NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Value Plays for 5/9/16

Alex McDonald  —  @McDonaldA12 May 9th, 2016
Finding value is crucial at this point in the season. Which inexpensive players can pay off their price tag tonight?

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'll need to find one of these lower-priced options to squeeze everyone into your lineup.

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

Bismack Biyombo, C, Toronto Raptors

FanDuel Price: $4,700

Bismack Biyombo is the play of the day, in my opinion. He has absolutely torched teams when Jonas Valanciunas has missed time this year. Unfortunately for the Raptors, Valanciunas has been ruled out for the rest of the series against the Heat. Fortunately for daily fantasy players, we get to enjoy the crazy value that Biyombo offers.

There is actually a large sample size to prove what Biyombo is capable of when he replaces an injured Valanciunas. There have been 21 games this season with Biyombo playing without Valanciunas. In those games, Biyombo is averaging 7.5 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.

Miami's center, Hassan Whiteside, has also been ruled out for tonight, so Biyombo should be able to haul in plenty of rebounds.

All of that for just $4,700? Yes, please.

Shaun Livingston, PG, Golden State Warriors

FanDuel Price: $4,800

Once Shaun Livingston stops producing, I will stop writing about him. But until then, I am going to keep suggesting him.

Livingston had his worst fantasy night, in terms of value, in Game 3 as he only put up 4.5 times his cost (points per $1,000 in salary). He had eclipsed five times his price tag in every game this postseason until their last contest.

The back-to-back MVP of the league, Stephen Curry, is doubtful for Game 4, which means we shall keep the Livingston train moving right along.

Livingston is extremely safe as he will certainly play 25-plus minutes and get you 20-plus fantasy points. His floor should be around his Game 3 performance of 4.5 times his salary.

Al-Farouq Aminu, PF, Portland Trail Blazers

FanDuel Price: $5,900

Al-Farouq Aminu is a little more expensive than a normal value plays but, with an injury limiting Maurice Harkless, there is value to be found with Aminu's $5,900 price tag.

After playing 37 minutes in Game 2, the minutes didn't regress. The injury to Harkless allowed Aminu to play 41 minutes in the Game 3 win over the defending champs.

Aminu piled up 23 points and 10 rebounds on his way to a 36-fantasy-point night. He was above average in both his points and rebounds, so we can expect a dip in those numbers, but the hope is that he will play close to 40 minutes again.

Per NBAWowy.com, Aminu is averaging 0.79 FanDuel fantasy points per minute this season. So far in the postseason, he is averaging 0.87 fantasy points per minute. If he sees minutes in the high 30s, the fantasy points will be there to provide plenty of value.