5 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Basketball Plays for 2/3/16

If you have played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field and find players that you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership can really separate yourself from your opponents.

It’s a lot easier in NFL to identify the players who will be low-owned due to Thursday Night slates, but NBA can be much more difficult if you aren’t an experienced player.

The purpose of this article will be to bring you my favorite high-upside players at each position that will likely go overlooked and give you an edge.

Keep in mind when constructing rosters that these are contrarian picks. There is a reason that they will be overlooked by many; they are risky plays. If possible, I’d try to relegate these players to GPP-only use, where their high risk-reward styles make more sense.

There are several key injury situations to monitor as the day develops, so projecting ownership will be much more difficult.

Any previous ownership numbers are taken from an assortment of large-field tournaments on DraftKings.

Draymond Green, PF, Golden State Warriors

FanDuel Price: $9,000
DraftKings Price: $9,000

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Value plays Myles Turner and Aaron Gordon are underpriced and will both be very popular options at power forward tonight. If people decide to fade one of the two, they will likely take the discount on Derrick Favors rather than pay $9,000 for Draymond Green. If DeMarcus Cousins is declared out again, Willie Cauley-Stein will likely see ownership in the 10-20 percent range in a terrific matchup against the Bulls.

Green will likely be the third option for those considering ignoring the blowout concern in this game (Golden State is listed as a 10-point favorite.) Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both have softer matchups on paper and will be the more popular picks.

Why You Should Use Him:

Green recently  admitted to stat-chasing and apologized for his lack of focus. He looked very focused in his next game, shooting 100% from the field and putting up a triple-double on his way to 51 FanDuel points.

Green now draws a matchup against a Washington team that is good against power forwards on paper but has nobody who can hope to match up with the versatile skill-set Green brings to the table. Otto Porter is banged up, and Jared Dudley, while a pesky defender, isn't physically capable of containing Green.

There aren't many players comparable to Green, but I took a look at Washington's defensive game log to see how they performed when defending players of a similar mold. Here are the four best comparisons I found that Washington has played since Christmas: LeBron James, Paul George, Thaddeus Young, and Trevor Ariza in the stretch-four role he is now playing for Houston.

James went for 34 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, and 54 FanDuel Points. George had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 40.5 FanDuel points.

Young posted 16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals, and 40.8 FanDuel points, and Ariza went for 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 28.9 FanDuel points

As a collective group, they averaged 7.07 more FanDuel points against Washington than they have in all other matchups this season. Green could just as easily put up a big game in this spot as Curry or Thompson but will be lower owned because his Defensive-Versus-Position ranking doesn't look as appealing as theirs.

Victor Oladipo, SG, Orlando Magic

FanDuel Price: $6,100
DraftKings Price: $6,500

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Victor Oladipo's ownership has been 4% and 0.9% in his past two games, and he will likely go overlooked again tonight with Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Dwyane Wade, and Monta Ellis all in better matchups. Jeremy Lin could also end up being a very popular shooting guard option on FanDuel depending on how the injury news for Charlotte shakes out.

The Magic are listed as 13-point underdogs in this one, which will scare off many daily fantasy players. The Thunder have also allowed the seventh fewest fantasy points to opposing shooting guards on the season.

Why You Should Use Him:

While the Magic are listed as heavy underdogs, it isn't because of the defense of the Thunder. In fact, Orlando is projected to outscore their season average in this game. This is a big pace-up game for Orlando too, which suits Oladipo's style of play well.

Oladipo put up 54.6 FanDuel points against Oklahoma City in their last game and has averaged 34.48 over the past three seasons against Oklahoma City, which is 6.91 more than his average in other games during that span.

Andre Roberson, who has the third highest Defensive Real Plus-Minus among shooting guards, played in that game but will not be active for tonight’s game. He has been replaced in the starting lineup by Dion Waiters, who has played 36.75 minutes per game since Roberson’s injury and is ranked 82nd of 92 eligible shooting guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus.

Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz

FanDuel Price: $7,300
DraftKings Price: $6,900

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Rudy Gobert was in a great spot in his most recent start, yet only saw ownership in the six to nine percent range. Derrick Favors saw his ownership hover around the 20 to 24% range and should be very popular again tonight at a cheaper price than Gobert.

Center is absolutely loaded tonight. Top-flight options DeMarcus Cousins, Pau Gasol, Brook Lopez, Andre Drummond, and Karl-Anthony Towns are all in terrific spots. Some will chase Nikola Jokic despite the brutal matchup. Value plays Gorgui Dieng and Jordan Hill have both played well lately and are in good matchups. Gobert will almost definitely go under-the-radar.

Why You Should Use Him:

Gobert is finally seeing big minutes, averaging 35.5 over his past eight games, and he has turned those into solid fantasy production. Over that stretch, he has topped 34 FanDuel points five times, while averaging 35.63. He's also coming off of back to back double-doubles in which he posted 37.4 and 34.4 FanDuel points, even with the return of Derrick Favors, which is encouraging for Gobert's prospects going forward.

He draws a matchup against the Nuggets, who have given up the eighth most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. Denver also is ranked 24th in Defensive Efficiency and is the most blocked team in the NBA, which bodes well for the big man with nicknames like "the Stifle Tower" and "the French Rejection."

In four career starts against Denver over the past two season, Gobert has averaged 35.75 FanDuel points per game, which is 9.06 higher than his average in all other games during that span. Derrick Favors has averaged just 23.62 FanDuel points per game in those games yet will be higher owned than Gobert tonight.

Zaza Pachulia, C, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $6,200
DraftKings Price: $6,000

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Zaza Pachulia disappointed in a terrific matchup against Atlanta and now finds himself in a much tougher matchup on paper. Today's center player pool is also loaded, as alluded to before.

Why You Should Use Him:

This pick hinges on the health of  Hassan Whiteside, who left with an injury seven games ago after playing 10 minutes. During that seven-game span, the Heat have allowed opposing centers to average 33.10 FanDuel points per game, which is actually 3.24 higher than those seven players’ season average. Most view this as a tough matchup for Pachulia, but Miami has actually been in the bottom half of the league against centers since Whiteside's departure. Pachulia was able to put up 33.10 FanDuel points in his one game against Miami this season, and he could do even more damage with Whiteside out of the picture.

Deron Williams will likely miss this game and be replaced by Juan Jose Barea. Check out Pachulia's numbers below with Barea playing point guard, as opposed to Deron Williams, per NBAwowy.com.

Dennis Schroder, PG, Atlanta Hawks

FanDuel Price: $4,800
DraftKings Price: $5,000

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

All of the attention among point guards will likely go to Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook, both of whom have good matchups, or to value plays Jeff Teague and George Hill, who are both coming off of huge games and are in awesome spots for a repeat performance tonight.

With many focused on Atlanta's starting point guard, few will consider their backup point guard, Dennis Schroder.

Why You Should Use Him:

The Hawks are listed as eight-point favorites tonight, which could lead to additional court time for Schroder. Per Statmuse.com, Schroder has averaged 25.99 FanDuel points per game when the Hawks have been at least eight-point favorites, which is 4.91 points higher than his season average.

Schroder has averaged 30.15 FanDuel points per game in two matchups with Philadelphia this season and 26.2 over the past two seasons, which is 7.23 above his average in other games during that span. Jeff Teague has averaged just 22.18 FanDuel points in those games.

The 76ers have given up the 4th most fantasy points to opposing teams and the 10th most to opposing point guards this season. Schroder will spend a decent amount of his court time being guarded by Ish Smith and Isaiah Canaan, who are exciting offensive players but who aren't the most effective defenders. In fact, Smith is 45th among point guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, while Canaan is 59th.

Our projections like Schroder tonight too, listing him as the second-best value at point guard.