NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 8/25/20

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.

Dorian Finney-Smith, SF, Dallas Mavericks ($5,200)

The Dallas Mavericks were without Kristaps Porzingis on Sunday, and very well could be missing their Latvian big man again, as he is a game-time decision for Game 4. That concentrated playing time to really just Luka Doncic and five other Mavericks, none of whom are priced higher than $5,600. On just a short, two-game slate, a large portion of the value will come from the Mavericks' thin rotation.

Dorian Finney-Smith has been the Mavs' starting small forward all season, but just now inside the Orlando bubble has the former Florida Gators' product began to shine from a fantasy perspective. With Doncic and Porzingis in-and-out of the lineup, Finney-Smith has actually averaged 29.3 FanDuel points per game in his last 8 full games in which he saw more than 29 minutes. A lot of that strength has been on rebounding, where he averages 0.19 rebounds per minute when Porzingis is off the floor. Of the Mavericks' value options, he will likely be the least popular given his subpar performance Sunday, but that was largely due to just 33.0% shooting, versus his series average of 45.9%.

Jerami Grant, PF, Denver Nuggets ($4,800)

On a two-game slate, being different will be difficult to achieve. With Maxi Kleber and Marcus Morris projected by numberFire for over 31 minutes, the two will likely be popular, affordable options in the game with a higher implied total. However, it is important to not forget Denver Nuggets forward Jerami Grant as well.

Sunday was a disappointing effort from Grant, who's great work in Orlando earned him the start over Michael Porter Jr., but he only produced 16.8 FanDuel points in 35 minutes, largely due to only taking 8 shots. Some nights are quieter than others, but Grant has already demonstrated tremendous upside in much fewer minutes inside the Orlando bubble, as he has eclipsed 25 FanDuel points five times since the NBA restart, and taken 10 or more shots six times. Grant is projected for a healthy 27.3 FanDuel points by numberFire for Tuesday.

Royce O'Neale, PF, Utah Jazz ($4,600)

Since losing Bojan Bogdanovic for the year, Royce O'Neale has stepped right into his role. O'Neale is starting at power forward and averaging 33.0 minutes for the Utah Jazz in this series, albeit with mixed results to the tune of 19.8 FanDuel points per game, and only eclipsing 20 FanDuel points in one contest.

numberFire believes O'Neale is due for a stronger day, where he is projected for 22.6 FanDuel points on Tuesday. That makes plenty of sense given his minutes load, his ability to shoot (54.5% from three in the series), and his ability to distribute for a power forward (3.3 assists per game in the series). He is an affordable way to attack the Nuggets' defense which possesses a 131.9 defensive rating--dead last among the NBA playoff teams.


Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.