NBA Clippers v Pelicans Draftstars DFS Captain Contest Preview and Projections for April 3, 2025
Apr 2, 2025, 7:57AM
Draftstars Australia's NBA Clippers v Pelicans DFS Captain Contest kicks off at 1:40pm AEDT on April 3, 2025, and Fantasy Insider has crunched the numbers for every player in the game to help you build winning line-ups.
An accurate Draftstars cheat sheet is crucial for NBA fantasy players. This DFS preview is designed to help you build your fantasy teams for Draftstars' NBA contests and enhance your season-long fantasy line-ups on Thursday and beyond.
Fantasy Insider, renowned for its world-class DFS tools and projections since 2015, employs the same machine learning models as Stats Insider to come up with some of the most reliable DFS projections available.
With the latest NBA fantasy insights and DFS strategies from Fantasy Insider, you're set to win in more NBA fantasy contests.
Cheat Sheet and Projections
We have reviewed players from each team to help you make the best selections on Thursday's slate.
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Ivica Zubac (LAC) | $16,810 | 51.5 | 3.1 |
| Stud | James Harden (LAC) | $17,940 | 51.2 | 2.9 |
| Value | Ivica Zubac (LAC) | $16,810 | 51.5 | 3.1 |
| Value | Norman Powell (LAC) | $13,020 | 37.3 | 2.9 |
| Fade | Yves Missi (NOP) | $10,500 | 23.1 | 2.2 |
| Cheapie | Keion Brooks (NOP) | $8,220 | 22.1 | 2.7 |
According to Fantasy Insider's DFS model, our "studs" are the highest projected scorer across the slate, while "value" picks offer the most "bang for your buck," meaning they are expected to perform well relative to their salary.
Conversely, a "fade" is a player considered to offer lower value for money, based on their expected score relative to their salary. For budget-conscious strategies, "cheapie" options highlight the best value players at lower price points not already mentioned.
In fantasy sports, understanding value—assessing a player's potential output against their salary—is crucial, as players scoring high relative to their cost are key in crafting the optimal line-up.
The "Pts/$1K" metric shows the predicted points for every $1,000 of a player's salary. A higher number indicates better value, making it easier to spot players who could outperform their cost.
Captain Contest Tips
Thursday's NBA Clippers v Pelicans contest is a Captain Contest, in which you generally pick one captain and five other players. The captain scores 1.5x the usual number of Draftstars points, but they also cost 1.5x their usual salary.
You may want to look at players with a high ceiling, such as Ivica Zubac and James Harden, who can score big points and make the most of that 1.5x multiplier. They may be expensive, but if they go big, you go big too.
Alternatively, if you want to spread your funds around your line-up, you could select player who you think is good value, with our model liking Norman Powell as a potential value option. Choosing a value pick as captain gives you more points per dollar spent, which could help you spend your budget more wisely.
For more help selecting your captain, check out Draftstars' Captain Contest explainer, as well as the Fantasy Insider cruncher on Draftstars, which is free to access when logged into your account.
Conclusion
In DFS, creating an optimal line-up requires understanding key concepts and metrics. As highlighted above, there is extra thought that goes into a captain contest, with either a stud or value pick the best option, depending on how you want to fill out the rest of your NBA Clippers v Pelicans lineup today.
Ready to go? Draftstars' NBA Clippers v Pelicans slate closes at 1:40pm AEDT on Thursday. ENTER NOW!
As with all NBA DFS contests, whether you start with our studs or build around our value picks, leveraging Fantasy Insider's data-driven NBA fantasy news and strategies, combined with your own research, can enhance your chances of winning in the NBA Clippers v Pelicans contest. The unique insights here can help you maximize points while adhering to the salary cap when you make your NBA DFS line-ups.
For the latest projections and optimised NBA Clippers v Pelicans line-ups, check out the Fantasy Insider Cruncher on Draftstars! It's free to use when you're logged in.
Please note that if you use our DFS tips for betting purposes, ensure you gamble responsibly and keep track of your money. For free and confidential support, call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
