5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 12/20/19

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

Chris Boucher, PF, Toronto Raptors

Chris Boucher ($3,500) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ($3,600) both fit the bill here, but Boucher is cheaper and more productive on a per-minute basis (1.14 FanDuel points compared to 0.96 for Hollis-Jefferson). Both guys are elite value options tonight, as the Toronto Raptors are decimated by injury. Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, and Norman Powell are all out indefinitely. numberFire projects Boucher for 22.5 minutes and Hollis-Jefferson for 25.4.

The Raptors are also in an elite matchup with the Washington Wizards, who run the 6th-fastest offensive pace and are the 30th-ranked garbage-time-free defensive team in the NBA. You can't ask for much more than safe minutes and an easy matchup for productive players priced near minimum salary.

Markieff Morris, SF, Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are down Blake Griffin, Luke Kennard, and Christian Wood, so the path is clear for Markieff Morris ($3,900) against the Boston Celtics. The total is just 213.5 points, second lowest on the 10-game slate, and the Boston Celtics are generally tough defensively, but with Morris priced so low, he can still pay off the tag.

While Morris isn't a stellar producer on a per-minute basis (0.83 on the full season), at that rate, he can pay off in about 22 minutes. He should be way above that tonight, and Morris is projected for 34.4 minutes by numberFire's projections. We can just trust the role, which is too great to ignore for $3,900.

Gorgui Dieng, C, Minnesota Timberwolves

The value appeal for Gorgui Dieng ($4,400) depends on the status of Karl-Anthony Towns, who is questionable for tonight's game but did not practice on Thursday and could possibly miss multiple games. Logic would dictate that Towns is out for the matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.

Dieng played 24 minutes last game and put up 24.1 FanDuel points. He averages a strong 1.19 FanDuel points per minute on the full season. The game environment with Denver isn't particularly great overall, as they're 3rd in defensive rating, but they rank only 15th among 20 teams in action in fantasy points per game allowed to centers. Dieng would be a high-floor option in 22-plus minutes, assuming Towns sits.

Bruce Brown, SG, Detroit Pistons

Bumping back to Detroit, we have Bruce Brown Jr. ($4,500) and Langston Galloway ($3,800) set for usage bumps with the Pistons ailing the way that they are. Without those key Detroit pieces this year, Brown has an 18.7% usage rate with a per-minute average of 0.94 FanDuel points. Galloway's numbers are 18.0% and 0.63, respectively.

There's no Marcus Smart to deal with on the wing tonight, and the Celtics have actually been a fairly neutral shooting guard matchup anyway. This is just another situation where the over/under may be ugly but the usage is just projected to be too good for Brown and Galloway over 30-plus minutes to write off.

Brad Wanamaker, PG, Boston Celtics

I'll be upfront by saying that point guard is a position where I'd rather spend up on Friday's slate, but if you need a cheap point guard, we have a punt option.

Brad Wanamaker ($3,500) is priced at the bare minimum and -- you guessed it -- benefits from the absences of key pieces in the Celtics' rotation, namely Smart (out) and Gordon Hayward. Wanamaker averages 0.85 FanDuel points per minute on the full season and is at 0.83 without the current injured Celtics on the court. That comes with a lowly 15.6% usage rate. Still, we're getting a minimum salary guard in a role that should get him around 24 or 25 minutes. Detroit is also 18th among 20 teams playing tonight in fantasy points per game allowed to point guards.