5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays for 12/22/17

D.J. Augustin, SG, Orlando Magic

FanDuel Price: $4,100
Projected FanDuel Points: 21.6
Projected FanDuel Value: 5.26

The Orlando Magic are missing a lot of key pieces again heading into tonight's home matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon are likely to miss, Jonathan Isaac will be on a minutes restriction even if he plays, and Terrence Ross remains out indefinitely. Given all of these injuries, other players have had to step up and fill in the lost minutes. One of the biggest beneficiaries in this regard has been D.J. Augustin.

Augustin has been on the court for at least 28 minutes in each of the past three games, well over his 21.2 minute season average. He has not had consistent output, but has hit at least 21.5 FanDuel points in three of his past five games, showcasing his upside with a 29.9-point fantasy outing on December 9 against the Atlanta Hawks.

Even without the key pieces, the Magic are expected to hang around against the Pelicans in a game with an expected total of 219 points, second-highest on the slate. The Pelicans are giving up 46.08 FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards, eighth-worst in the league. With the high total expected tonight, that number could easily rise, and Augustin could easily benefit here. While we wouldn't advise using him in cash games, he's a solid tournament play. We project him to finish with 21.6 FanDuel points tonight, returning over five times value.