NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 1/9/20

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Jan 9th, 2020
Al Horford is going to see big minutes against his former team tonight and should be in the starting lineup. Which other value plays should you target?

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 need to consider squeezing in one of these lower-priced options into your lineup.

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

Al Horford, PF, Philadelphia 76ers ($5,400)

With Joel Embiid ruled out for tonight's game, Al Horford should be getting the start at center.

While not yet confirmed, Horford should be in the starting lineup as the center against his former team, the Boston Celtics. Horford comes in as out best overall point-per-dollar value play on the slate regardless of position, per our models, as we have him going for 33.2 FanDuel points in 33 minutes. When Embiid is off the court this season, Horford sees a 4.2 percentage point increase in his offensive usage, along with an extra 0.19 FanDuel points per minute.

With James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and even Damian Lillard on this slate, plenty of DFS players will look for some savings at other positions, and Horford should be at the top of the value list.

Svi Mykhailiuk, SG, Detroit Pistons ($4,200)

The Detroit Pistons have a number of injuries right now, and this is opening up plenty of value in their lineup.

Over the past few games for the Pistons, we have seen Svi Mykhailiuk not only enter the starting lineup but play some serious minutes. He has played 28 minutes or more in four straight games, though he hasn't been super efficient, posting 0.64 FanDuel points per minute this season. That might sound like a bad thing, but he is only $4.2K and doesn't need to do a ton in order to reach five-times value.

In his most recent game, he played the Cleveland Cavaliers -- the same team he is playing tonight -- putting up 23.7 FanDuel points in 34 minutes. That is what we should be seeing from him again tonight since the Cavaliers are allowing 44.0 FanDuel points per game to shooting guards this season, the second-most in the league.

Mike Muscala, PF, Oklahoma City Thunder ($3,600)

With Nerlens Noel and Danilo Gallinari out for the Oklahoma City Thunder, they need some minutes to be played at power forward.

Mike Muscala probably won't see the starting lineup, but there are minutes for him coming off the bench. That is what we saw from him the other night against the Brooklyn Nets, when he played 17 minutes and posted 20.1 FanDuel points. He is not the type of player you want in cash games, but if you are looking to go for a stars-and-scrubs approach for tournaments, he fits the build. He is only $100 above the minimum salary and is playing in the game with the highest over/under (226.5 points) on the slate.

We also get the Thunder playing up in pace against the Houston Rockets, creating extra opportunities for scoring. The Thunder are 23rd in pace this season while the Rockets are the second-fastest team in the league.