3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 2/26/21
A major key to success in daily fantasy basketball is uncovering potential value plays. If you're looking to roster a stud or two, you need to consider squeezing one of these lower-salaried options into your lineup.
Let's take a look at three players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup on DraftKings tonight.
Nemanja Bjelica, PF, Sacramento Kings
DraftKings Salary: $4,800
Outside of the obvious injury notes in the upper salary tiers, there aren't many role or mid-tier players opening up time for others tonight. One of the few is Hassan Whiteside, who will likely remain in the league's health and safety protocols after sitting Thursday -- not to mention the rumors of him being bought out to go elsewhere.
Even if Whiteside is available, he might not get significant minutes behind Richaun Holmes. That means Marvin Bagley III should slide more to the five for stints, while Nemanja Bjelica gets the bump as the backup four. It was only two games ago that Bjelica, when given 35 minutes and a start, went for 25 points and 43.5 fantasy points. On the year, he is averaging just short of one DraftKings point per minute.
The matchup is far from the worst, too. According to FantasyPros' data, Detroit checks in 4th-worst against power forwards, which should come as no surprise with them ranked 21st in NBA.com's rebound rate and 19th in defensive rating. Bjelica should have a nice game in a more involved backup role.
Tristan Thompson, C, Boston Celtics
DraftKings Salary: $4,700
A lot of buzz has been around Boston's Robert Williams of late, but he seems to have tailed off from his high-efficiency games of less than a week ago. His minutes are at 14 in each of the last two, while fellow big man -- and starter -- Tristan Thompson has tallied 22 and 26 minutes.
You might be surprised to find that in the last 10 games, Thompson has turned in at least 23 DK points in each contest. He's mounted four games with at least 13 real-world points in addition to his three with double-digit boards. Over this six-game span, he has averaged 28.1 DK points with only one double-double to his credit, and maybe more importantly, he has logged more than 25 minutes five times.
Tonight should be no different as far as Thompson's playing time goes. The Indiana Pacers boast a pair of towers in Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, so it would stand to reason that Thompson and Daniel Theis see more run than usual together. That should only aid Thompson in being a solid option across both both tournament and cash formats.
Dennis Smith, PG, Detroit Pistons
DraftKings Salary: $4,600
If you have been playing DFS in the last couple of years, you know that Dennis Smith is not a play for the faint of heart. Though he could meet value for cash-game purposes, it would be wise to focus on him in only tournaments. After all, his last four games have seen him play 23, 15, 18 and 26 minutes. Talk about inconsistency.
However, it seems like Smith is the guy at point for the Pistons -- at least until Delon Wright returns -- given his three straight starts. And you can see the fantasy upside when he's getting minutes and playing well. Last time out, he was able to hit 5 of 12 shots in route to 11 points, 7 assists, 3 steals and 31.75 DK points. In doing so, he used 20% his team's offensive possessions.
There is definitely a chance Smith wins someone a GPP given his matchup. The Kings are ninth-worst versus point guards and play at a pace more than two possessions faster than the Pistons do.
Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her 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 authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
