best matchups in fantasy for big men.
Eric Paschall, F/C, Golden State Warriors
NBA Snake Rank: 106th
Paschall is not on the draft radar in any snake format, and he probably doesn’t need to be in smaller leagues. That said, he does make some sense with your final pick in 12-team formats.
Paschall has carved out a decent role for the Warriors recently as a small-ball center. He has the potential to play more minutes tonight given the Warriors' current injury situation. James Wiseman has already been ruled out, and there’s also a small chance that Draymond Green is unable to suit up. Paschall has averaged 0.98 DKFP per minute over the past month, so he’s capable of taking advantage of a few additional minutes.
Kevon Looney (rank 113) also makes some sense for the Warriors for the same reason, but I think Paschall carries more upside.
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