NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 2/26/21

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Feb 26th, 2021

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-salaried options into your lineup.

Let's take a look at three players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup.

Saben Lee, PG, Detroit Pistons ($5,400)

The Detroit Pistons are dealing with a few injuries, and that leads to extra minutes for some of their younger players.

Right now, the Pistons will be without Delon Wright, Killian Hayes, Blake Griffin, and they have Saddiq Bey listed as questionable. This should continue to open up plenty of opportunity for Saben Lee, who has looked fantastic over his last few games. Lee plays off the bench for the Pistons, which means he generally isn't on the court with Jerami Grant, Dennis Smith, or Wayne Ellington. This leads to Lee being able to produce 1.22 FanDuel points per minute from a modest 17.5% usage rate.

That level of production is very strong and is exactly what we want to see when he has a matchup against the Sacramento Kings tonight. This season, the Kings are allowing 49.22 FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards, the eighth-most in the league. Considering this game has a 226.0-point over/under and a very close 1.0-point spread, we should see full minutes for Lee, and that means plenty of production.

Bismack Biyombo, C, Charlotte Hornets ($3,500)

When it comes to Bismack Biyombo as a value play, we have to wait and see.

The Charlotte Hornets have Cody Zeller listed as questionable for tonight's game against the Golden State Warriors. If Zeller is ruled out, Biyombo becomes a clear option and could be the best value play on the slate.

First off, Biyombo is listed at the minimum salary and would need just 17.5 FanDuel points to hit his salary-implied value of 5.0 points per $1,000. That would be extremely doable for him in this matchup against the Warriors, who are allowing 53.66 FanDuel points per game to opposing centers.

When Zeller is off the court this season, Biyombo is producing 0.80 FanDuel points per minute on an 11.8% usage rate. While those aren't massive numbers, Biyombo could play close to 30 minutes if Zeller sits. With this game carrying a slate-high 233.0-point over/under and both teams in the top 16 in pace, there is no doubt Biyombo can crush value if he starts.

Theo Maledon, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder ($4,500)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are missing a few players, so they have plenty of value options to consider.

With Hamidou Diallo, George Hill, and Al Horford out of the lineup for the Thunder, we should see them use an eight-man rotation, and that means big minutes for the players who are available. One of those players is Theo Maledon, who has played 30-plus minutes in five straight games, although he has produced more than 20 FanDuel points only twice in that span. The offensive usage for the Thunder lies with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley, but Maledon can still find a way to reach value tonight.

In fact, Maledon comes projected as the second-best point-per-dollar value at point guard, forecasted to go for 34.48 minutes and 26.5 FanDuel points. That falls in line with what he has been doing recently, and the boost in production should come from the fact he is going up against the Atlanta Hawks, who are allowing the second-most (51.32) FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards.