NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on 9/4/20

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.

Eric Bledsoe, PG, Milwaukee Bucks ($5,600)

It's bizarre to think of Eric Bledsoe, who averaged 1.11 FanDuel points per minute this season, as a value play, but he is incredibly affordable at point guard for Friday. Bledsoe's biggest obstacle has been playing time, which has come two-fold. When he was healthy in the Milwaukee Bucks' previous series against the Orlando Magic, Bledsoe only averaged 25.4 minutes per game. Then, Bledsoe injured his hamstring leading up to this series with the Miami Heat and missed Game 1.

Returning in Game 2, the leash finally appeared to be off Bledsoe, as Milwaukee is desperate for a secondary playmaker as the Miami Heat continue to neutralize Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bledsoe played 31 minutes and was only one of three Bucks to take more than 10 shots -- with Giannis and Khris Middleton the others. If Bledsoe can see his larger minutes share again, he has the potential to blow away this price tag given his per-minute production during the regular season.

Jae Crowder, SF, Miami Heat ($5,000)

Jae Crowder's playing time was a focal point of potential DFS value, as he has been starting for Miami all postseason, but just simply did not see many minutes in their series against the Indiana Pacers. He only averaged 25.8 minutes in that series, likely due to an ankle injury, because he has well surpassed that workload in this series.

Crowder is averaging 35.5 minutes per game in the first two contests against the Bucks, but his offensive aggressiveness may be the more encouraging news. He's taken 10.5 shots per game, most from three-point territory, and added 7.5 rebounds per game -- which is easier to do against Milwaukee given that they play at the highest pace, with the most shot attempts, of any team in the NBA.

Danny Green, SG, Los Angeles Lakers ($4,300)

It will be interesting to see how the Los Angeles Lakers use their personnel against the Houston Rockets on Friday, given that the Rockets play without a traditional center. That likely means less time on the court for JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard, and more time on the court for Los Angeles's wings.

Among those wings is Danny Green, and Green has already seen additional playing time against the Rockets during the regular season. He only averaged 24.8 minutes per game against all teams, but that increased to 29.7 minutes per game against Houston, likely because he, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Kyle Kuzma can all play together with LeBron James and Anthony Davis without concerns of size on the floor to match a traditional center.

The Lakers and Heat ranked 12th and 22nd in pace, respectively, in the regular season and are facing the top-two squads from the regular season in pace. That makes plenty of value among the role players on the two squads, although Miami's value has been priced up already on FanDuel given the two games they have played. That might make the role players on the Lakers, like Danny Green, the best spot to target value in tournaments.


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.