Slate Overview
The Group Phase of the Men's Olympic Basketball competition has been completed, and we now have an eight-team, single-elimination tournament to determine who gets the gold.
DraftKings continues running contests, and the pricing is tough, as many mid-tier options have very low floors. As a result, we are forced to hope for efficient scoring or go with a stars-and-scrubs approach.
I remain hesitant to roster American players given how spread out their minutes and usage are, but feel free to mix one if he fits.
Good luck, everyone!
Guards to Go After
Players listed in order of confidence
Josh Giddey, Australia ($9,100)
We get a slight price dip here on Giddey even though he put up at least 31.75 DraftKings points in all three of Australia's games in the Group Phase -- and that was with a rough start his last time out. I expect him to see minutes in the low 30s if he avoids fouls, and he gives you a bit of savings from the next guy on the list.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada ($9,700)
We have to discuss defense vs. position here, as France has been getting lit up by opposing guards thus far. They will now face their toughest test yet in Gilgeous-Alexander. He's a premier option among the pricier plays, but if you go with him and Nikola Jokic you will be limiting yourself when it comes to diversifying your roster construction.
Dyson Daniels, Australia ($7,200)
Patty Mills, Australia ($7,900)
These guys get it done in different ways, with Daniels doing work in the peripheral categories and Mills focusing mainly on the points category. That gives Daniels a solid floor and Mills a much higher ceiling. I think there will be some builds that include Jokic and one of these two along with a host of other balanced options.
Valuable Values
Marcelo Huertas, Brazil ($6,300)
Raul Neto, Brazil ($5,200)
The biggest surprise on the last slate was Neto's return from injury. He played 21 very productive minutes, and with Brazil now in win-or-go-home mode I think they will lean on their two veteran guards. Huertas will start, and his playing time will be the most secure among the Brazilian backcourt players.
Marko Guduric, Serbia ($4,600)
Serbia's backcourt rotation has been pretty frustrating, so I'll go with Guduric, who is the cheapest of the bunch and has been closing games that are at least reasonably competitive.
Yago Dos Santos, Brazil ($4,200)
Neto's return is definitely not ideal for Dos Santos, but if his team needs a spark or if Neto or Huertas -- who has been playing through a foot injury -- sustains any sort of setback he could surprise. Dos Santos brings a high ceiling to the table when the minutes are there.
Isaia Cordinier, France ($3,000)
Andrew Albicy, France ($3,000)
It has not been fun picking French guards, but Cordinier came through last time out and both he and Albicy remain at the minimum rate. Both should continue getting at least 10 minutes, and we really only need them to return 3x value to make it worth it.
Frontcourt in Focus
Players listed in order of confidence
Preferred Plays
Nikola Jokic, Serbia ($11,400)
It's really tough to not take your 40.0 DraftKings points and move on -- especially in a win-or-go-home game. You will most likely need to pair Jokic with a French guard, but I'm on board with that plan.
Victor Wembanyama, France ($10,700)
In my opinion he played poorly against Germany and even looked scared. He still managed to put up 38.0 DraftKings points thanks to a late barrage of three-pointers and blocks. A matchup with Canada is much better for him, but you're most likely choosing him over Jokic or punting a lot of spots if you go with both. I'm giving the edge to Jokic and viewing Wembanyama as a GPP leverage play off his chalky counterpart.
Bruno Caboclo, Brazil ($7,500)
I really think he can avoid the fouls here, and we have to talk about the outcome if he does so and plays 30 minutes. In that scenario I think he would easily reach 30.0 DraftKings points -- even in a tough matchup. These slates have been pretty low-scoring, and I would gladly take that at this price.
RJ Barrett, Canada ($8,900)
This is the first time I've mentioned Barrett since play began, but I think he's a fine contrarian play on Tuesday's slate at a position that has been volatile.
Jock Landale, Australia ($8,600)
Landale has been good to us, but he faces a very tough test Tuesday. Like Caboclo, though, if he can avoid the fouls I think he can still get you 30.0-to-40.0 DraftKings points fairly easily.
Valuable Values
Leonardo Meindl, Brazil ($5,800)
There's not a lot to like in this range, so we will go with Meindl, who has very solid usage and isn't afraid to get up shots.
Guerschon Yabusele, France ($4,900)
Mathias Lessort, France ($3,800)
Both players bring energy off the French bench, and while Yabusele has a better floor/ceiling combination you're paying the price. Lessort has really impressed me and even started over Rudy Gobert in the second half of the last game.
Will Magnay, Australia ($3,000)
He checks in at the minimum, and if Landale gets into foul trouble and Magnay gets 15 minutes, he could return 3x value and give you the flexibility to fit in the pricier players.
