NBA

NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Tuesday 5/25/21

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-salaried options into your lineup.

Let's take a look at three players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup.

Marcus Smart, SG, Boston Celtics ($5,300)

The Boston Celtics are down 0-1 in the series to the Brooklyn Nets and offer a bit of value tonight.

Normally, $5,300 is slightly more than I would consider a 'value play' but we are dealing with a small three-game slate so that demarcation line is going to be shifted. In Game 1, we saw the Celtics run a tight eight-man rotation and that meant heavy minutes for their starters. Three of the five starters played 38 minutes or more, including Marcus Smart, who went for 25.1 FanDuel points in 39 minutes. That is far below one FanDuel point-per minute but Smart always has the potential to exceed that with his ability to rack up the steals -- which are very valuable in DFS.

With this game showing a slate-high 228.0-point over/under and the Celtics playing up in pace, Smart is projected to exceed value tonight. numberFire's projections have Smart going for 34.27 minutes and 30.0 FanDuel points, making him the second-best value option on the slate, and the best option under $5,500.

Mikal Bridges, SF, Phoenix Suns ($5,400)

Even though the Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns matchup has a slate-low 209-point total, you can still find value here.

Game 1 of this series ended with a super-low 189 final score and hopefully, that is the lowest total we'll see in this matchup. We want more scoring because that means more fantasy points across the board. If that is going to be the case tonight, you'll want to roster a player such as Mikal Bridges, since he is affordable and able to exceed value quickly. Bridges is attempting 4.4 three-pointers this season while hitting them at a 42.5% rate, both of which are career-highs.

He also averaged 1.1 steals per game and 0.9 blocks per game. This has helped Bridges become known and a '3 and D' type player in the NBA. This translates directly to fantasy production since he can add fantasy value in multiple categories. That is exactly what he is projected to do tonight, set to go for 39.05 minutes and 27.6 FanDuel points, exceeding his salary-based value.