NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 1/17/20

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Jan 17th, 2020
Dejounte Murray and the Spurs are in a great matchup versus the Hawks, and he comes in under $5K. Which other value players can you mix into your lineups 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.

Dejounte Murray, PG, San Antonio Spurs ($4,900)

With a 230-point over/under, the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks game should be filled with fantasy production.

The Spurs aren't the same team as they've been in the past and actually present a fantasy-friendly environment. In years past, the Spurs were solid on defense and played at a very slow pace. It's the total opposite this season, as they are the 11th fastest team in pace and allowing the 11th most FanDuel points per game to opposing teams.

On the other side, we have the Hawks, who are allowing the absolute most FanDuel points per game to opposing offenses and the 12th-most FanDuel points per game to point guards. We also see Atlanta coming in as the fifth-fastest team in the league, putting us in a fantastic spot for back and forth action and plenty of fantasy points.

Tonight, Dejounte Murray comes in just under $5K and has been inconsistent as of late -- there's no denying that. In his last 10 games, his range of minutes has a floor of 21 and a ceiling of 28, which is standard for him. But in those same 10 games, he has a floor of 15.4 FanDuel points and a ceiling of 35.7 FanDuel points. That range is rather large for a player who essentially plays the same amount of minutes every game.

This isn't the type of player you want in cash games but embracing that upside in a fantastic matchup and overall game environment might be the right call in tournaments tonight.

Delon Wright, SG, Dallas Mavericks ($4,000)

Delon Wright is a clear bench player for the Dallas Mavericks but offers plenty of savings tonight.

The Mavericks are hosting the Portland Trail Blazers tonight, where the over/under is set at 228 points. This is shaping up to be a solid fantasy game since the Trail Blazers play at a decently fast pace -- 12th in the league -- combined with the fact they allow the sixth-most FanDuel points to opposing teams. As mentioned above, Wright comes off the bench for the Mavs and generally plays when Luka Doncic is on the bench. This is the ideal scenario since Wright doesn't have to compete for offensive usage.

That is shown by the fact Wright has a 3.2% increase in usage when Doncic is off the court, producing 1.16 FanDuel points per minute -- a 0.17 increase from his usual rate. In his last six games, Wright has played 20 minutes or more in five of those games, producing 20 FanDuel points or more five times. That is right where we have him projected tonight, going for 20 minutes and posting 19.9 FanDuel points.

Luke Kornet, PF, Chicago Bulls ($4,200)

The Chicago Bulls are dealing with a ton of injuries right now, and it opens up plenty of minutes.

Right now, the Bulls are without Wendell Carter Jr. and Daniel Gafford, cutting their rotation thin in the frontcourt. This means we could be seeing Thaddeus Young get the start at center, and if not him, it will be Luke Kornet. The last few games have seen a major shift for Kornet, who was going large stretches of games without even seeing the court. In the last three games, Kornet has played 25, 21, and 35 minutes, simply due to all of their injuries.

This isn't the best matchup tonight versus the Philadelphia 76ers, who allow the third-fewest FanDuel points per game to power forwards and second-fewest to centers. But his new role and minutes should be secure given their thinner rotation. We have him projected for 31 minutes tonight and posting 26.1 FanDuel points, making him our best overall value play on the slate.