Week 3 NFL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets | NFL Picks Against the Spread | NFL Props | Survivor
Chris Meaney
The NBA is here, and that means we have tons of new stats, tools, and information to dive into for DFS. This article will present you with five actionable stats in order to help you with the night’s NBA slate of games.
We only have a small two-game slate Thursday, but we have some of the best teams in the NBA on the hardwood, so let’s get to the five stats.
1. The Washington Wizards rank 22nd in defensive efficiency
This poor defensive play has come despite them playing the third-slowest pace in the NBA. This is important because no team plays slower than Dallas, so they should be able to maintain strong efficiency despite the slow pace.
2. The Hawks are sixth in pace so far this year
This means a pace-up spot for the 76ers, who are 29th in pace. I expect this will benefit someone like Tyrese Maxey, who also projects for a ton of volume and minutes with no James Harden.
3. Tyrese Maxey has a 32% usage rate with James Harden off the floor this season.
Still not the largest sample, but that is impressive numbers that Maxey has turned into a very strong 1.22 FPPM.
4. Joel Embiid is averaging 0.31 FPPM less than he did last year.
This is a strange dip, and potentially one that will be chalked up due to small sample, but we have definitely seen the lack of major per minute ceiling over the course of this young season. I do expect improvement, and in a pace-up spot with no James Harden, this could be the time.
5. Jonas Valanciunas is averaging 1.31 FPPM this year
Those are some really strong numbers for JoVal, the problem has been the minutes. However, with Larry Nance questionable, we may see an uptick in minutes for the efficient center at an affordable price.
