NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Thursday 12/2/21

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.

Anfernee Simons, PG, Portland Trail Blazers ($5,200)

With Damian Lillard out for the Portland Trail Blazers, Anfernee Simons will be the starting point guard moving forward.

Lillard is set to be out for about 10 days, and that means we will be seeing an increased role for Simons in the coming days. Simons is carrying a 23.7% offensive usage rate and producing 0.96 FanDuel points per minute when Lillard is off the court this season, which should lead to him being one of the most popular players on the slate.

He will be up against the San Antonio Spurs, where the over/under is a slate-high 216.5 points with a 5.0-point spread. The Spurs come into this game allowing 49.85 FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards, which is the fifth-worst in the league. The leads to Simons having a projection of 34.78 minutes and 29.8 FanDuel points, which is the fourth-best value on the slate.

Landry Shamet, SG, Phoenix Suns ($3,800)

Landry Shamet is set for an increase in minutes with Devin Booker out.

Booker is dealing with a hamstring injury, and it puts Shamet in a spot to be in the starting lineup and an increase in playing time. Over the last 10 games, Shamet has played a high of 23 minutes. He normally comes off the bench and has a solid role for the Phoenix Suns, but tonight that is set to change, as he is projected for 29.03 minutes and 20.9 FanDuel points. Getting close to 30 minutes is absolutely something to take note of when Shamet has played fewer than 20 minutes in four of his last five games.

He will be up against the Detroit Pistons, who are allowing their opponents to make 12.1 three-pointers per game, which is 15th in the league. Considering Shamet has taken four three-pointers or more in nine of his last 10 games -- all off the bench -- the scoring upside looks good for him in this matchup.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, PF, Oklahoma City Thunder ($4,700)

A soft defensive matchup puts Jeremiah Robinson-Earl in a good spot tonight versus the Memphis Grizzlies.

Although Robinson-Earl is listed only as a power forward, he is actually the starting center for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Speaking of centers, the Grizzlies are struggling to defend them this season, allowing the fifth-most (57.63) FanDuel points per game. This puts Robinson-Earl in a good spot to reach or exceed value tonight, which is certainly possible given the fact he is producing 0.96 FanDuel points per minute on a 14.1% offensive usage rate.

This is also a good pace-up spot for the Thunder (16th) against the Grizzlies (6th), which should allow extra possessions and extra fantasy production for Robinson-Earl.