NBA

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

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Mar 9th, 2020
Donte DiVincenzo is set for another big role with Giannis Antetokounmpo out tonight. Is he the best value option on the slate?

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 five players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup.

Donte DiVincenzo, SG, Milwaukee Bucks ($4,200)

With only three games on tonight's slate, the value options should be very clear, and Donte DiVincenzo is one of them.

We know that Giannis Antetokounmpo is OUT for this game and that not only changes the Milwaukee Bucks starting lineup -- but what players are viable in their offense. The Bucks are on the second night of a back-to-back and should have a similar rotation as to what we saw yesterday. DiVincenzo came off the bench to play 28 minutes while racking up a very impressive 36.4 FanDuel points.

When we account for Antetokounmpo being off the court this season, DiVincenzo is carrying a 20.0% usage rate and posting 1.06 FanDuel points per minute. The matchup tonight versus Denver Nuggets is a tougher one -- they are the best team in the league versus shooting guards -- but our projections still like him tonight. We have him going for 25.6 FanDuel points in 28 minutes, making him the best value option the slate.

Jerami Grant, PF, Denver Nuggets ($3,700)

Despite being a role player for the Nuggets, Jerami Grant has plenty of value.

Grant is not the starting power forward -- Paul Millsap is the starter -- but we see Grant playing over 25 minutes on a nightly basis. In his last six games, Grant has played 27 minutes or more four times and posted 21 FanDuel points or more in five of those games. We should be seeing that from Grant tonight since the Nuggets are playing up in pace by a significant margin. They are ranked 29th in pace this season, while Milwaukee is 1st overall. If the game is going to be played at a faster pace, the Nuggets should have Grant out there over Millsap -- just my opinion.

The Bucks are allowing 42.9 FanDuel points per game to opposing power forwards -- the league average 44.3. It's reasonable to expect Grant to play his 25 minutes or more while coming close to 20 FanDuel points. He is only $3.7K tonight, meaning he would need 18.5 FanDuel points to reach 5x value -- anything after that is a big bonus.

Cody Zeller, C, Charlotte Hornets ($4,000)

Cody Zeller is our top projected value player among centers tonight, let's look at why.

The Charlotte Hornets are dead last in the league when it comes to offensive pace, the antithesis of The Road Runner. Tonight, they are playing the Atlanta Hawks -- who are fourth in pace -- putting the Charlotte players in a spot for plenty of extra possessions. More possessions means more fantasy points, and it makes the players valuable. Zeller splits time at center for the Hornets, but the limited playing time shouldn't prevent him from reaching value.

The Hawks are allowing 56.2 FanDuel points per game to opposing centers -- the second-worst in the league -- which should allow Zeller to exceed his normal production of 0.91 FanDuel points per minute. Due to all this, our projections have him going for 24.6 FanDuel points in 22 minutes tonight, the best value at center.