NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Value Plays for 5/2/16

Alex McDonald  —  @McDonaldA12 May 2nd, 2016
With plenty of high-priced studs playing tonight, which players can you roster to save money?

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'll need to find one of these lower-priced options to squeeze everyone into your lineup.

Let's take a look at three guys who can help fill the gaps in your lineup tonight.

Serge Ibaka, PF, Oklahoma City Thunder

FanDuel Price: $5,600

Serge Ibaka was the closest thing to a bright spot for Oklahoma City in Game 1. The Spurs destroyed the Thunder, but Ibaka was still able to put together 23.4 fantasy points even in a blowout.

San Antonio was choosing to give Ibaka his mid-range jump shot, which he took often. Whether it is good for the Thunder or not, it is great for fantasy news.

Ibaka also grabbed only two rebounds in Game 1. In the three games in the regular season against San Antonio, he averaged 8.3 rebounds per game.

If the game is closer than last time out and the Spurs actually miss a shot or two, which it almost has to be, Ibaka will play over 30 minutes.

Tristan Thompson, C, Cleveland Cavaliers

FanDuel Price: $4,500

With only two games on the slate tonight, positions are scarce, especially the center position. Tristan Thompson offers an abundance of savings while providing a slight amount of safety.

We can probably expect Thompson to play minutes in the high 30s due to Atlanta's frontcourt of Al Horford and Paul Millsap.

Thompson is by no means an offensive stat-stuffer, but he does produce .75 fantasy points per minute on FanDuel, according to NBAWowy.com. If he does, in fact, play significant minutes during this series, the playing time and low cost will lead to plenty of value.

Dennis Schroder, PG, Atlanta Hawks

FanDuel Price: $3,500

Dennis Schroder has been a per-minute stud this entire year. He averages 1.03 fantasy points per minutes on the season, which is higher than players like Giannis Antetokounmpo (.995) and Schroder's point guard opponent Kyrie Irving (.977).

The only downside is that Schroder only plays about 20 minutes per game. In the crucial Game 6 against Boston, he played 23 minutes and put together a 25.6-fantasy-point outing.

The minimum-salaried Schroder brings plenty of risk to the table as he only broke six times his cost (points per $1,000 in salary) just twice in the series with Boston.

He may be a better tournament option than cash game option because he offers savings and upside but does produce poor performances.