5 NBA FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Wednesday 1/11/23
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 one of these lower-salaried options into your lineup.
Let's take a look at some players who can help fill in the gaps in your lineup on FanDuel tonight, using numberFire's daily fantasy basketball projections as a guide.
Onyeka Okongwu, C, Atlanta Hawks
FanDuel Salary: $6,000
Onyeka Okongwu remains a value target while his salary is at or below $6,000 and while Clint Capela remains out.
Okongwu sets up to get another start, which would be his 8th consecutive nod and his 13th start of the season.
In his 12 prior starts, Okongwu has averaged a stat line of 10.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and a heavy 3.3 combined steals and blocks over 32.6 minutes. That works out to 30.3 FanDuel points per game and 0.93 per minute.
The Atlanta Hawks are facing the Milwaukee Bucks tonight, a team ranked third in defensive rating. Against top-10 defenses, Okongwu has still averaged 29.1 FanDuel points per game in starts.
Al Horford, C/PF, Boston Celtics
FanDuel Salary: $5,000
Al Horford and the Boston Celtics are 9.5-point favorites over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, a team without a few key assets (more on that in a second).
Boston is listing Robert Williams -- and Marcus Smart -- as questionable, so Horford should be set up to see a big role.
With those two off the floor, Horford has a tepid 12.1% usage rate but a viable 0.80 FanDuel points per minute rate. However, in 22 games without Williams, Horford has averaged 31.4 minutes and 25.6 FanDuel points.
numberFire projects Horford for 29.3 minutes and 28.5 FanDuel points, good for 5.69 FanDuel points per $1,000 in salary.
Dyson Daniels, PG, New Orleans Pelicans
FanDuel Salary: $3,800
The value itself tonight is pretty weak, and there are a lot of studs potentially in action. Therefore, jumping down to the sub-$4,000 range when we can do so could be the key to unlocking the true upside from the superstars. Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,600) and Nikola Jokic ($11,500), in particular, are priorities.
That points to Dyson Daniels, who is set for extended work while the Pelicans are without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
With those two off the floor, Daniels holds a per-minute average of 0.79 FanDuel points.
Daniels is projected as numberFire's top value play of the night with a line of 9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 combined steals and blocks over 28.0 minutes.
Harrison Barnes, SF/PF, Sacramento Kings
FanDuel Salary: $5,800
Though the tilt between the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets doesn't hold the highest total of the night, it's just 1.5 points off the lead at 237.5. There's also a large spread in this game (Kings by 9.5), but we're getting Harrison Barnes against a bottom-tier defense and in a good game environment.
The Rockets are 28th in defensive rating; Barnes has taken advantage of bad defenses and high totals all season.
Barnes, in nine games against bottom-10 defenses with a total of at least 235.0 points, has averaged 0.87 FanDuel points per minute -- up from a full-season rate of 0.78.
Kenyon Martin Jr., SF/PF, Houston Rockets
FanDuel Salary: $3,800
On the other side of that game, we have Kenyon Martin Jr.. As a standalone play, KJ doesn't do a ton to stand out, yet he does help us get to the studs, and the multi-position eligibility sure helps.
Martin Jr. is projected for 23.3 minutes and 19.4 FanDuel points in this spot against the Kings, who are 24th in defensive rating on the season.
His Rockets have played in just two games with a total of at least 235.5 -- and none as high as 237.5.
This is, then, one of the best matchups for this team all season, and the bench minutes for Martin Jr. should lead to fantasy scoring at a salary of just $3,800.
