3 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Basketball Plays for 2/23/17

Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic

FanDuel Price: $7,200

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Center is full of appealing options tonight, which should keep Nikola Vucevic's ownership down. At the top end, DeMarcus Cousins makes his New Orleans Pelicans debut in a great spot against the Houston Rockets, while Andre Drummond is in a terrific spot against the Charlotte Hornets.

There are also two viable value plays at the position, as both Jusuf Nurkic and Kosta Koufos are in better spots following trades and ripe for production at sub-$4,000 price tags. With all of these options, it seems unlikely Vucevic is a popular play with the Orlando Magic possessing the second-lowest implied team total on the slate.

Why You Should Use Him:

Vucevic's production has been a bit inconsistent, but he has displayed big-time upside for a player at his price tag with three of his past five games going for 40-plus FanDuel points. It should come as no surprise, then, that our ceiling/floor tool has Vucevic projected for a higher ceiling per dollar than any center priced over $6,000 tonight.

He should have no trouble accessing his massive upside against the Portland Trail Blazers, who have struggled to defend opposing big men this season. The Blazers have given up the ninth-most FanDuel points to opposing centers and the third-most points in the post. While most of that damage was done against the recently departed Mason Plumlee, Nurkic has actually given up more points per possession (0.96) in the post than Plumlee (0.86).

Vucevic is one of the league's premiere post scorers and also should give Nurkic trouble with his range. He also has a decent chance to pick up some extra boards and blocks, as Portland ranks 25th in rebounding rate while allowing the sixth-most blocks per game to opponents.

He also will benefit from the absence of the recently traded Serge Ibaka, according to nbawowy.com. Without Ibaka on the floor, his usage rate jumps from 23.6% to 26.8%, his rebounding rate has risen from 18.3% to 20.8%, and his FanDuel points per minute stand at 1.18, as opposed to 1.12 with him.

Vucevic's inconsistent nature makes him hard to trust in cash games, but given the way this game lines up, he has the opportunity to crush value at his salary, making him an excellent tournament option.