NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Monday 2/14/22

Austin Swaim  —  @ASwaim3 Feb 14th, 2022
Jalen Green is finally seeing additional minutes when Houston is being blown out. Does that mean we can roster him Monday as a heavy underdog in Utah?

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.

Evan Fournier, SF/SG, New York Knicks ($5,300)

The Knicks will be missing RJ Barrett, and that opens the scoring work for the team quite a bit.

With a timeshare at point guard, the best upside may belong to Evan Fournier on the wing. Fournier's 1.9-percentage-point increase in usage rate is fourth on the team behind the pair of point guards (Alec Burks and Kemba Walker) and Julius Randle during floor situations without Barrett.

Fournier has been a frustrating player in daily fantasy, but it's largely come from a lack of guaranteed minutes as Tom Thibodeau messes with the New York rotation. Lately, that's stabilized. He's averaging 28.6 FanDuel points over his last six games largely due to seeing at least 30 minutes in each of them.

Oklahoma City has allowed the fourth-most FanDuel points per game to shooting guards and sixth-most FanDuel points per game to small forwards. However you classify him, Fournier should have a quality matchup to rekindle the 30-point scoring upside he's shown on four occasions this season.

LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C, Brooklyn Nets ($5,200)

Truthfully, this whole article could be filled with Brooklyn Nets.

With Kyrie Irving seated for another home game, Brooklyn has a half-dozen mid-range options that should carry the offense tonight. LaMarcus Aldridge could be one that flies under the radar.

Aldridge has missed seven straight games with an ankle issue, but he's off the injury report entering Monday. Given Brooklyn is desperate to win games, it wouldn't be a shock to see him re-enter the starting lineup.

During floor situations without Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden this season, Aldridge leads the team with a 29.9% usage rate. He's got a great matchup with the Kings, too. Sacramento has allowed the most paint points per game (52.1) this season.

Frankly, the Nets need his offense. He's been a burst of that at times this season. Patrick Mills, Seth Curry, and Bruce Brown Jr. could all be interesting options depending on how the starting lineup shakes out, but Aldridge can pay off this mid-range salary -- even off the bench -- given his production rate this season.

Jalen Green, PG/SG, Houston Rockets ($4,700)

I'm pretty bearish on the Rockets' coaching staff, and it's pretty easy to be glancing at their 15-40 win-loss record.

Personally, the largest indictment of incompetence this season has been not playing rookie Jalen Green during the dozens of blowout situations they've encountered this season. Shooting 38.1% from the field, this year's second overall pick just needs time on the court to work on his shot selection and decision making.

Recently, they've started allowing it. Finally.

Green is averaging 32.6 minutes per game in February despite at least an 11-point margin in every game this month. He's seeing more run as the games get out of hand, and that only bolsters his fantasy floor.

The rook is well projected by numberFire's model today, and it's because he definitely has the upside to score. The model slots his median outcome at 16.3 points today, and he's scored in double figures for seven straight contests. That's a high floor of points to start with should he gather a few boards or steals.

Houston is a 14.0-point underdog in Utah tonight, but Green should see plenty of minutes regardless of the outcome.