NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Wednesday 12/15/21

Thomas Vecchio  —  @DFS_Tom Dec 15th, 2021

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.

Grayson Allen, SG, Milwaukee Bucks ($4,000)

With a list of players out for the Milwaukee Bucks, Grayson Allen is a great value option tonight.

The Bucks are going to be without Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins, Donte DiVincenzo, Wesley Matthews, and have Khris Middleton listed as questionable. When we account for all of those players being off the court, Allen is producing 1.03 FanDuel points per minute on a 25.1% offensive usage rate. That is a 7.5% increase in usage and a 0.26 FanDuel points per minute increase when those players are active. This is a substantial increase in production, and with his salary being so affordable, he should be able to reach value easily.

In fact, Allen comes in projected for 33.26 minutes and 26.3 FanDuel points, making him the top overall value option on tonight's slate. He's taking on the Indiana Pacers. The over/under is a solid 217 points and features a close 2.0-point spread. Extra minutes, extra usage, and a close matchup should all lead to plenty of production for Allen.

Gabe Vincent, PG, Miami Heat ($4,700)

The Miami Heat are another team with a number of players out tonight.

With five players listed as out for the Heat, they should have only 10 available and it means Gabe Vincent should be in the starting lineup. This gives him a projection of 32.32 minutes and 25.9 FanDuel points, making him the fifth-best value option among point guards tonight, but the third-best among players under $5,000. He has a relatively soft matchup to attack, which could allow him to exceed that projection.

Vincent and the Heat are taking on the Philadelphia 76ers, who are allowing 39.47 FanDuel points per game to shooting guards -- 13th-worst in the league. A high volume of minutes from a player under $5,000 is always worth targeting with his ability to exceed value.

Alex Len, C, Sacramento Kings ($4,100)

The Sacramento Kings don't have a ton of injuries, but they still have some value options.

The only player of note for the Kings is Richaun Holmes, who is listed as doubtful and has missed the last three games. In each of those games, we have seen Alex Len as the new starting center, playing over 20 minutes in each of the last two games. When Holmes is off the court this season, Len is producing a solid 0.91 FanDuel points per minute on a 16.4% usage rate.

That level of production should come in handy tonight against the Washington Wizards, who are allowing the fourth-most (56.58) FanDuel points per game to opposing centers. This gives Len a projection of 22.98 minutes and 23.6 FanDuel points, putting him as the second-best value option among centers tonight.