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.
Malcolm Brogdon, PG/SG, Boston Celtics
Al Horford, C/PF, Boston Celtics
Sam Hauser, SF, Boston Celtics
Brogdon's FanDuel Salary: $5,600
Horford's FanDuel Salary: $5,300
Hauser's FanDuel Salary: $4,800
The Boston Celtics are depleted tonight. They're for sure without Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum is doubtful, and Robert Williams and Grant Williams are questionable.
That'll open up a ton of opportunity for the Celtics' depth pieces.
Malcolm Brogdon is a direct beneficiary of it all. numberFire's model projects Brogdon for 29.9 minutes and 32.7 FanDuel points against the Milwaukee Bucks, a former team of his.
With Tatum, Brown, and Smart off the floor, Brogdon has a 36.0% usage rate and a per-minute average of 1.11 FanDuel points over 82.4 minutes, according to RotoGrinders' CourtIQ tool. As that sample grows, the usage will have to tick down a bit, but it's clear that he's in a great spot for production on tonight's small slate.
Al Horford is also projected for a similar output of 31.1 minutes and 30.0 FanDuel points. Sam Hauser is another top-five value play via numberFire's model.
There's also Payton Pritchard ($3,900) and Grant Williams (if active; $5,000) to target.
Matisse Thybulle, SF, Portland Trail Blazers
Drew Eubanks, C/PF, Portland Trail Blazers
Thybulle's FanDuel Salary: $3,700
Eubanks' FanDuel Salary: $4,600
Both Matisse Thybulle and Drew Eubanks will benefit from the Portland Trail Blazers' current rotation. The team traded Josh Hart, Jusuf Nurkic has missed six straight games, and Jerami Grant could miss tonight (he's a great play at $6,000 if active).
But Thybulle just played 26.5 minutes in his game last night and put up 35.2 FanDuel points. Because of the back-to-back, his salary didn't change.
Eubanks played 23.8 minutes and put up 21.3 FanDuel points.
Both have top-seven projections again tonight, and that would improve if Grant (numberFire's current top value) is ruled out.
Between Portland and Boston, we have a lot of value options to target.
Again, Jerami Grant at $6,000 is a value option, and Anfernee Simons ($6,200) just misses the value cutoff.