NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 1/25/21

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Jan 25th, 2021
With Kemba Walker out tonight, does Jeff Teague become a clear value play? Which other players offer salary relief 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-salaried options into your lineup.

Let's take a look at three players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup.

Jeff Teague, PG, Boston Celtics ($3,800)

With Kemba Walker out for the Boston Celtics, they have a few value options tonight.

Walker is out simply to do rest for his injury management, but the Celtics will also be without backup point guard, Payton Pritchard, who is dealing with a knee injury for a few weeks. This puts Jeff Teague in a spot for extra playing time. In fact, numberFire's projections have him going for 26 minutes and 23.5 FanDuel points. This makes him the best overall value option on the entire slate, regardless of position.

This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise because the Celtics are up against the Chicago Bulls, who are allowing 50.79 FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards, which is seventh-worst in the league. On top of that, this is a massive pace-up spot for the Celtics, who are 21st in offensive pace, while the Bulls are the second-fastest team in the league. All of this should make Teague one of the chalkiest players on the slate.

James Wiseman, C, Golden State Warriors ($4,900)

The Golden State Warriors offer a bit of value tonight in a fantastic matchup.

The Warriors are hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, where the over/under is set at a strong 227 points. We also see both teams sitting in the top six or higher when it comes to offensive pace this season, which should make this a popular game to attack in DFS. Warriors center James Wiseman has looked good to start his rookie season and comes in producing 1.14 FanDuel points per minute with a strong 25.6% usage rate.

That production rate is something worth noting tonight since the Timberwolves are terrible against centers this season. Minnesota comes into this game allowing 60.05 FanDuel points per game to opposing centers, which is the worst in the league. Even though Wiseman doesn't play more than 30 minutes, the matchup is soft for him, so he should be able to exceed salary based value in a hurry tonight.

Wayne Ellington, SG, Detroit Pistons ($4,700)

Wayne Ellington is quietly having a great start to the season from downtown.

Among NBA players who've taken 50 or more three-point attempts this season, Ellington has the fourth-highest made three-point percentage (50.0%) in the league. I know, I couldn't believe it, either. This type of three-point shooting potential gives Ellington some serious upside, especially if he is able to get hot from deep. Over his last four games, Ellington has a total of 43 field goal attempts, where 36 of them were three-point attempts (83%).

That volume from deep is worth noting on any night and specifically tonight because he is up against the Philadelphia 76ers, who are in the bottom half (18th) of the league for most three-pointers (12.8) allowed per game to opposing teams. We also see the 76ers allowing 43.15 FanDuel points per game to opposing shooting guards, which is fifth-worst in the league. At his modest salary, Ellington is looking like an elite value option due to his scoring upside.