NBA

5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 12/23/19

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Dec 23rd, 2019
Chris Boucher's role in the Raptors' offense is only expanding going forward. Is he a top value option on this 11-game slate?

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.

Ish Smith, PG, Washington Wizards ($4,500)

The Washington Wizards have been hit with a ton of injuries and now dealing with a suspension.

It hasn't been an easy season for the Wizards due to a number of injuries, and now they have Isaiah Thomas suspended for two games. A roster with a very thin rotation is going to be changed yet again and that means we should be seeing Ish Smith get the start at point guard tonight. He is projected for 32 minutes against the New York Knicks tonight, and set to produce 28 FanDuel points. This shouldn't come as a surprise since the Knicks are allowing 48.0 FanDuel points per game to point guards this season -- the ninth-most in the league.

Smith and the Wizards are going to be playing down in pace, but we have a very solid over/under sitting at 228 points -- which should open up plenty of fantasy scoring. All of this leads to Smith being our third-best value on the slate, regardless of position.

Chris Boucher, PF, Toronto Raptors ($3,900)

The Toronto Raptors are seemingly on the brink of extinction due to the injuries they have.

A vast amount of injuries have decimated the Raptors' roster, and it leads to several bench players seeing significant minutes. One of those players is Chris Boucher, who is coming off a 46-point performance yesterday versus the Dallas Mavericks. He posted those 46 points in just 24 minutes -- a rate which is unsustainable. Boucher producing nearly 2.0 FanDuel points per minute isn't going to happen on a nightly basis, but the 24 minutes could be. With Serge Ibaka starting at center for the Raptors, we see Boucher coming off the bench and primed for an increasing role.

Tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers isn't amazing from a fantasy perspective -- only 211 total -- but at $3.9K, Boucher only needs 19.5 FanDuel points in order to reach 5x tonight.

Cedi Osman, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers ($3.900)

With Larry Nance Jr. listed as questionable for tonight's game, Cedi Osman should be in the starting lineup.

The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't a good team -- we all know that -- but they are facing the Atlanta Hawks, who are also a weak team. The over/under in this game is set at 229.5 points, presenting us with a great game environment for fantasy production. It also helps that this is a massive pace-up spot for the Cavaliers -- they are 26th in the league, the Hawks are 6th -- allowing extra possessions and chances to create fantasy points.

With the projected starting lineup for the Cavaliers, Osman is producing a modest 0.63 FanDuel points per minute but gets to face this defense who are allowing 47.6 FanDuel points per game to small forwards this season -- dead last in the league.

Gorgui Dieng, C, Minnesota Timberwolves ($4,300)

Value will continue to be front and center in the Minnesota Timberwolves lineup.

With Karl-Anthony Towns listed as questionable yet again, they could be without their best players. KAT has missed three-straight games, and in that time, we have seen Gorgui Dieng get the start each game. A situation like this is the easiest to project for because the situation has no middle ground. If KAT is out again, Dieng starts and is a good value play. If KAT is in, Dieng doesn't have any value. The issue is that this game is the last game on the slate, and we may not have the injury news prior to the slate starting.

In the past three games, Dieng has started, he has produced over one FanDuel point per minute in each game while scoring in double-digit real points in each game.

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

The Portland Trail Blazers have a very fantasy-friendly matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans tonight, let's look at a value player.

Currently, Carmelo Anthony is still questionable for this game, missed Portland's most recent game, and left early the game prior to that with this knee injury. In that time, we have seen Portland rotate in a number of players to fill the minutes, but Skal Labissiere has been the most productive. He has played 23 and 25 minutes, posting 24.7 and 28.6 FanDuel points, respectively. The starting lineup for the Trail Blazers is still up in the air, and we could see Anthony Tolliver get the start at power forward, but Labissiere still makes a good value play coming off the bench.

The Pelicans are allowing 46.4 FanDuel points per game to power forwards this season -- the seventh-most in the league -- giving Lavissiere an easy path to production. Both teams are in the top 12 for fastest-paced teams, allowing plenty of scoring back and forth.