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-salaried options into your lineup.
Let's take a look at three players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo, SF/PF, Milwaukee Bucks ($4,200)
The Milwaukee Bucks have a number of injuries tonight and that opens up playing time for Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks will be without Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez, which changes their starting lineup in a big way. This should push Thanasis Antetokounmpo into the starting lineup for the third straight game, making him a clear value play to target given his affordable salary. numberFire's projections have him going for 28.75 minutes and 21.7 FanDuel points, making him the fourth-best value option among forwards tonight.
He'll be up against the Detroit Pistons, where the over/under is set at 212.5 points with a close 4.5-point spread. Ideally, we'd like to see the game total a bit higher, but this game should stay close since the Bucks are only 3-4 against the spread this season. That should allow Thanasis Antetokounmpo to play a full set of minutes and rack up plenty of fantasy points.
Mike Conley, PG, Utah Jazz ($5,500)
With a slate-high 222.5-point over/under, the Sacramento Kings at Utah Jazz game is one to target tonight.
This game is unique on tonight's five-game slate since it has the highest over/under by nearly five points, but it also features a 9.5-point spread -- the highest on the slate. That is an interesting dynamic to consider, but we should still look to Mike Conley as a solid option tonight. The Kings come in allowing the fifth-most FanDuel points per game (50.76) to opposing point guards, putting Conley in one of the easiest matchups on the slate.
He is holding a 21.7% offensive usage rate this season while producing 1.05 FanDuel points per minute when inside the Jazz starting lineup. Interestingly enough, that production rate per minute is the second-highest on the Jazz behind only Rudy Gobert. Donovan Mitchell has a higher usage rate (28.9%), but he is only producing 0.82 FanDuel points per minute.
Conley is under-salaried in this spot.
Jalen Brunson, PG/SG, Dallas Mavericks ($4,600)
With Kristaps Porzingis ruled out tonight, Jalen Brunson is in a spot for plenty of production.
Brunson comes in projected for 27.33 minutes and 25.5 FanDuel points, which makes him the fourth-best value option on the entire slate. He shouldn't be in the starting lineup for the Dallas Mavericks, but as the first man off the bench, there will be plenty of minutes for him to reach and exceed fantasy value tonight.
Brunson also plays a good amount of his minutes when Luka Doncic is off the court, and when that is the case, Brunson is holding a 29.9% usage rate while producing 1.08 FanDuel points per minute. The 210-point over/under versus the Miami Heat isn't amazing, but the potential usage for Brunson is great when he is only $4,600 tonight.