Time to celebrate as basketball DFS is back thanks to DraftKings! They’re hosting multiple tournaments for the olympic games, but what is the right strategy to win? Well..Targeting players who play heavy minutes for their national team is crucial in putting together a successful squad. Here are a couple of players you should consider building your lineup around this weekend.
Alex Garcia, Brazil ($3,400)- Small Forward is a tough position to fill as most of the elite players are way over-priced, while the mid-tier players just aren’t that great. This brings me to one of the best value plays at the position and on the slate. Introducing Alex Garcia, who has averaged about 13 points, 5.5 rebounds, and three-to-four assists per game in the last couple of FIBA tournaments he has played in. Now those stats are for his club team and not the international team, but Garcia is likely to play a lot of minutes for Brazil and he only needs to score about 10 points, grab five rebounds, and dish out three assists to produce close to six times his value. It is hard to find quality value plays, so selecting a player like Garcia will free up some salary to pick some more expensive players.
Luis Scola, Argentina ($7,300) – I could have him on this list just for his silky smooth hair alone, but that doesn’t really help us in terms of fantasy production. First off, don’t be scared by his bad NBA numbers because Scola is the face (or is it hair?) of Argentina basketball. During the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship Olympic Qualifying Tournament (a total of 10 games), Scola averaged a remarkable 21.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. In the 2014 FIBA World Cup, he averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in six games. His price tag is a bit high, but he will play huge minutes and be the primary scoring/rebounding option for his team.
Mantas Kalnietis, Lithuania ($5,200) – Probably the best mid-tier selection on the slate as M.K. averaged 10.6 points, three rebounds, and 7.8 assists in nine games in the 2015 Euro Basketball tournament. He is listed as a SG on DK, but is more of a PG for the Lithuanian squad. Those numbers result in roughly 27 fantasy points, which would be more than five times his price tag. He’ll be a fixture on all of my teams this weekend.
It is hard to target USA players because most of them are over-priced and they should blowout China, so it is hard to predict how many minutes each player will get. Demarcus Cousins is probably the safest fantasy player on the team because he can extend defenses with his long range shooting skills and he’ll likely grab double-digit rebounds. However, the PF position is loaded with players who cost less than he does, but could put up similar fantasy numbers (like Ike Diogu and Dario Saric). Fading USA players is the way to go this weekend.
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