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 one of these lower-salaried options into your lineup.
Let's take a look at some players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup on FanDuel tonight, using numberFire's daily fantasy basketball projections as a guide.
Shake Milton, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
FanDuel Salary: $5,800
The Philadelphia 76ers are very thin for tonight's four-game set, and that's leading to a big value projection for Shake Milton.
With James Harden, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey all out, Milton is projected for 32.7 minutes, 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists along with 1.3 combined steals and blocks.
Milton, without those three on the floor this season, has a 25.9% usage rate and averages 0.96 FanDuel points per minute. Those are bumps of 4.8 points and 0.16 points, respectively, from when he shares the floor with them.
It's hard to get much better than those peripherals at a sub-$6,000 salary.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG/SF, Denver Nuggets
DeAndre Jordan, C, Denver Nuggets
Caldwell-Pope FanDuel Salary: $5,300
Jordan FanDuel Salary: $5,700
The Denver Nuggets are likely going to be without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray (both are doubtful), and Aaron Gordon is questionable. Jeff Green is ruled out. Gordon left after 5.1 minutes last game, which opened up things for each of these guys (and the rest of the healthy Nuggets).
These injuries have piled up to lead to 31.0, 33.6, and 38.1 minutes over the past three games for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and he's projected for 32.4 tonight before ruling Gordon out completely.
As for DeAndre Jordan, he's played 26.0, 20.4, and 33.8 minutes. He's projected for 27.1, assuming Gordon returns to his usual role.
So, even if Gordon plays, these two are top-six point-per-dollar projected players on the slate. If Gordon is ruled out, they move up the board.
Alec Burks, PG/SG, Detroit Pistons
Bojan Bogdanovic, SF/PF, Detroit Pistons
Burks FanDuel Salary: $4,700Bogdanovic FanDuel Salary: $5,800
The Detroit Pistons also have a long list of injuries to deal with for tonight's game. They have already ruled out Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, and Saddiq Bey.
That paves the way for minutes bumps for the rest of the lineup. Specifically good values are Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Over 70.8 minutes on the floor without that trio, Burks has a 25.9% usage rate and averages 1.05 FanDuel points per minute. He's at 1.06 per minute on the full season, so that tracks.
Bogdanovic's numbers are not quite as good (23.9% and 0.79), but he typically averages 0.87 FanDuel points per minute this season. We can expect that to bump up tonight on the back of a good usage rate.