FanDuel NBA: Friday Value Plays

FanDuel NBA: Friday Value Plays

This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.

Point Guard

T.J. McConnell, $4,200 - McConnell has officially taken over point guard duties and looks as if he's going to contribute across the board in fantasy categories. That's ideal in DFS as he won't need to score a ton of points to be valuable. He's going to play 30-plus minutes per game and even if the 76ers are getting blown out it would behoove them to have him on the court getting game experience. McConnell has had back-to-back performances of at least 34.4 fantasy points and only needs 21 to make value here. Fade him at your own risk in cash and tournament formats.

Matthew Dellavedova, $4,200 - "Delly" is the other solid punt play at point guard tonight even though he's coming off a sub-par game. There should be minutes here for him even if he doesn't start with multiple guards dealing with injuries. Prior to last game's 16.1 fantasy point effort, Dellavedova had games of 28.5, 28 and 21.7 fantasy points. While there will be worry about the starters getting benched in the second half in case of a blowout here, Delly should have his minutes secure as a member of the second team.

Shooting Guard

Nik Stauskas, $3,900 - Considering how bad of a team they were a season ago it's odd seeing two recommendations coming from Philadelphia. The point here is both Stauskas and McConnell are very cheaply priced and allow a lot of salary cap space if both players are used. The two paid off nicely Wednesday night if they were played together and there's no reason to think they can't do the same tonight. Stauskas is a long-range shooter who after starting the season banged up has seen 29 and 35 minutes over his last two games. He's used the increase in playing time to parlay his fantasy points to at least 21 in each game, making his value. There shouldn't be a problem with him doing that again tonight.

Evan Fournier, $5,500 - His price has risen to the point where many might jump off the bandwagon yet it's still not where it should be considering his recent production. While his numbers have been inflated due to the Magic's penchant for playing in overtime games, Fournier has scored, 43.2, 44, 27 and 34.5 fantasy points over his last four games. He's become one of Orlando's top scoring options and it helps his fantasy value that the team will be without Nikola Vucevic tonight.

Small Forward

Luke Babbitt, $3,600 - Babbitt was inserted into the starting lineup over Dante Cunningham and that should be the same case for tonight's matchup with Atlanta. He's played 28 and 30 minutes over the last two games and his price is only $100 above the minimum. The matchup would be something to be worried about if it was DeMarre Carroll but he's in Toronto now and Babbitt will have a size advantage against Kent Bazemore.

Marcus Morris, $5,800 - Morris has seen an uptick of production with his new team and a direction correlation can be found with playing an extra 13 minutes per game this season. If you want to believe in the "revenge factor" narrative, Morris heads back to Phoenix tonight to take on his old team and his twin and barely older brother (by seven minutes) Markieff. Marcus is another player who can fill up the stat sheet and doesn't need to score to make his value.

Power Forward

J.J. Hickson, $3,900 - This game will likely turn into a blowout making players for both Golden State and Denver risks to be used. However, Hickson will safely see minutes in the min-20s tonight with Joffrey Lauvergne likely out and Nikola Jokic making his way "back" from injury. Hickson is a hustle player who doesn't have a jump shot but is athletic enough to rebound and score from inside of 10 feet.

Aaron Gordon, $4,100 - As mentioned earlier, Nikola Vucevic will miss tonight's contest and while Dewayne Dedmon will pick up the start it's Gordon who will benefit the most. After playing only four minutes Tuesday stemming from a bad foul call, Gordon saw 32 minutes Wednesday night as a result of Vucevic leaving the contest. The 20-year-old has enough versatility to play multiple positions and is counted on a top scoring option with the second unit. This should be a good matchup too, at home against the Raptors.

Center

Festus Ezeli, $3,800 - Dating back to last season Denver has been one of the teams to target when looking at big men. Ezeli has played a more prominent role with Andrew Bogut sidelined and chances are the Aussie sits out again tonight in what should be an easy win. Ezeli doesn't take many shots but knows what to do with the ball on a rebound in the offensive end and is averaging over a block per game. This may be a position to punt tonight as most will gravitate to Andre Drummond or Greg Monroe. While those players will always be elite options at the position they both have tough matchups against Tyson Chandler and Robin Lopez.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Kevin Payne plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: Fanduel: kevinccp, Draft Kings: kevinccp, Yahoo: kevinccp.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Payne
Kevin has worked for RotoWire over a decade and has covered basketball, baseball and football. A glutton for punishment, he roots for his hometown Bills, Sabres and the New York Yankees. You can follow him on Twitter @KCPayne26.
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