4 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Basketball Plays for 10/27/16
Whew, what a night we had in the NBA last night as superstars Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and James Harden went off. We have plenty more studs on tap tonight, but to fit more than one on your team, you have to unearth some low-cost gems for your FanDuel lineups.
You'll also need to differentiate your lineups and roster some contrarian plays if you plan to take down some GPP winnings. Consider these four players for tournament lineups.
Rajon Rondo, PG, Chicago Bulls
FanDuel Price: $7,500
Why He Will Go Overlooked:
Most lineups will feature a combination of studs Chris Paul ($9,500), John Wall ($9,400), Damian Lillard ($9,100) and Isaiah Thomas ($8,000), while sprinkling in new starter Dennis Schroder ($6,500). Of the high-priced point guards on tonight’s slate, Rajon Rondo's role with the Chicago Bulls is the least certain with both Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade needing the ball in their hands. Also, according to Nylon Calculus, the Boston Celtics presented the third-toughest matchup for opposing point guards.
Why You Should Use Him:
This game features the highest over/under of the night (210.5 total points), according to oddsshark.com, so we want to get plenty of exposure to this game. Rondo is priced aggressively based on his new surroundings and teammates, but he spent most of last season priced in the mid-$8,000 range, so if he produces similarly, we are still getting him at a discount.
Despite the seemingly tough matchup, Rondo can use his size to his advantage against the smaller Thomas, which could allow him to get to the rim and pad his rebounding stats. Besides, it's not his scoring we are counting on; Rondo nabbed 3 or more steals in 25 games and posted 6 triple-doubles to go with 37 double-doubles, so he does have a high-ceiling if everything falls just right.
The matchup and new role will create risk and will likely keep his ownership levels down until we see how he and his teammates play together. Plus, we can always play the narrative street angle with Rondo facing off with his former team, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Matt Barnes, SF, Sacramento Kings
FanDuel Price: $4,300
Why He Will Go Overlooked:
Everyone will be all over Kawhi Leonard ($8,200) after he dominated the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, and Jimmy Butler ($8,200) should be very popular, as well. Coming off the bench this year, Matt Barnes is likely to be glossed over by daily players looking for more guaranteed minutes.
Why You Should Use Him:
You will need some salary relief to fit in some studs, and Barnes’ price tag provides just that. Tonight, the Sacramento Kings are 8.5-point home underdogs against the San Antonio Spurs, but the Kings are still expected to score 97.5 points.
New coach Dave Joerger loves him some Barnes, bringing him over from his last stop in Memphis, where Barnes played both small and power forward. That versatility gives him a stable floor for minutes in the mid-to-high 20s. In his Sacramento debut last night, Barnes played 27.5 minutes and paid off his salary by scoring 25.9 FanDuel points.
If this game turns into a blowout -- like the way San Antonio Spurs dismantled Golden State on Tuesday -- Barnes could see plenty chances to rack up garbage-time stats.
Taj Gibson, PF, Chicago Bulls
FanDuel Price: $5,300
Why He Will Go Overlooked:
Blake Griffin ($8,600), Paul Millsap ($8,000) and LaMarcus Aldridge ($7,400) headline the power forward options tonight. In Chicago, Taj Gibson falls behind Wade, Butler and Rondo in the pecking order. Plus, as we covered with Rondo, there is a lot of uncertainty in Chicago, so most will likely take a wait-and-see approach with the Bulls.
Why You Should Use Him:
Gibson had a strong enough preseason to claim the starting job at power forward and keep Nikola Mirotic glued to the bench. In six games, Gibson averaged 13.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in only 20 minutes per game. That translates to 18.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks if he plays the 26.5 minutes he averaged last year. The points probably won't be that high with all the new competition in the Windy City, but he should still produce rebounds and blocks. Even if Mirotic gets hot off the bench, Gibson will still get his minutes by backing up center Robin Lopez.
Again, we want players in this high-scoring affair, and the matchup is decent, too. Boston was 23rd in defensively for opposing power forwards. Combine that with Boston's third-fastest pace-of-play (according to Basketball Reference) from last year, and Gibson will have plenty of opportunities to clean the glass. Also, his mid-range salary relief could help you fit in another superstar elsewhere.
Mason Plumlee, C, Portland Trail Blazers
FanDuel Price: $5,100
Why He Will Go Overlooked:
Mason Plumlee put up an absolute dud in his opener, totaling 4.75 FanDuel points and crushing daily lineups that rostered him. That could scare off a lot of people, especially because Plumlee only played 14.5 minutes. With more viable options at center on today's slate than there were on opening night, Plumlee will likely be passed over.
Why You Should Use Him:
One bad game doesn't change my argument for Plumlee this year, so I'm going back to well again tonight. However, it should put some fear in other daily players and cause his 10.5% ownership on Tuesday night to go down after such a letdown. It was an anomaly, however, as Plumlee got into foul trouble early in the game, sat for a lot of the first half, and then got right back to hacking early in the second half.
At home as 2-point underdogs, the Portland Trail Blazers have a team total of 103.25 points. While DeAndre Jordan might be a great shot-blocker, Plumlee has enjoyed facing off with him. Facing Jordan in 10 games last year (including playoffs), Plumlee averaged 32.7 FanDuel points. Similar output from Plumlee tonight would pay off at six times per $1,000 in salary.
As we've already seen, he's not the safest play, but his likely contrarian status makes him awfully enticing.
