NBA

5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Friday 10/22/21

Brandon Gdula  —  @gdula13 Oct 22nd, 2021
The Orlando Magic shape up for plenty of value on tonight's main slate. Who else can help save salary for our lineups?

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 players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup.

Cole Anthony, PG/SG, Orlando Magic,
Terrence Ross, SG/SF, Orlando Magic,
Franz Wagner, SF/SG, Orlando Magic

Cole Anthony FanDuel Salary: $4,900
Terrence Ross FanDuel Salary: $4,400
Franz Wagner FanDuel Salary: $4,000

It's value night for the Orlando Magic, and I probably don't have to stop at just these three players. We could make cases for Mohamed Bamba ($6,300), Jalen Suggs ($4,900), and R.J. Hampton ($3,900), too, but hey, whatever.

The Magic have a super lengthy injury list to start the season, and while it's good process to target games with high point totals (which this matchup against the New York Knicks doesn't have; the over/under is a slate-low 213.0), it's also good process to target players who are forced into big minutes relative to their salaries.

The three highlighted plays at the top -- Cole Anthony, Terrence Ross, and Franz Wagner -- are all projected for at least 29.0 minutes at sub-$5,000 salaries.

Wagner leads the way there at 32.1. The rookie played 32.3 minutes on Wednesday and generated 28.8 FanDuel points, stemming some peripherals that included 3 combined blocks and steals, 2 assists, 4 rebounds.

Anthony also cleared 30.0 minutes on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs but had a disappointing shooting night (3 of 12 from the field) for just 10 total points. His 5 rebounds and 4 assists got him to 19.0 FanDuel points, however.

And as for Ross, he scored 15 points on 10 shots with minimal elsewhere (just 3 rebounds and a turnover).

The point is that there are minutes available for this team, and the salaries remain low.

Even with the poor game environment against the Knicks, these guys can help fill holes in our lineups.

Scottie Barnes, SF/PF, Toronto Raptors

FanDuel Salary: $4,400

The versatile rookie for the Toronto Raptors will have multiple paths to production this season, and that's very welcomed at a low salary of $4,400.

What really stands out, though, is the 13-shot, 12-point night that he was able to net against the Washington Wizards across 32.5 minutes on Wednesday.

That did come with 6 turnovers but also 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

Based on his potential assists numbers, he should've had around 3 assists, which helps make the assist-to-turnover ratio less harrowing for a debut.

Barnes projects for 10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 combined steals and blocks across 31.0 minutes against the Boston Celtics.

Derrick Favors, C/PF, Oklahoma City Thunder

FanDuel Salary: $3,900

Excluding players on the injury report, it's Derrick Favors who leads the slate in projected value (FanDuel points per $1,000 in salary) in numberFire's projections.

Our algorithm slots Favors in for 23.6 FanDuel points over 21.5 minutes on a line of 7.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 2.0 combined steals and blocks against the Houston Rockets.

Houston sits 26th in estimated rebounding rate and 27th in estimated rebounding rate after their first game.

The efficient Favors (1.08 FanDuel points per minute last season) should be able to get some value at such a low salary in this spot.