4 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Basketball Plays for 3/18/16

If you have played daily fantasy sports for very long, 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.

James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

FanDuel Price: $10,300

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

James Harden hasn't been his usual dominant self recently, averaging just 39.7 FanDuel points over his past four games.

The Rockets are favored by 8.5 points in this one, and several daily fantasy players will be scared off by the potential blowout.

There are several options that will be popular at shooting guard today and are considerably cheaper than Harden, including Devin Booker, C.J. McCollum, and Zach LaVine.

Why You Should Use Him:

Tonight's matchup with the Timberwolves provides Harden a perfect opportunity for a bounce-back performance. Minnesota has ranked out as a bottom-10 team at defending in transition, as well as against pick and roll ball handlers. They also boast the league's 27th ranked Defensive Efficiency and have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards.

Harden has the second-most transition points in the league and the second-most points as a pick and roll ball handler among shooting guards. He's averaged 51.5 FanDuel points over his past five matchups with Minnesota and could very well reach that number tonight.

This game also has the highest over/under on the slate, and Houston is projected to outscore their season average by 10 points. Their leading scorer will likely be heavily involved in reaching such lofty expectations.

Tobias Harris, PF, Detroit Pistons

FanDuel Price: $7,000

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Tobias Harris seems to go overlooked every night. With so many options at power forward tonight, he will likely go overlooked again.

Anthony Davis, Dirk Nowitzki, Alex Len, and Nerlens Noel may all see higher ownership than Harris.

Why You Should Use Him:

Harris has really settled in as the starting power forward for Detroit, averaging 34.6 minutes per game over his past eight games. During that span, he has topped 28 FanDuel points in all but one game, with three games of 31-plus FanDuel point performances.

Harris draws a matchup perfectly suited for his skill-set tonight against the Kings. Sacramento really struggles to defend stretch forwards who can run in transition. Hopefully you took my advice on Ryan Anderson when he dropped 38.5 FanDuel points on them a couple nights ago. If not, you now get a chance to get similar production from Harris!

The reason for Sacramento's struggles against this type of player is evidenced by the fact that they rank in the bottom 10 at defending spot-up shooters, roll-men in the pick and roll, and transition. Harris has been extremely efficient in each of those types of play in his time with Detroit. His 1.39 points per possession in transition, as well as his ridiculous 73.9 percent Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%), ranks first on the team. Harris also ranks first on the Pistons in points per possession and eFG% as the roll-man, while his points per possession and eFG% as a spot-up shooter trail only Steve Blake.

Harris took advantage of this matchup in his one previous meeting with Sacramento, putting up 42.3 FanDuel points.

Louis Williams, SG, Los Angeles Lakers

FanDuel Price: $5,000

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Louis Williams is only two games removed from an injury and is now overshadowed by D'Angelo Russell.

Similar to Harden, Williams will get lost among a deep shooting guard player pool.

Why You Should Use Him:

While Williams has been replaced by Russell in the starting lineup, he has actually played more minutes and scored more FanDuel points in his first two games back than both Russell and Jordan Clarkson.

Kobe Bryant is currently listed as questionable for tonight's game. If he is unable to go, Williams will see an increase in playing time. Williams has averaged 25 FanDuel points per game without Bryant, as opposed to 22.8 with him.

Sweet Lou draws a matchup against the Phoenix Suns tonight, one of the few teams who can rival his Lakers for the title of the league's worst defense. In addition to ranking 29th in Defensive Efficiency and dead last in fantasy points allowed to shooting guards, Phoenix boasts the league's worst transition defense.

Williams is the only Laker with over 35 transition shot attempts who has been able to maintain a transition points per possession of over 1.00, while his transition eFG% of 51.6 percent is an improvement from his season average of 48.1 percent.

Williams was able to take advantage of this matchup this season, averaging 31.4 FanDuel points in two games against the Suns. He makes for a sneaky way to get exposure to this game while others target the Lakers' starting guards.

Brandon Jennings, PG, Orlando Magic

FanDuel Price: $4,700

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Brandon Jennings has been popular lately, but there are several point guards dealing with injuries who may open up other value plays tonight, which would make Jennings not quite as appealing.

Brandon Knight will be the absolute chalk today against the Lakers, while Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Ricky Rubio, and Ishmael Smith will be highly owned too.

Jennings will likely go overlooked in a matchup against a tough Cleveland defense.

Why You Should Use Him:

Elfrid Payton has missed four straight games and isn't looking promising for tonight's matchup with the Cavs. Jennings has filled in admirably as the starting point guard in the past two games, averaging 31.4 FanDuel points, despite only playing 25.5 minutes per game. He should be locked in as the starter again if Payton sits -- and hopefully will get a little more playing time.

Jennings will match up with Kyrie Irving, who is one of the worst defensive point guards in the NBA. Despite Cleveland's slow pace and excellent all around defense, they have allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing point guards -- thanks almost entirely to Irving's defense.

Per statmuse.com, Jennings has averaged 32.7 FanDuel points per game in nine career starts against Irving. Obviously, Jennings filled different roles in all of those games, but he clearly has been able to get the best of Irving's defense in the past. He is hard to pass up on at this price and may come at low ownership too.