SB Nation has partnered with FanDuel.com to offer our readers a chance to compete in one-day fantasy basketball leagues with thousands of other fans across the country. There are tons of leagues to play in every night, and many offer the chance to win immediate cash payouts. If you want to create a FanDuel account, try your hand at a couple of daily games, and share your experiences, great! This and future posts will be the place to do it. If you just want to talk fantasy basketball with a Bucks-slanted theme, that's good too.
Disclaimer: Even though this is a sponsored post with affiliate links, all of the opinions contained in this post are my own and are based purely on my own hunches, guesses, and occasional ouija board consultations. And as an FYI, FanDuel gave me some cash to play its daily fantasy games.
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Early Bucks trends for daily fantasy players
One of the nice things about daily fantasy early in the season is that player salaries tend to lag. Young players poised to break out are often undervalued until a firm track record of production is established. This means solid players moving into larger roles will often put up numbers far outsizing their hit to your salary cap. The same goes for up-and-comers in the early stage of a "breakout."
Sound like any folks you know? While I haven't hit it big in any daily games yet this year (I'm just warming up!), I've rarely regretted snagging Greg Monroe or Giannis Antetokounmpo for my team. Monroe's salary isn't paltry by any means, but he's been about as consistent as it gets so far. He's scored in double figures in every game this year and is averaging almost 10 rebounds per game, plus he's been consistently getting you points in the assist and steal categories, two valuable counters in daily fantasy. Much of the same goes for Giannis, though the Greek Freak is still liable for a few extra turnovers a night. Shooting guard, where Giannis is listed on FanDuel, can be kind of a graveyard in fantasy basketball, so getting a guy who can contribute in every box score category for a solid value is excellent.