3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Thursday 3/23/23
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.
Terance Mann, PG/SG, Clippers ($5,600)
Even with a key stud sitting out, this four-game slate is very much lacking in value (as of early Thursday). The stud who will be out is Paul George, and that creates value on the Los Angeles Clippers.
The main beneficiaries figure to be Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook, but don't sleep on Terance Mann, even if he doesn't start.
Because Westbrook just arrived, there's barely any sample of Russ on the court and PG13 off it this year, but in 24.4 minutes in the split, Mann has a 17.1% usage rate and produces 0.87 FanDuel points per minute, according to CourtIQ.
Our model has Mann playing 33.5 minutes today and projects him to score 27.8 FanDuel points (4.96 per $1,000). He's not a smashing value option, but there aren't any of those on this slate unless we get some unexpected injury news. That rate of 4.96 points per $1,000 is the best clip -- by a good distance -- for anyone under $6,000 in salary.
You could also roll the dice on Eric Gordon ($5,800), who will likely start.
Nick Richards, C, Hornets ($5,700)
Nick Richards checks a few boxes.
Mark Williams is still sidelined. Williams being out has resulted in Richards getting five straight starts, and while his minutes have varied from game to game, Richards is averaging 25.0 minutes and 28.8 FanDuel points in that span. And that's with Richards posting a 5.4-point dud two games ago, an outing he bounced back from with 41.9 FanDuel points last time out.
Richards should get his minutes today against Jonas Valanciunas and the New Orleans Pelicans. It's a good matchup for Richards, as the Pels have given up the sixth-most FanDuel points per night to centers over the past 30 games (57.8).
Admittedly, our model isn't high on Richards, projecting him for just 24.9 FanDuel points (4.37 per $1,000), but I'm a little more bullish on him and will use him at center in some of my lineups.
Herbert Jones, SG/SF, Pelicans ($5,600)
I am intrigued by Herbert Jones on this slate.
Jones' fantasy outputs have been all over the map lately, but he has enough scoring and steals/blocks upside that he can pop off if those two things come together on the same night.
Jones is averaging 2.2 steals/blocks for the year, and he's gone for at least four combined steals/blocks twice in his past nine games. The matchup with the Charlotte Hornets helps him in that department, as Charlotte owns the seventh-worst assist-to-turnover ratio across the last 15 games.
Over the last 30 games, Charlotte has allowed the third-most FanDuel points per game to small forwards (42.7).
Jones should be a safe bet for a decent night -- we project him to total 25.7 FanDuel points (4.60 per $1,000) -- and it wouldn't surprise me if he flashes some upside in this spot.
