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 Saturday's games, Knicks PF Carmelo Anthony ($10,200) 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 Saturday (March 8th) FanDuel leagues:
PG - Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies (vs. CHA), $6,600: Excluding a dud to the Nets on Wednesday, Conley has scored at least 30 fantasy points in three of his past four games. On the season, Conley is averaging 17.15 points, 6.21 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
PG - Trey Burke, Utah Jazz (at PHI), $5,600: The rookie out of Michigan has struggled with inconsistent fantasy production over his past six games. During that stretch, Burke has scored less than 20 fantasy points four times and has averaged a mere 17.53 per game. If there's a game in which Burke will break out of that slump, it could be tonight against the Sixers. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing point guards this season than the Sixers.
PG - Darren Collison, Los Angeles Clippers (vs. ATL), $6,000: While he has scored 30-plus fantasy points in three of his past four games, Collison's fantasy value will take a hit if Jamal Crawford returns from his three-game absence tonight. Earlier tonight, beat writer Dan Woike tweeted that Crawford "felt good" at shootaround and will be a dreaded "game-time decision" for tonight. Unfortunately, this game does not tip off until 11:30 p.m. ET, which would likely leave you rolling the dice if you start Collison.
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SG - Dion Waiters, Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. NYK), $5,400: In his two games back since returning from injury, Waiters has scored 29.7 and 32.5 fantasy points, respectively. The good times should continue to roll for Waiters as the Knicks have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing off guards this season.
SG - Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs (vs. ORL), $4,500: Ginobili is coming off a disappointing performance (six points, four assists and only 11.0 fantasy points) against the Heat on Thursday. That said, he had 22-plus fantasy points in each of his previous four games and the Magic have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to shooting guards this season.
SG - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Charlotte Bobcats (at MEM), $3,700: Douglas-Roberts has seen 24, 29 and 33 minutes, respectively, in his last three games and Gerald Henderson (calf) will miss another game tonight. In an all-around performance on Friday night, CDR was a rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points, nine boards, two steals and a block for 32.3 fantasy points.
SF - Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers (vs. ATL), $5,700: Like with Collison, Barnes is a better daily option tonight if Crawford (GTD) sits out. In the three games that Crawford has missed, Barnes has scored 31.2, 41.2 and 43.9 fantasy points, respectively. In addition, tonight's matchup is favorable as the Hawks have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards.
SF - Maurice Harkless, Orlando Magic (at SAS), $4,600: In his past five games, Harkless has averaged 36.2 minutes per game and posted an average line of 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks. During that stretch, he has scored a minimum of 22.1 fantasy points per game. While the Spurs are one of the better teams in the league at defending small forwards, there's a good chance that he produces well enough to exceed his relatively low cost.
SF - Jeff Adrien, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. WAS), $4,000: Getting extra minutes due to Ersan Ilyasova's suspension, Adrien posted a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) and added three blocks, two assists and a steal in his most recent game. Either way, Adrien has been a beast on the boards with five games of double-digit rebounds.
PF - Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz (at PHI), $6,100: With three consecutive duds lowering his cost and an extremely favorable matchup tonight, you should strongly consider starting Favors on Saturday. Only the Lakers have allowed more fantasy points than the Sixers, which gives Favors the ideal opportunity for a bounce-back performance.
PF - Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs (vs. ORL), $5,100: Diaw has been highly productive and consistent recently with 31.0 to 31.5 fantasy points in each of his past three games. Doing a bit of everything, he has averaged 15.33 points, 7.67 rebounds, 3.33 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game during that span.
C - Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards (at MIL), $7,100: In his last nine games, Gortat has scored at least 30 fantasy points eight times. The lone exception was 28.1 fantasy points against the Grizzlies, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing centers this season. The Bucks aren't the Grizzlies as only the Lakers and Sixers allow more fantasy points to opposing centers.
C - Kyle O'Quinn, Orlando Magic (at SAS), $4,700: Despite playing less than 20 minutes in three of his past four games, O'Quinn has scored 22-plus fantasy points in five of past six games. In the one game over the past four that he barely saw more than 20 minutes (22), O'Quinn had a double-double (14 points, 15 rebounds) and scored 39.0 fantasy points.
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