3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 2/12/21
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-salaried 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.
Brook Lopez, C, Milwaukee Bucks
DraftKings Salary: $4,800
Brook Lopez is strictly a situational DFS play on a night-to-night basis. You never quite know what you are going when he gets his typical 25 to 28 minutes, but when he's over 30 minutes that changes. According to Basketball Reference, when BroLo has received at least 30 minutes, he has averaged 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 24.9 DK points a game. It's the type of production that won't win you a tournament, but it's solid for cash games and in-game stacks.
This might not be an opportunity to game stack against the Utah Jazz and their third-ranked defense, but Lopez is viable because of the matchup. Rudy Gobert playing 30-plus minutes will require Lopez to do the same, just like he did in the two teams' previous meeting when he turned 32 minutes into 12 shots, 12 points, and 23.3 DK points.
This contest is almost certain to be a close one down to the wire. The Jazz are favored by one, while a 232.5 over/under provides Milwaukee with a fantasy-friendly 115.75 implied team total. Lopez should be your go-to guy if you have $5,000 to finalize your roster.
Raul Neto, PG/SG, Washington Wizards
DraftKings Salary: $4,200
Maybe the most impactful news for Friday's games is the fact that Bradley Beal will not play for the Washington Wizards due to rest purposes. Of course, Russell Westbrook is the main beneficiary, but at a major discount, Raul Neto is someone to look to as he soaks up some of Beal's monster role.
Beal's absence opens up a matter of 35.3 minutes and a 36.5% usage rate that leads the entire NBA. Whether Neto starts or not, he should get starter's minutes, but when he starts, he has done well, averaging 20.3 fantasy points in only 22.7 minutes. That comes out to 0.89 per minute, and as we saw on Wednesday with Westbrook out, he tallied up 21.5 DK points in his 27 minutes despite a 22-point loss to Toronto.
There aren't a lot of low-salary players who can help you get up to someone like Westbrook or Nikola Jokic, so Neto might be highly-rostered if he starts. Either way, you can feel good about him in both cash and tournament formats.
Isaiah Stewart, C, Detroit Pistons
DraftKings Salary: $3,100
Isaiah Stewart might be the most obvious player to roster under $5,000. And for that matter, he's under $4,000 and oh so close to the minimum. The 19-year-old rookie might just find himself lined up for a second straight start with Mason Plumlee's status uncertain due to elbow bursitis.
Averaging 14.9 DK points in 17.2 minutes a game, the seldom-used rookie could do a lot more with a 25-to-30 minute workload. Just last night, he played 31 minutes and finished with 17 points and 33.25 DK points. At this low salary, you don't even need half of that for him to return five points for every $1,000.
On Friday, Detroit takes to the road against Boston, who allows top-half production to centers, to the tune of 53.4 DK points a night. Regardless of whether the game stays close or blows out, the young big should get a lot of run and bring back great value.
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.
