3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 8/21/20
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 for today's slate.
OG Anunoby, SF, Toronto Raptors ($4,800)
Minutes in a quality offense are definitely a good thing in daily fantasy, and OG Anunoby fits that bill for the Toronto Raptors. OG is averaging 35 minutes per game in Toronto's series with the Brooklyn Nets, and that has enabled him to eclipse 25 FanDuel points in both contests so far.
Anunoby, who is $400 more expensive than he was on Monday, may still actually be under-performing compared to what the Orlando bubble proved he is capable of with these minutes. In the three regular-season contests in Orlando in which Anunoby saw at least 30 minutes, he averaged 14.0 points per game, which is higher than the 9.0 mark he has set in the playoffs thus far.
If Anunoby can take a more prevalent role in the offense, he may be an even better value play than he has been the last two contests, and he continues to work against a Brooklyn squad that gave up the sixth-most FanDuel points to opposing small forwards on the year.
Reggie Jackson, PG, Los Angeles Clippers ($3,500)
There are -- not one but -- two playable minimum-price starters on Friday. It's almost like the regular season is back!
Reggie Jackson is the first option at point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, and he should get the nod for the Clips as Patrick Beverley is once again doubtful to play on Friday with his lingering calf issue. Jackson started and played 26 minutes. While that does not seem like a ton of minutes at first, it was the fifth-most on the Clippers, who have really shrank their rotation in the postseason, and Jackson was one of four Clippers to play at least eight minutes in the fourth quarter.
If Jackson once again plays 26 minutes, his 0.75-FanDuel-point-per-minute mark in the bubble would reasonably project him for 19.5 points, good enough for a solid 5.57 FanDuel value score for a minimum price player.
This may not be the sexiest value play, but with a lot of regular starters, such as his teammate Marcus Morris, more expensive for Friday's slate, Jackson presents some minutes upside at a very affordable tag.
Torrey Craig, SG, Denver Nuggets ($3,500)
We just mentioned that Jackson is certainly not a sexy value play, but the Denver Nuggets defensive stopper Torrey Craig is even less so. Craig's season-high in shot attempts was 10, so he is never looking to create his offense and offers very little scoring upside, but given that fact, he does hold a surprisingly respectable 0.76-FanDuel-points-per-minute average inside the NBA bubble.
Craig has been well below that in two poor playoff games thus far, fighting foul trouble in Game 1 and seeing only 27 minutes in reduced action in Game 2, as was the case for most Nuggets' starters in their 124-105 loss on Wednesday.
With Denver not usually struggling on offense with the likes of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr., it is highly unlikely the Nuggets, boasting the worst defensive rating in the NBA playoffs thus far, bench their best defender. Craig is currently projected to hit value by numberFire with 19.3 FanDuel points in Friday's game, and I would expect Craig well exceeds the 26.7-minute projection on that expected total as he continues to shadow Donovan Mitchell.
Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
