In case you've never played daily fantasy basketball, every player has a salary and your roster cannot exceed the game's salary-cap maximum.
For FanDuel leagues, rosters consist of nine players and the salary cap is $60,000, which averages to roughly $6,667 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Wednesday's games, Timberwolves PF Kevin Love ($11,600) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,500).
There are a number of benefits compared to traditional full-season re-draft leagues, such as:
- you don't have to worry about being saddled by players sidelined by injury;
- having a late pick doesn't rule out owning studs like Kevin Durant or LeBron James;
- you get the instant gratification of winning your league(s) that night.
OK, with the preliminary stuff out of the way, here are some value plays to consider for Wednesday (March 5th) FanDuel leagues:
PG - Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks (at POR), $6,700: In his past four games, Teague has scored at least 26 points and 33.6 fantasy points per game. In his most recent game, Teague scored 29 points and added nine assists, six boards, two steals and a block for 52.7 fantasy points. It's unclear if Paul Millsap (knee) will play tonight and if he does, Teague may score fewer points, but he's a solid value as the 13th-highest priced point guard for tonight's games. Only the 76ers have allowed more fantasy points to opposing point guards this season than the Blazers.
PG - George Hill, Indiana Pacers (at CHA), $4,700: Hill returned to the court last night after missing two games and he gets a favorable matchup tonight against the Bobcats. Over the past 15 days, the Bobcats have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.
PG - Will Bynum, Detroit Pistons (vs. CHI), $4,600: While I'd like to see Bynum get more minutes, he's been productive with the time he's getting. In 18 minutes against the Knicks on Monday, Bynum scored 16 points and added three rebounds, three assists and three steals for 27.1 fantasy points. In his past three games, he has averaged 15.33 points, 5.67 assists and 1.67 steals per game despite the modest playing time.
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SG - Vince Carter, Dallas Mavericks (at DEN), $5,800: Over his past five games, Carter has scored more than 30 fantasy points four times. During that run, he has averaged 18.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. The Nuggets have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.
SG - Kevin Martin, Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. NYK), $5,800: After a multi-game absence due to his thumb injury, Martin is averaging 24.0 points per game since returning. While he's primarily a one-category (points) producer, Martin has 25.4 and 36.8 fantasy points in his two games back. In addition, the Knicks have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to shooting guards this year.
SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. SAC), $4,300: While the rookie from Greece has been a little inconsistent with his fantasy production, he has scored 26-plus fantasy points in four of his past seven games. During that seven-game span, Antetokounmpo has averaged 23.83 fantasy points per game. The Kings have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing SGs this season.
(As great as Paul George has been playing, it's hard to keep him out of my lineups tonight. At a reasonable price for a stud player ($8,900), George has scored at least 37 fantasy points in eight consecutive games and he has 41.4-plus in five of those games including 49.4 last night. With the Bobcats allowing LeBron to score 61 on Monday, George should be in for a big night.)
SF - Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. ATL), $6,900: While his price has crept up slightly, he's still pricely barely above the average cost of a starter ($6,667). Batum has appeared in many of these FanDuel posts as a multi-category stat stuffer. In his past five games, Batum has scored a minimum of 30.7 fantasy points in each game and has averaged 38.52 per game. Over that stretch, Batum has averaged 16.6 points, 10.6 boards, 4.8 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals. The Hawks have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.
SF - Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets (vs. DAL), $5,200: After missing a game against the Nets, Chandler has been solid in his two games back including a double-double (25 points, 10 rebounds) on Monday. The Mavs are in the bottom third in the league at limiting fantasy points to opposing small forwards.
SF - Maurice Harkless, Orlando Magic (vs. HOU), $4,400: Harkless has been inconsistent this season overall, but he has been consistently productive in his past four games. Since Feb. 25th, Harkless has played more than 30 minutes per game and averaged 14.75 points, 4.5 boards, 1.25 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He has scored between 22.1 and 29.7 fantasy points in each of those four games and gets a solid matchup against the Rockets (19th at defending small forwards this season).
PF - Andray Blatche, Brooklyn Nets (vs. MEM), $5,100: It's unclear whether or not Kevin Garnett (back spasms) will play tonight, but Blatche has been productive for three consecutive games with 29.3, 45.6 and 26.5 fantasy points, respectively. The matchup against the Grizzlies isn't great so I like Blatche assuming KG is out. Otherwise, I'd definitely look for a different option to pair with Kevin Love, who is a must-start in daily formats.
PF - Brandon Bass, Boston Celtics (vs. GS), $4,600: Bass has scored at least 23 fantasy points in three consecutive games and in five of his past six games. The minutes for the Celtics' bigs can be a bit uncertain when Bass, Jared Sullinger, Kris Humphries and Kelly Olynyk are all available, but Bass has played 30-plus minutes in five of his past six games (and the exception was 27 minutes).
PF - Trevor Booker, Washington Wizards (vs. UTA), $3,500: The matchup against the Jazz isn't great as Utah has allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing power forwards, but the value of Booker's production should exceed his contest-minimum cost as injuries have opened the door for him. In his last two outings, which includes a tough matchup against the Grizzlies, Booker has averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
C - Robin Lopez, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. ATL), $6,100: There are a lot of talented centers going tonight with Joakim Noah, DeMarcus Cousins, Al Jefferson, Dwight Howard and Andre Drummond among those playing. If you're looking for a slightly cheaper option, Lopez has been hot lately with at least 40 fantasy points in three of his past six games. During that six-game run, which included a Feb. 23rd dud (six points, five rebounds), Lopez is averaging 13.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.
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