NBA

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

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.

Jerami Grant, SF, Denver Nuggets ($5,000)

The Denver Nuggets are having to work overtime to try and beat the Los Angeles Clippers, and that has meant larger minutes for all Denver starters. While Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are obvious to lead the team in minutes, but third may be a surprise. Jerami Grant has seen over 40 minutes in the last two games, and that trend is not new. Grant has seen over 35 minutes in six of ten playoff games, and six of the last seven since being named the starter in the Nuggets' previous series with the Utah Jazz.

Grant's fantasy production comes and goes, which is why he is at such a low salary in such a huge offense. His 0.80 FanDuel points per minute during the regular season was solid, but that comes at a wild range of outcomes. On Saturday in Game 2, Grant scored 34.4 FanDuel points, but only managed 14.6 FanDuel points in Game 3. Grant is currently projected to find his average on Wednesday at 0.79 FanDuel points per minute, which would pay off his salary with another heavy minute load.

Daniel Theis, PF, Boston Celtics ($5,600)

The rotation for the Boston Celtics feels like one inside NBA 2K21 instead of one inside the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Six Celtics players saw at least 28 minutes, and no other player on the roster saw more than nine minutes. That makes targeting easier for daily fantasy purposes inside the six rotation options.

The budget end of those players are Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis, and Brad Wanamaker, who all have a salary of $6,000 or lower. Smart, however, is at a loaded shooting guard position, and Wanamaker's minutes total may have been slightly inflated from normal due to a 24-point margin entering the fourth quarter. Once in a timeshare with Enes Kanter, the Boston big man Theis has taken control of the center job, seeing 30 minutes or more in three of the last four contests. Theis should see heavy minutes again, looking to build upon his 9.6 points and 9.2 rebounds average in the series thus far.

Louis Williams, PG, Los Angeles Clippers ($5,500)

Below three marquee options at the point guard position on Wednesday is a dilemma with a pair of Los Angeles Clippers' point guards. Patrick Beverley has been back all series from his calf issues, but his minutes have been limited thus far. He only saw 21 minutes in Game 3, and while it is possible his minutes limit is upped again for Game 4, Beverley may not be worth those minutes. Beverley's 13.4% usage and 0.87 FanDuel points per minute from the regular season indicate he may have difficulty paying off his salary in limited action.

Louis Williams has a much higher usage rate this postseason, which is at 22.1% leading the Clippers' second unit. Williams also is averaging 0.95 FanDuel points per minute this postseason, which would mean Williams only needs 29 minutes of court time at his normal production rate to eclipse value at his salary on Wednesday. Williams is only averaging 27 minutes per game in the postseason, but worth remembering, the Clippers have had three of their nine games end with margins of victory of more than 25 points, which impacts Williams substantially as a bench player that does not play in blowouts.


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.