5 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Basketball Plays for 10/28/16

Last night, you needed superstars DeMarcus Cousins, Blake Griffin, and Kawhi Leonard in your lineups if you wanted to be in contention for a win on FanDuel. We have plenty more studs on tap tonight, but to fit more than one on your team, you have to unearth some low-cost gems for your FanDuel lineups.

You'll also need to differentiate your lineups and roster some contrarian plays if you plan to take down some GPPs. Keep in mind, you'll only need a few low-owned players in your lineup to go along with the chalk plays of the night. Find the best fits in the best spots for your roster construction to help set you apart from the pack.

Consider these five under-the-radar players for tournament lineups.

Eric Bledsoe, PG, Phoenix Suns

FanDuel Price: $7,400

Why He Will Be Overlooked:

On an eight-game slate tonight, we have several point guard options to choose from. Russell Westbrook ($12,000) went all Beastbrook on the Philadelphia 76ers, Stephen Curry ($9,000) looks cheap in a good matchup, and Kyrie Irving ($7,500) is only $100 more than Eric Bledsoe tonight. In addition, several mid-priced options are at our disposal. Bledsoe was only “meh” in a blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings, scoring only 28.7 FanDuel points. All those factors should drive ownership eyeballs elsewhere.

Why You Should Consider Him:

According to our projections, you’ll have to find your low-cost value options at other positions today. As such, most people will be choosing from a large pool of players priced from $6,000-$8,000 for at least one slot. Eric Bledsoe is sandwiched right in the middle of more popular plays -- some with better matchups, some coming off big games. We can take advantage of this muddled situation by choosing the player who performed poorly in his first game. However, Bledsoe's quiet opening night was skewed by sitting late in the blowout loss on Wednesday, only playing 29.5 minutes in total.

Though the Phoenix Suns are considerable 9.0-point road underdogs, they still have an expected 100.0 team total. Last year, Bledsoe possessed a true usage rate of 44.2%, seventh-highest on the slate. Russell Westbrook is a below average defensive point guard (according to Nylon Calculus) and gambles a lot. There is some blowout danger here, but if the Suns can keep this game within shouting distance, we project Bledsoe to play 34.6 minutes. When we combine his usage with his matchup and the expected fast pace, Bledsoe should have lots of opportunity to put up big numbers.

Wesley Matthews, SG, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $5,100

Why He Will Be Overlooked:

Tonight, James Harden ($11,300) will be the chalk, and rightfully so after exploding for 64.1 FanDuel points on opening night. DeMar DeRozan and Rodney Hood also had big games while plenty of other affordable options exist tonight with good matchups.

Why You Should Consider Him:

It’s fun to have as many players going in Mike D’Antoni-coached games as possible, as witnessed by the lack of defense in Houston’s high-scoring 120-114 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. As 1.0-point home underdogs in the slate’s second-highest projected total over/under (218.5), tonight should be no different for the Dallas Mavericks and should present many volume-driven opportunities.

Speaking of volume, Wesley Matthews played 39.5 minutes in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers. This is nothing new, as he has averaged over 33 minutes in each of his past six seasons. Tonight, we have Matthews projected to play 34.4 minutes. Matthews scored 28.5 FanDuel points in his first game, even though he made only 3 of 16 shot attempts, and 10 of those attempts came from long distance, making two, while his fantasy points were aided by 3 steals and a healthy dose of rebounds and assists.

Matthews won't be the sexiest play tonight, but he will be plenty busy in a high-scoring game. As such, he has a high floor, and if his shot drops from beyond the arc he has the ability to score in bunches.

Harrison Barnes, SF, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $5,100

Why He Will Be Overlooked:

Following a horrific NBA Finals showing last year, and combined with a universally panned, big-money free agency contract, the name Harrison Barnes carries a stigma with it. Plus, nearly all rosters will have one of LeBron James ($9,900), Kevin Durant ($9,300), or Paul George ($9,200), leaving Barnes to duke it out with slam-dunk champ Aaron Gordon ($5,600), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($5,600) coming off a big game, and opponent Trevor Ariza ($5,400) at the same price point.

Why You Should Consider Him:

Houston was the third-easiest matchup for small forwards last year, and as mentioned before, this game should be a track meet. In a tough matchup against Paul George on Wednesday, Harrison Barnes was still able to score 19 points and grab 9 rebounds, good for 27.8 FanDuel points in 34.5 minutes. We project the same workload for him tonight, so perhaps he builds on this performance with tonight's advantageous opponent.

It might not feel good putting Barnes in your lineup, but you won't be alone in that feeling. Barnes has a price tag on him that won't hurt you at the very least, and he has the potential to do some damage at low ownership in a good matchup and a fast-paced game. Based on the other available small forwards today and the negative perception surrounding Barnes, we are likely to see a very low ownership opportunity if we choose to invest here tonight.

Terrence Jones, PF, New Orleans Pelicans:

FanDuel Price: $4,000

Why He Will Be Overlooked:

After Anthony Davis put up historic numbers and tied for the most FanDuel points ever in a single game since 2000, he just might be popular with the masses (you think!). Terrence Jones comes off the bench for the same New Orleans Pelicans team as Davis and disappointed after a hyped preseason with 17.1 FanDuel points in only 18 minutes on Wednesday.

Why You Should Consider Him:

This game should be super fast-paced, as the Golden State Warriors led the NBA in pace last year and the Pelicans are the quickest up-and-down the court this year so far. The speed should lead to gobs of points, as Vegas has it projected for the highest over/under of the night with 221 points. Even as 10.5-point home underdogs, the Pelicans still have the sixth-highest team total of 105.5 points. Yeah, you want players from this game in your lineup.

Jones should see more court time tonight for a few reasons. First, Golden State will play small often and should keep Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca as spectators, sliding Davis over to the five and Jones at the four. Also, with the Warriors looking to bounce back from the beatdown the San Antonio Spurs put on them, this game has a very good chance to become a blowout. If that happens, Jones is your garbage-time king, much like Blake Bortles in football. In 103 preseason minutes, Jones possessed a 28.7% usage rate (per NBAwowy) and adds blocks and steals to his 13.7% career rebounding rate.

If you choose to take a risk and put Jones in your lineups, you will almost certainly see low ownership and save money for the rest of the slate’s superstars.

Steven Adams, C, Oklahoma City Thunder

FanDuel Price: $4,800

Why He Will Be Overlooked:

With only one center position to fill, Steven Adams may not go as overlooked as we’d like while people try to fit so many big salaries at other positions. However, Hassan Whiteside ($8,500), Andre Drummond ($7,800) and Rudy Gobert ($7,000) are always popular. And we couldn’t possibly forget Myles Turner ($6,900) -- whew boy!

Why You Should Consider Him:

The Oklahoma City Thunder are projected to score 109.0 points tonight as home favorites, fifth-highest on the slate. This should be one of a handful of games we target players from with high total over/unders. Add the Suns’ fifth-fastest pace-of-play last year to their eighth-worst defense against the center position, and we find Adams in a good spot.

Adams played 26 minutes per game last year, but in a stretch of nine playoff games, he got at least 35 minutes of run in eight contests while nabbing 10 or more rebounds in all nine tilts. In the season’s first game, Adams again played 35.5 minutes and garnered 27.5 FanDuel points. The Kiwi center was last year’s toughest matchup at the position and a vast improvement to Enes Kanter and his 11th-worst mark, so Adams again should see plenty of court time matched up with twin seven-footers Tyson Chandler and Alex Len.

Minutes, matchup, and pace should equate to fantasy goodness for Adams tonight.