5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Thursday 12/29/22
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.
Immanuel Quickley, SG/PG, New York Knicks
FanDuel Salary: $6,000
Immanuel Quickley is shaping up as an elite value option tonight at a $6,000 salary with RJ Barrett out and Jalen Brunson questionable.
Quickley drew the start last game and wound up playing 50.6 minutes in overtime for a very shorthanded New York Knicks team.
Tonight, he's numberFire's top projected value play with an anticipated line of 35.1 minutes and 33.9 FanDuel points in a matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.
Al Horford, C/PF, Boston Celtics
FanDuel Salary: $5,600
Al Horford and the Boston Celtics are up against a healthy Los Angeles Clippers team, but the Celtics are still favored by 6.0 points at home and have an implied team total of 116.5, fourth-best of the night.
Horford has a minutes projection of 31.0 in this spot, and in 15 games in which he has played at least 30 minutes, he has averaged 27.4 FanDuel points on a line of 10.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.8 combined steals and blocks.
Even in nine such games against top-10 defenses, he's averaged 25.6 fantasy points per game.
Tim Hardaway Jr., SG/SF, Dallas Mavericks
FanDuel Salary: $5,800
The Dallas Mavericks are pretty thinned out at the wing positions, and that's been good news bears for Tim Hardaway Jr., who has started 16 consecutive games.
In those starts, Hardaway Jr. has averaged 31.5 minutes, 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 combined steals and blocks for 25.5 FanDuel points per game.
The Mavs are facing the lowly Houston Rockets, and in six starts against bottom-10 defenses, Hardaway Jr. is averaging 33.5 fantasy points and an even 1.00 FanDuel point per minute.
Andrew Nembhard, SG/PG, Indiana Pacers
FanDuel Salary: $4,900
Andrew Nembhard has racked up 15 consecutive starts of his own and has been in the value play territory for a while, and he could have a bigger opportunity tonight with Tyrese Haliburton questionable.
According to CourtIQ, Nembhard has a 16.6% usage rate and a per-minute average of 0.97 FanDuel points without Haliburton on the floor. Those are bumps of 2.3 percentage points and 0.21 points, respectively.
He's a viable play as it is but would get even better sans Haliburton.
Mike Muscala, C, Oklahoma City Thunder
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
Mike Muscala could be in line for his second start of the season. His first was in a game that Jalen Williams and Aleksej Pokusevski missed. This time around, both Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are out.
Muscala, in that start, played only 16.5 minutes and accrued only 14.0 FanDuel points -- but that's still 0.85 FanDuel points per minute. It also came against a top-flight defense in the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tonight's matchup is against the Charlotte Hornets (27th in defensive rating) in a game with a slate-high 239.5-point total.
Against bottom-10 defenses, Muscala has averaged 1.03 FanDuel points per minute.
