FanDuel NBA Daily Picks: Fantasy Basketball Lineup For November 9
Attempting to stop San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard is proving to be just as difficult of a task as scoring against him and his complete play has made him an elite FanDuel NBA option.
Kawhi Leonard may be on the outside of the top 60 players in terms of minutes played per game, but each second he is on the court, there is no time to relax.
The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons has truly become a shutdown defender, especially on the perimeter.
Opponents are converting 8.5 percent below their season average from 3-point range when being defended by Leonard this season.
Driving to the basket hasn’t proven to be a better option, as Leonard is limiting players he is guarding to 29.4 percent shooting at the rim.
Also See: Top 10 Candidates For 2016-17 Defensive Player Of The Year
Passing away from Leonard isn’t the best play either, as his 7-foot-3 wingspan clogs seemingly open avenues. Leonard is stealing the ball away 2.4 times per game, the third highest rate in the NBA.
Each night, San Antonio has Leonard shadow the most potent offensive player on the other team, part of the reason it is allowing just 97.1 points per game at night.
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Only when the Spurs have the ball, the offense is flowing through Leonard, as well.
The 6-foot-7 forward has managed to increase his scoring by more than five points per game, even with his 3-point percentage decreasing by 11 percent from a breakout campaign a year ago.
The difference for Leonard has been his ability to both get to the free throw line and capitalize on the drastically increased opportunities.
For the year, Leonard is averaging 9.0 free throw attempts per game, three times the amount he has averaged during the first five years of his career.
Leonard has converted 83.7 percent of his attempts at the foul line during his tenure with the Spurs, but has made 61-of-63 free throws this year. The 96.8 percent free throw shooting is the highest among any player to attempt more than 25 foul shots this season.
Along with his effective scoring practices, Leonard has become a facilitator for San Antonio, leading the team in total assists through the first seven games of the year.
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By any metric, Leonard is producing at an elite level. In FanDuel NBA play, he is averaging 42.1 fantasy points per game, enough to warrant a place in any lineup.
Among his peers, Leonard ranks first in PER at 35.0. No player has ever finished an entire season with a PER better than 32.0.
The Spurs are producing 8.3 points more points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the court than on the bench.
Leonard is playing an average of 31.4 minutes per game, enough to join Kevin Durant as the only other player in the league averaging at least 25 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game this year.
The wide array of ways Leonard produces makes him a viable FanDuel NBA roster option on any night.