NBA

NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Thursday 3/31/22

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Mar 31st, 2022

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.

Stanley Johnson, SF, Los Angeles Lakers ($4,500)

With no LeBron James or Anthony Davis for the Los Angeles Lakers, there are a ton of value options to consider.

The Lakers' starting lineup has looked very different over the past few games and weeks, which has allowed Stanley Johnson to see a larger role. He comes in with 24 FanDuel points or more in four out of his last five games, scoring double-digit real points in each of those four games. Even though the Lakers are 13.0-point underdogs versus the Utah Jazz, this game has a solid 227.5-point over/under.

Regardless of the larger spread, Johnson should still be in for plenty of minutes simply due to the Lakers' current rotation of available players.

Johnson is projected for 28.12 minutes and 22.1 FanDuel points, which should make him one of the more popular value options on a smaller five-game slate.

Caris LeVert, SG/SF, Cleveland Cavaliers ($5,200)

The Cleveland Cavaliers are another team dealing with some injuries right now.

Both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are out for the Cavaliers, which has pushed Caris LeVert into the starting lineup. When those players are off the court, LeVert is carrying a 26.2% offensive usage rate while producing 0.97 FanDuel points per minute. We saw that on full display last night when he was in the starting five, going for 38 minutes and 43.2 FanDuel points.

He could certainly reach that level tonight against the Atlanta Hawks; the over/under is set at a big 230.0-points with a 5.5-point spread.

LeVert is projected for 33.12 minutes and 34.8 FanDuel points tonight, making him the second-best value option on the slate and the top value option among guards. He could exceed that projection if this game stays close and forces him to play nearly 40 minutes again.