NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Thursday 12/8/22

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 one of these lower-salaried options into your lineup.

Let's take a look at some players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup on FanDuel tonight, using numberFire's daily fantasy basketball projections as a guide.

Zach Collins, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

The San Antonio Spurs' injury list is very long tonight, and namely Jakob Poeltl is out. (Additionally, Jeremy Sochan and Keita Bates-Diop are out, and Devin Vassell is doubtful.)

That'll open things up for a lot of Spurs.

At the top of that list (and at the top of numberFire's value list for all players tonight) is Zach Collins.

Collins stands to start a fourth straight game without Poeltl. In his three starts, Collins has averaged 22.1 minutes and 17.7 FanDuel points for 0.80 per minute.

That per-minute production is pretty uncharacteristic for him. Collins averages 1.13 FanDuel points per minute overall on the year.

And without the four injured Spurs already mentioned, Collins averages 1.17 FanDuel points per minute over 47.1 minutes, via CourtIQ.

For the salary and the potential for heavy fantasy points per minute, Collins is a standout value play.

Doug McDermott, PF/SF, San Antonio Spurs

FanDuel Salary: $3,600

I'm sticking with the Spurs for this one, too, given the number of absences they have.

Doug McDermott's salary is just $100 from the minimum, and that can open up a lot of things for us tonight across the rest of our rosters.

McDermott has played 64.8 minutes without Poeltl, Sochan, Bates-Diop, and Vassell this season. Across that sample, he averages 0.98 FanDuel points per minute and holds a solid 21.4% usage rate.

McDermott could be in line for his first start of the season. He's projected for 23.9 minutes and 18.8 FanDuel points tonight, via numberFire's model.

Marcus Morris, PF/SF, Los Angeles Clippers

FanDuel Salary: $4,900

The Los Angeles Clippers are on a back-to-back set after an overtime loss to the Orlando Magic last night.

In that game, Kawhi Leonard played over 30 minutes, so it's probably fair to assume he'll sit this one out or be limited even if he were to play.

That benefits Marcus Morris, who would slide back into the starting lineup without Leonard in action.

Across 23 starts this season, Morris has averaged 30.0 minutes and 24.9 FanDuel points thanks to 13.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 combined steals and blocks.

numberFire projects Morris for 26.7 FanDuel points in this one, giving him a per-$1,000 value rating of 5.45 fantasy points. That trails only Collins' rate (5.95) early in the day.