If you’ve read any of my NFL articles, you know I treasure value in daily fantasy sports. “Value” is represented in those players that are likely to produce well over their salaries and send your line-up rocketing to the top of a tournament contest. Value can come in several forms. It can be the back-up subbing for an injured or resting starter or it can be a player who’s been in a slump or who’s been facing tough competition suddenly faced with an easy match-up. Whatever form value comes in, I’ll try to identify it for you, so you can incorporate it into your line-ups.
I won’t be writing this column daily (I have a bar to run and an NFL article to post), nor will I be offering complete line-ups as I do for NFL. I’ll simply be pointing out those players you should probably double-check when you’re filling out your FanDuel NBA line-ups.
We have a unique situation on FanDuel tomorrow as we have two distinct slates of games, with some overlap between them. I’ll include players from both slates and label them according to Early Only, Late or Both.
PG Matthew Dellavedova ($4,100) “Both” Dellavedova is always a risky play, when he gets a spot start due to injuries or rest, but Mo Williams has already been ruled out and Ian Shumpert has yet to play this season, leaving Cleveland awfully thin in the back court. He played 39 minutes in his last start, while accumulating 24.7 FanDuel points. Atlanta may be missing their starting point guard in this game as well and back up Dennis Schroder isn’t the league’s best defender. Nonetheless, this is a play best reserved for tournaments.
SF Omri Casspi ($4,200) “Early” Starting small forward Rudy Gay had to leave Thursday’s game with what has been diagnosed as a shoulder strain and is questionable to play Saturday. Shoulder strains and shooting a basketball don’t mix, so I’m guessing he’s on the “doubtful” side. If he can’t go, Casspi, who’s already averaging minutes in the mid 20’s, should see a spike well into the 30’s against a Orlando team that’s ranked in the bottom half of the NBA, defensively. Ensure to monitor reports before the game.
PF Boris Diaw ($3,900) “Late” LaMarcus Aldridge suffered a sprained ankle during Friday night’s game and admitted he was very sore after the game. With a back to back looming, it’s pretty doubtful he suits up. If he sits, Boris Diaw should take his place in the starting five against a Grizzlies team that has had trouble containing opponents power forwards this season, allowing an average of 48.76 FanDuel points a game to the position.
PF Chris Bosh ($8,100) “Late” Bosh has been on an absolute tear recently, scoring over 40 FanDuel points in three of his last four games. He’ll face a 76ers team that plays at a much faster tempo than the Heat, so he should see an uptick in possessions. The 76ers have been brutal defending the power forward position as well, allowing over 50 FanDuel points per game.
C Anderson Varejao ($3,500) “Both” It’s always nice when we can get an experienced player, priced at the bare minimum, who’s expected to start, but this is what we have with Varejao. Due to Timofey Mozgov’s shoulder injury, Varejao is expected to move into the starting line up against the Atlanta Hawks, one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA. While I wouldn’t expect miracles or minutes above the mid 20’s, it won’t take too much to return value on a $3,500 salary.
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