3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Friday 12/3/21
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.
Dewayne Dedmon, C, Miami Heat ($5,500)
The Miami Heat are without Bam Adebayo for multiple weeks, and that makes Dewayne Dedmon the starting center.
Not only is Adebayo out, but the Heat are also without Jimmy Butler, which opens up offensive usage for the other players. If we look to the starting lineup the Heat used the other night and the one they're projected to use tonight, we see Dedmon holding a 16.7% offensive usage rate while producing 1.41 FanDuel points per minute. We can't expect Dedmon to maintain that level of production, but he is projected for 29.06 minutes and 28.7 FanDuel points, making him the top value play among centers under $6,000.
The matchup against the Indiana Pacers only has an over/under sitting at 207.0 points, which is the lowest on the slate. It's not ideal, but the minutes are very secure for Dedmon tonight, and he is in a spot to reach and/or exceed his salary-based value.
Cameron Johnson, SF, Phoenix Suns ($3,900)
With no Devin Booker for the Phoenix Suns, they have a few value options to consider.
Booker has a team-high 31.5% offensive usage rate, so whenever he is off the court, there's plenty of opportunities for the other players. Cameron Johnson is one of those players to eat up the offensive usage, holding an 18.8% usage rate and producing 0.85 FanDuel points per minute. Johnson was the first player off the bench last night for the Suns, and he took 11 field goal attempts, including 6 three-pointers. That pure scoring upside is something that can allow him to exceed value quickly on his modest $3,900 salary.
He'll be up against the Golden State Warriors tonight where the over/under is 217.0 points with the Suns as 7.5-point road underdogs. Given the fact the Warriors (12.2) are 16th in the league for the most three-pointers allowed per game to their opponents, Johnson has a path to upside tonight. He comes in projected for 29.51 minutes and 23.7 FanDuel points, making him the second-best value option on the slate.
Armoni Brooks, SG, Houston Rockets ($4,300)
I was big on Armoni Brooks the other day as a value option, and I'm going right back to the well tonight.
The Houston Rockets have Jalen Green listed as out tonight and Kevin Porter Jr. listed as questionable. If the Rockets' guard rotation is going to be thinned out again, Brooks could be in for over 20 minutes for the fourth straight game. The matchup against the Orlando Magic has a 217.0-point over/under and a close 2.5-point spread, giving us what should be one of the better fantasy environments on the slate. We also see both teams in the top half of the league in offensive pace, which should help open up the game for a back and forth flow.
This is also a super soft matchup for Brooks since the Magic are allowing the third-most (42.01) FanDuel points per game to shooting guards this season. With Brooks taking seven field goals attempts or more in five straight games -- off the bench -- he is a clear scoring option for them if Porter is out tonight.
