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.
Thaddeus Young, PF, Chicago Bulls ($4,200)
The Chicago Bulls have Lauri Markkanen listed as questionable for tonight's game, which could open up some value.
Whenever a starter could miss a game, we get an immediate spot for value, and it's very clear for the Bulls. Thaddeus Young will start at power forward if Markkanen is out, making this an obvious injury situation to monitor. Young only has value if Markkanen is out, and if that is the case, he should be one of the most popular options on the slate. The Bulls are up against the Dallas Mavericks, who are allowing 44.4 FanDuel points per game to power forwards this season -- the 12th most in the league.
Our projections are as if Young is starting tonight, and we have him going for 32 minutes, producing 27.4 FanDuel points -- making him the best overall value option on the slate.
Daniel Theis, PF, Boston Celtics ($4,300)
With a 226-point total, the Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards game is a spot to target for fantasy production.
That 226-point total is the second-highest on the slate, shaping this game into a popular game for a few reasons. First off, the Celtics are going to be without Kemba Walker tonight -- which opens up plenty of offensive usage. Next, we see the Celtics playing up in pace by a large margin -- they are 21st in the league, the Wizards are 7th -- when it comes to offensive possessions per game. Playing up in pace is always a significant boost for fantasy production in NBA DFS, and that is where the Celtics are tonight.
Theis is the starting center for the Celtics, and we have him projected to play his normal 24 minutes, producing 24.5 FanDuel points, which has him exceeding 5x fantasy value. This shouldn't come as a surprise since the Wizards are allowing the third-most -- 56.4 -- FanDuel points per game to centers this season.
Terrence Ross, SG, Orlando Magic ($4,500)
The Orlando Magic have also seen their rotation changed due to injuries.
With Jonathan Isaac out for the Magic, they are lacking a bit of offense, and Terrence Ross could be a player to fill that void. Over the past two games with Isaac out, Ross has taken 13 and 16 field goal attempts -- the most of any two-game stretch this season. Of course, this is an extremely small sample size, but it could a trend moving forward. Ross still comes off the bench but presents a clear value option against the Brooklyn Nets tonight.
This is a HUGE pace-up spot for the Magic -- they are dead last in the league when it comes to pace -- while the Nets are the sixth-fastest team. This is a somewhat "buy-low" spot on Ross, since his role is expanding in terms of shot volume, he is still under $5K, and has a fantastic matchup tonight.
Damion Lee, SG, Golden State Warriors ($5,600)
Damion Lee is set to be the starting shooting guard for the Golden State Warriors tonight with D'Angelo Russell out.
Lee is a bit more expensive than we'd normally consider a value option, but he is projected to play 32 minutes tonight and produce 29.2 FanDuel points tonight. I'll take a player under $6K who is going to be playing 30+ minutes any day of the week, simple as that. This also happens to be an amazing spot for Lee, as he is up against the Los Angeles Kings, who are allowing 43.6 FanDuel points per game to shooting guards this season -- the seventh-most in the league.
We also know that Draymond Green is out for the Warriors, and when we adjust for him and Russell being out, Lee is carrying a 19.9% usage rate, producing 0.86 FanDuel points per minute. The matchup for Lee is great, and with those two starters being out, we should see him take double-digit shot attempts again.
Jordan McRae, SG, Washington Wizards ($5,600)
All Jordan McRae does is shoot the ball....if Bradley Beal is out.
Beal has missed four of the last five games for the Wizards, and in that time off the court, McRae has taken 15, 26, 14, and 16 field goal attempts. He took the most, or second-most field goal attempts in three of those four games on the Wizards, and that could certainly continue tonight. But, that will ONLY continue if Beal is out -- he is currently questionable.
This is a pace-down spot for the Wizards against the Celtics -- which isn't amazing --, but McRae is producing 1.20 FanDuel points per minute when adjusted for the injuries the Wizards have. The volume of shots will be there for him tonight if Beal is out for a fifth game.