5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 3/1/19
Cheick Diallo, PF, New Orleans Pelicans
FanDuel Price: $4,300
Projected FanDuel Points: 9.6
Projected FanDuel Value: 2.24
I've saved the riskiest pick for last. New Orleans Pelicans big Cheick Diallo can be absolutely stellar on the hardwood. Of course, that requires that he actually gets decent playing time, which is still tough to come by given that the league is forcing the Pelicans to play Anthony Davis.
Even so, Davis' minutes have been limited to about 20, which means Cheick will still see some run. In the past two games with Davis playing, he saw the court for 17 and 14 minutes, respectively. While that's clearly not a lot, for a player like Cheick who can rack up the boards quickly and add a smattering of blocks and steals, that can be enough.
He scored 22.0 FanDuel points against the Philadelphia 76ers in 17 minutes on Monday, and he should be in good position tonight to do something similar against a Phoenix Suns team that is giving up the most and fourth-most FanDuel points per game to opposing centers and power forwards, respectively, over their past seven games. For what it's worth, he scored 22.5 FanDuel points against them in 18 minutes when the teams played back in February.
Now, we only project him for 9.6 FanDuel points at the moment. You are certainly taking on major risk by using him, but you could also get lucky, especially if the Pelicans decide to rest Davis, which -- though unlikely after a day off -- could happen. If that does somehow happen, this risky pick could turn into the top value play of the night.
Ian Goldsmith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ian Goldsmith also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username zoidbergs_revenge. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
