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.
Patty Mills, PG, San Antonio Spurs ($3,600)
With an over/under sitting at 237 points, we want to be looking heavily at this game for fantasy options.
So far this season, the San Antonio Spurs have kept Dejounte Murray on a minutes restriction of 25 per game since he missed all of last season with a knee injury. We also know that the Spurs have ruled Derrick White out for this game, which means Patrick Mills should be locked into the backup point guard role. Mills already plays around 20 minutes per game, but has been very inconsistent as of late. He has shown a floor of 8 FanDuel points, with a ceiling of 38 points, all in no more than 26 minutes in any game this season. That level of variance is not something you want anywhere near a cash game lineup, but for GPPs, that upside is something you want to embrace.
Speaking of upside, that is something we could be seeing tonight since the over/under is super-high, the Spurs are playing up in pace against the Washington Wizards. This is all on top of the fact the Wizards are allowing 48.9 FanDuel points per game to point guards this season -- the ninth-worst in the league.
Dwight Powell, C, Dallas Mavericks ($5,000)
With a 218 over/under, the Dallas Mavericks versus Golden State Warriors game could go overlooked tonight.
There are five games which have higher over/unders compared to this game -- combined with the fact the Warriors aren't good this season -- which means we could looking at a one-sided game. The spread is -14 points in favor of the Mavericks, a sign that usually indicates a blowout and limited fantasy production. But, with that said, Dwight Powell has a fantastic matchup tonight, and you should be willing to attack it in GPPs. The Warriors are allowing 59.2 FanDuel points per game to centers this season -- the fourth-worst in the league.
Powell has been very unproductive as of late but is still playing in the mid-20's for minutes every game, something that is worth nothing in a matchup like this. A weak defensive matchup, a bit of inconsistency recently could have some DFS players looking away from Powell, making him a good GPP option, who has a soft defensive matchup.
Ante Zizic, C, Cleveland Cavaliers ($3,500)
With Tristan Thompson ruled out tonight due to rest, Ante Zizic should be getting the start at center.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the road to take on the Miami Heat, which has a modest over/under of 212 -- the second-lowest on the slate. Overall, it's not the ideal spot for fantasy production up and down the court, but Zizic is the absolute minimum salary tonight and only needs 17.5 FanDuel points in order to reach 5x value. Our projections have Zizic exceeding that, going for 20.2 FanDuel points in almost 25 minutes of playing time.
This is also a pace-up spot for the Cavaliers, as they are ranked 27th in the league, while the Heat are ranked 13th. All of this leads to Zizic being our fourth-best value option on the slate, regardless of position.
Gary Harris, SG, Denver Nuggets ($5,200)
The Houston Rockets at Denver Nuggets game is a clear target for DFS production tonight, so let's take a look.
Whenever there are two solid offensive teams going head-to-head, we expect a great environment for fantasy scoring -- which is what we have here. Paying up for the studs in a spot like this is always a good choice, but I also look to get some of the cheaper options since there will be plenty of scoring and an opportunity to capture that production. One player who fits the mold tonight is Gary Harris, who is coming off a truly bad game, where he only scored 12.7 FanDuel points. Prior to that outing, he posted 25 FanDuel points or more in four of his last six games.
Harris and the Nuggets are playing up in pace against the Rockets tonight, and that is always something to keep an eye on since the Nuggets are in a spot for extra offensive possessions. With the Rockets allowing 45.9 FanDuel points per game to shooting guards -- the third-worst in the league -- Harris should be in a spot to get to the level of production he is normally at.
Joe Harris, SF, Brooklyn Nets ($4,800)
With Kyrie Irving out for the Brooklyn Nets, the offensive production needs to be spread around.
This will be the third-straight game Kyrie Irving is out, and with that, the Nets will lean on their other starters to pick up the slack. In the first two games Irving missed, Joe Harris has taken 23 field goal attempts -- the third-most on the team in that span. This goes along with the fact Harris sees a 2.9% increase in usage with Kyrie off the court this season. Harris is a former three-point champion, giving him massive pure-scoring upside at under $5K tonight.
He is up against the Charlotte Hornets, who are allowing 42.5 FanDuel points per game to small forwards -- the sixth-worst in the league. With the extra shot volume going towards Harris in recent games, he brings upside at a very modest price tag.