FanDuel NBA: Saturday Value Plays

FanDuel NBA: Saturday Value Plays

This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.

Saturday night brings a six-game slate that features several injury-hampered squads, and a couple of superstars will also sit for non-health reasons. That naturally has the domino effect of producing plenty of value options. We have a few players with particularly low prices Saturday that belie the amount of opportunities they should see, making them especially important to consider if you want to fit in the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Ben Simmons and Damian Lillard into your lineups. Without further ado, let's dive right into the bargain bin: 

POINT GUARD  

Fred VanVleet, TOR at CHI ($5,500): Kawhi Leonard will sit out Saturday's game for rest, which should allow VanVleet a start at shooting guard while Danny Green slides over to the three. VanVleet scored  36.6 fantasy points over 32 minutes in a Thursday start versus the Knicks, the latest example of the young guard outpacing his salary when given a starting opportunity. The matchup lines up well for him Saturday versus the injury-depleted Bulls backcourt, and Chicago already comes in allowing the second-highest offensive efficiency rating (52.0) to opposing backcourts, along with the fourth-highest three-point percentage (37.5). VanVleet is qualified to exploit the latter weakness, as he's taking a career-high 4.6 three-point attempts per game and draining them at a 37.8 percent clip.

Goran Dragic, MIA at NYK ($5,300): Dragic finally made his way back into the starting lineup Thursday against the Mavericks and exploded for 56.9 fantasy points over 38 minutes. Justise Winslow (thigh) and Josh Richardson (heel) will both remain out Saturday, which should afford Dragic no shortage of opportunity against a vulnerable opponent at a very reasonable price. New York has allowed 39.9 fantasy points per game to point guards for the season, including the second most (65.0) over the last five games. The Knicks are also yielding the fifth-highest offensive efficiency rating (26.9) to the position, while Dragic sports a 21.9 percent usage rate and averages 1.07 fantasy points per minute without his talented pair of teammates on the floor this season.

SHOOTING GUARD        

Delon Wright, MEM at PHO ($6,200): Wright has been seeing extended run with Avery Bradley (lower leg) sidelined the last five games. The former Raptor has scored 29.8 to 50.1 fantasy points in three of those contests and will see a matchup ripe for more of the same Saturday. The Suns come in allowing the fourth-highest three-point percentage (36.8) overall, including a 42.5 percent success rate from distance to shooting guards specifically. They've also yielded the highest offensive efficiency rating (24.3) to twos, along with the sixth-most fantasy points per game (60.2) to the position over the last five contests.

Antonio Blakeney, CHI vs. TOR ($4,000): Blakeney has been reaping the benefits of injuries to teammates in his own right. With Kris Dunn (back) and Zach LaVine (thigh) both missing multiple games and set to be absent again Saturday, Blakeney should log plenty of minutes at minimum, if not another start. The 22-year-old has posted 25.6 and 18.7 fantasy points over his last two games, respectively, and he's taken double-digit shot attempts in three straight. With a price that doesn't require anything beyond what he's generated in his last pair of games to justify his selection, Blakeney makes for a viable candidate again Saturday, especially in the "punt" position on FD. 

SMALL FORWARD

Bruno Caboclo, MEM at PHO ($6,000): Caboclo has been outstanding versus the Thunder and Warriors over his last pair of contests, parlaying his current starting assignment at power forward into tallies of 45.2 and 46.1 fantasy points, respectively, with a double-double in each of those games. He could be poised for more of the same Saturday. The Suns have yielded the sixth-most fantasy points per game (42.0) to fours, as well as the third-highest shooting percentage (48.3) to the position. Moreover, as mentioned in Wright's entry, Phoenix yields plenty of success from three-point range overall, while the floor-spacing Caboclo has drained seven of his 11 tries from distance over his last two games and sports a 34.4 percent success rate from behind the arc overall for the season.

J.J. Redick, PHI at MIN ($5,200): Redick's price has taken a tumble recently due to some inconsistent production. The veteran bounced back from a poor performance against the Magic in his last contest against the Bulls, scoring 28.1 fantasy points over 30 minutes. Redick also scored 24.0 to 50.0 fantasy points in five other games over his last 10 and faces off versus a T-Wolves squad that's allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to shooting guards over the last 10 (61.6), along with a bottom-10 offensive efficiency rating (22.7) for the campaign.

POWER FORWARD   

Dario Saric, MIN vs. PHI ($5,200): Saric gets a crack at his old squad Saturday, and the positional matchup lines up well for him. The Sixers have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points per game (41.0) to power forwards for the season, along with the fourth-highest shooting percentage (49.0) and sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating (26.1). Taj Gibson (calf) has also missed the last four games and is considered questionable at best for Saturday, and Saric has scored 22.2 to 25.5 fantasy points in four of the last five games, including three of Gibson's absences.  

Kelly Olynyk, MIA at NY ($4,600): Olynyk has seen a downturn the last two games, scoring just 7.1 and 15.0 fantasy points, respectively. However, he also has tallies of 33.3 and 43.9 in two other contests over his last six, providing a glimpse at his upside. The Knicks have been one of the most vulnerable teams to power forwards all season, allowing the second-highest offensive efficiency rating (27.3) to the position and the most fantasy points per game (45.6) to the position. Olynyk also brings a nice floor-spacing dimension with his three-point shooting, while the Knicks are allowing the third-highest three-point shooting percentage (36.8) of any team on its home floor.

CENTER  

Boban Marjanovic, PHI at MIN ($3,700): Joel Embiid will sit out Saturday's contest for rest, which will allow Marjanovic some extra minutes behind spot starter Jonah Bolden. The towering veteran has scored 16.7 and 21.1 fantasy points off the bench in his last two games, and he's put together several impressive performances when given extended minutes since joining the Sixers. His near-minimum price brings very little risk, and he'll also face off against a T-Wolves team that's allowed 40.3 fantasy points per game over the last five to centers, a spike from the 34.0 per contest they allow for the season.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Juan Carlos Blanco plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: jcblanco22, FanDuel: jc_blanco22, DraftPot: jc_blanco22, FantasyDraft: jc_blanco22, OwnThePlay: jcblanco22.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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