NBA

5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 12/2/19

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Dec 2nd, 2019
Is Tyus Jones one of the best value plays on the slate since Ja Morant is out? What other cheaper players should you consider tonight?

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 three players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup.

Tyus Jones, PG, Memphis Grizzlies ($4,000)

With Ja Morant out for the Memphis Grizzlies, they have a new starting point guard in their lineup.

That point guard is Tyus Jones, who got the start yesterday and played 25 minutes while posting 31.3 FanDuel points. We can expect Jones to get the start again tonight since Morant is listed as week-to-week. This game has an over/under set at 216.5 points against the Indiana Pacers, in a matchup which should provide just enough fantasy value. Jones would need only 20 FanDuel points in order to reach 5x value tonight, a level he should be able to reach despite this being a tougher matchup.

The Pacers are allowing 43.7 FanDuel points per game to point guards this season -- the seventh-best in the league -- making this a slightly tougher matchup for Jones. Even with that said, his $4K price tag is too good to pass up for a player who could push towards 30 minutes tonight.

Dennis Smith, PG, New York Knicks ($3,600)

The New York Knicks are dealing with a few injuries at point guard tonight, opening up some value.

The Knicks are still without Elfrid Payton and saw Frank Ntilikina leave yesterday's game early. They are on the second night of a back-to-back, putting Ntilikina's status in serious question. After he left the game early yesterday, we saw Dennis Smith come in and play a whopping 38 minutes, posting 32.7 FanDuel points in the process. If Ntilikina is unable to go tonight, we could legitimately see Smith play above 35 minutes again -- since the Knicks don't really have anyone else.

Our projections have Smith coming in as the best value play on the slate, going for 34.29 minutes and 28.4 FanDuel points against the Milwaukee Bucks. This shouldn't be a surprise, since the Bucks are allowing 48.9 FanDuel points per game to point guards which is the eighth-worst in the league.

Bruno Caboclo, SF, Memphis Grizzlies ($3,500)

The Grizzles have a mess of injuries when it comes to their big men.

First off, they are on the second night of a back-to-back, which puts the status of many players in doubt tonight. Jonas Valanciunas didn't play yesterday. Brandon Clarke got the start, but played only 10 minutes and didn't return due to an injury. This left Jaren Jackson Jr. as the center and notably, Bruno Caboclo coming off the bench to play 28 minutes, posting 36.1 FanDuel points against the Minnesota Timberwolves. At $3.5K -- which is the minimum salary -- Caboclo would need 17.5 FanDuel points to reach 5x value.

That is a low threshold to clear if he is going to either be a starter or out for roughly 25 minutes again. Caboclo is setting up to be a lock and load tonight if he is a starter since he opens up a ton of salary on a smaller six-game slate.

Robin Lopez, C, Milwaukee Bucks ($3,500)

With Brook Lopez listed as doubtful for tonight's game -- his brother -- Robin Lopez should be getting the start again.

Brook Lopez missed the Milwaukee Bucks' most recent game, and in that time, Robin Lopez went for a very impressive 33.2 FanDuel points in only 23 minutes. He exceeded one fantasy point per minute and 5x value, and is still the minimum salary tonight. If you aren't spending up to get Joel Embiid at center tonight, Robin Lopez might be the chalkiest option at this position.

Lopez is up against the New York Knicks, where the over/under is set at 221.5 points but has the Bucks playing down in pace. That shouldn't be too much of an issue since Lopez only needs 17.5 FanDuel points to hit that 5x value. Minutes equals money in NBA DFS, and Lopez is the starter again tonight, so he can hit value against the Knicks, who are allowing 49.6 FanDuel points per game to centers this season.

Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Philadelphia 76ers ($3,500)

Furkan Korkmaz has gotten the start in each of the last two games, which should continue tonight.

With Josh Richardson missing the last two games, Korkmaz has seen the starting lineup and been somewhat productive with the extra minutes. He has posted 18 and 16.7 FanDuel points in his last two games, where he has played 22 and 30 minutes, respectively. Really, really average production when looking at it from a point per minute viewpoint, but it's not terrible. We know that much of the offensive usage will go towards Embiid, Ben Simmons, and even Tobias Harris on the Philadelphia 76ers, so there isn't much for Korkmaz to grab.

But we don't need Korkmaz to post 40 points tonight -- although it would be nice. He only needs 17.5 FanDuel points, since he is the minimum salary, which would have him reach 5x value.