NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 1/7/21

Brett Oswalt  —  @bRo14thekid Jan 7th, 2021
Juan Hernangomez has risen to fantasy relevance as a starter in Minnesota. Who else can help round out your lineups on Thursday night?

A major key to success in daily fantasy basketball is uncovering potential value plays. If you're looking to roster a stud or two, you need to consider squeezing 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 on DraftKings tonight.

Juan Hernangomez, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves

DraftKings Price: $4,400

For Juan Hernangomez, it appears his salary hasn't caught up to his potential yet as a starter. After going for 15.25 DraftKings points two games ago in his first start, the 25-year-old turned around to amass 46.5 DK points with 25 points and 8 rebounds over 34 minutes. He knocked down five three-pointers en route to a value of 13.7 points per $1,000 at his $3,400 price.

It's likely that we see another start for Hernangomez, and if we do he's going to be one of the highest-rostered players in both cash and tournaments. Although Portland is third-best against power forwards, they are third-worst in defensive rating, per NBA.com.

According to our oddsFire tool, the Timberwolves are 10-point road underdogs, however, a 232 total provides them a 111 implied total. That's enough for a low-priced player to go big in the scoring column.

Gorgui Dieng, C, Memphis Grizzlies

DraftKings Price: $4,100

When the Grizzlies and Cavaliers meet, we will have ourselves a battle of efficient backup centers between Gorgui Dieng and JaVale McGee. While McGee is a guy to consider, Dieng is playing more minutes and doing even more of late.

Since seeing his minutes tick up four games ago, the veteran has averaged 25.8 DK points in his 22.3 minutes of court time. He has scored in double-figures three times with at least one triple in each (two in a pair of them). His usage rate is up to 19.3% from 17.5% a year ago, speaking to the need for playmakers and producers in the absence of Ja Morant.

Also in Dieng's favor is the fact that Cleveland is playing on the second night of a back-to-back. They will be tired as they travel to Memphis, leading to a four-point spread in Memphis' favor. On a fairly limited slate, Dieng could play a vital role in a tournament victory.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, SF, Brooklyn Nets

DraftKings Price: $3,900

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot didn't exactly go off when we recommended him two days ago. Not only did he fall short of our target of five-times value, but he failed to draw the start in the first game without Kevin Durant. But still, there are many reasons to go back to the well.

Despite a bench role, TLC still logged 24 minutes, doing so for a second straight game. He also posted the highest usage rate among guys not named Caris LeVert and Kyrie Irving. And because of that, he was able to hit 5 of 9 field goals for 11 points and 16.25 DK points.

TLC is only a game removed from 22.5 DK points, and he has another game over 20 to his credit. He's not a shoo-in, but you're getting 25 minutes for a team that's projected to score around 111 points, according to the oddsmakers.

Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her 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.