NBA

5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 11/4/19

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Nov 4th, 2019
Gorgui Dieng will start at center tonight and should be one of the top values on the slate. Which other cheaper options should you look at tonight?

One of the keys to finding success in daily fantasy basketball is uncovering potential value plays. If you're looking to roster a stud player or two, you need to consider squeezing in one of these lower-priced options into your lineup.

Let's take a look at five players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup

Austin Rivers, PG, Houston Rockets ($3,500)

With Russell Westbrook out for tonight's game, there is an opening for minutes at point guard.

We don't have the confirmed starting lineup for the Houston Rockets as of now, but we could be seeing Austin Rivers getting the start or plenty of extra minutes off the bench. He hasn't played more than 24 minutes in any game this season, but that could be changing tonight. There is an assumption that James Harden could start at point guard with Eric Gordon at shooting guard, but that also isn't confirmed as of now.

This game has an over/under sitting at 231.5 points -- which is the second-highest on the slate -- giving this game plenty of fantasy value. When Westbrook is off the court this season, Rivers is producing a very modest 0.46 FanDuel points per minute, but it comes from only 49 minutes of court time. That isn't the best level of production, but with the Washington Wizards allowing 51.5 FanDuel points per game to point guards, Rivers has a chance to set season-highs in points and production.

Gorgui Dieng, C, Minnesota Timberwolves ($4,000)

Karl-Anthony Towns is still suspended, which means Gorgui Dieng will be getting the start again tonight.

Dieng got the start two days ago with Towns suspended, and it took him no time to make a presence on the court. He played 23 minutes against the Washington Wizards, posting 42.1 FanDuel points in the process, a level of production we could be seeing from him tonight.

He is facing off against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are allowing 51.7 FanDuel points per game to centers this season -- the 12th-most in the league. On a slate where you should be looking to lock in James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo into your lineups, Dieng offers solid salary relief along with a great matchup to attack.

Dieng is posting a 23.4% usage rate and 1.52 FanDuel points per minute with Towns off the court this season. Towns is set to return on Wednesday from his suspension.

Jordan Poole, SG, Golden State Warriors ($3,900)

With a seemingly endless list of injuries for the Golden State Warriors, there are plenty of cheaper options in the starting lineup.

As of now, D'Angelo Russell is listed as questionable for this game -- and if he does miss -- it will leave Jordan Poole to start as he did against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. In that game, Poole played 30 minutes but only posted 7.7 FanDuel points, which is terrible. But that is essentially an outlier, and we want to look towards the 30 minutes he played as a better indicator of his role on the team.

If Poole is in the starting lineup tonight, you should be willing to go back to him since we have a solid over/under of 221.5 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, who are allowing 41.9 FanDuel points per game to shooting guards this season.

Between Dieng and Poole, you are spending under $8K on two players who should be in the starting lineups and seeing roughly 55 combined minutes.

Troy Brown, SF, Washington Wizards ($3,700)

With his minutes on the rise, Troy Brown is an intriguing value option tonight.

Brown missed the first three games of the season due to a calf injury but has since played 16 then 21 minutes in his next two. Brown is a 2018 top-15 pick by the Washington Wizards, which would make you assume they are trying to get him fully involved in the offense compared to being a bench player. This is based on reports found around the fantasy basketball industry that implies he should be a starter at some point this season.

What does this all mean? We have a player on the way back from an injury, seeing increased minutes, and who should be in the starting lineup at some point.

If there is any time to jump on board, it's now. His salary is still under $4K, and he's produced over one fantasy point per minute in each of his two games this season and is now up against the Detroit Pistons, who are allowing nearly 40 FanDuel points per game to small forwards.

Skal Labissiere, PF, Portland Trail Blazers ($3,900)

More early season injuries means more value options to consider.

The Portland Trail Blazers have lost power forward Zach Collins to shoulder surgery, which means there is available playing time at that position. The minutes have been split between Anthony Tolliver and Skal Labissiere, with the latter being the one we want to focus on tonight. Over the last three games, Tolliver has played 80 minutes compared to Labissiere's 55, but Labissiere has posted 63.9 FanDuel points to Tolliver's 57.9.

This is no doubt a small sample size, but it's tough to pass on Labissiere, who is being more productive in less court time, when they are only $100 dollars apart in price. With the Golden State Warriors allowing over 43 FanDuel points per game to power forwards, the efficient Labissiere is the player to target tonight.