Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Feb. 4)

The best night of the week for the NBA and daily fantasy basketball purposes is Wednesday night. And making tonight better is that the lone late game, Mavericks at Warriors, has the highest over/under (216.5), by far.

Golden State vs. Dallas will tip off at 10:30 PM; all other games have a 9:00 PM start time (or earlier).

In addition to studs like Stephen Curry, some of my favorite value plays can be found in the final game of the night as well.

It's always a great feeling to be in a strong position in a tournament with a healthy allotment of PMR (player minutes remaining) and to watch your team(s) rise up the leaderboard.

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With that said, here are my favorite DraftKings values ($6,500 salary or less) for Wednesday's NBA games:

PG - J.J. Barea, Dallas Mavericks (at GS), $3,400: Not only is Rajon Rondo (face) ruled out for tonight, but Devin Harris (knee, ankle) is questionable for tonight's game. Either way, Barea got the start over Harris without Rondo on Monday and finished with 10 points, eight assists and four rebounds as he scored 26.5 fantasy points in 29 minutes. Even though the Mavs are nearly double-digit underdogs to the Warriors, there are still projected to be one of tonight's top-scoring teams with a Vegas-projected total of 103.5. The debate for favorite value point guard came down to Barea and D.J. Augustin, who has back-to-back 52-point games and three of them in his past five, but many of my lineups will feature both point guards.

Others to consider: D.J. Augustin, Detroit Pistons ($6,200); Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs ($5,500); Jordan Clarkson, Los Angeles Lakers ($4,800); Trey Burke, Utah Jazz ($4,600); Jerryd Bayless (if Brandon Knight is out), Milwaukee Bucks ($4,300); Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics ($3,700)

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SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. LAL), $5,800: The Bucks are dealing a bunch of injuries as Brandon Knight, Ersan Ilyasova and Zaza Pachulia all sat out in the team's last game, but the Greek Freak has been playing consistent minutes with strong production. Antetokounmpo has double-doubles in back-to-back games and 30-plus fantasy points in three consecutive games. In addition, he has played at least 33 minutes in six consecutive games.

Others to consider: Eric Gordon, New Orleans Pelicans ($6,400); Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards ($6,000); Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets ($5,600); Kevin Martin, Minnesota Timberwolves ($5,500); Arron Afflalo, Denver Nuggets ($5,500); Dion Waiters, Oklahoma City Thunder ($4,500); Avery Bradley, Boston Celtics ($4,200)

SF - Chandler Parsons, Dallas Mavericks (at GS), $5,700: Typically (and frustratingly), I tend to start Parsons when he flops. That said, tonight's game against the Warriors is going to be an up-tempo game with a lot of real points and fantasy points alike and his price point should allow him to reach (and exceed) value. Connecting on 10-of-17 three-pointers in his past three games, Parsons has now scored more than 30 fantasy points in back-to-back games with at least 26.5 fantasy points in seven of his eight games. Of course, he was in many of my lineups in the one exception (5.75 fantasy points) during that eight-game span. (Perhaps my inclusion of Parsons on this list is your cue to stay as far away as you can.)

Others to consider: Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets ($5,700); Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks ($5,600); Josh Smith, Houston Rockets ($5,300); Luol Deng, Miami Heat ($5,000); Jared Dudley (if he starts again), Milwaukee Bucks ($4,500);

PF - Jared Sullinger, Boston Celtics (vs. DEN), $6,500: After a one-game punishment (benching) for being late, Sully was back in the starting lineup last night and delivered 41.75 fantasy points against the Knicks front court. Tonight, he gets an even more favorable matchup against the Nuggets, who have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season. Over the past 14 games (minus the one-game benching), Sullinger has scored more than 25 fantasy points in every game.

Others to consider: David West, Indiana Pacers ($6,300); Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets ($6,200); Donatas Motiejunas, Houston Rockets ($5,600); John Henson, Milwaukee Bucks ($5,000); Kris Humphries, Washington Wizards ($4,600); Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors ($4,300); Ed Davis, Los Angeles Lakers ($4,200)

C - Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls (at HOU), $6,400: Over a one-week span (Sat., Jan. 31st to Fri., Feb. 6th), the Bulls will play only one game -- tonight against the Dwight Howard-less Rockets. Over his past three games, Noah has scored a minimum of 34.5 fantasy points and averaged 43.5 fantasy points. During that three-game span, he averaged 12.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 6.67 assists with a block and a steal per game.

Others to consider: Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets ($6,300); Robert Sacre, Los Angeles Lakers ($3,300)

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Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Jan. 22nd)

To fit higher-priced studs into your DFS lineups, it's important to identify lower-priced options to provide some salary-cap relief.

In our DraftKings value posts, we will highlight players with salaries of $6,500 or less. The average salary of their $50,000 cap is $6,250 so the vast majority of the players referenced below are priced below the average salary.

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With that said, here are some DraftKings values for Thursday's NBA games:

PG - Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs (at CHI), $5,800: Against the Nuggets on Tuesday, Parker had 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds to score 33.5 fantasy points. He now has 33 fantasy points in two of his past three games. The Spurs are projected to score the third-most points tonight behind the Clippers and Blazers, but their matchup has the lowest point spread (-5) of the night so hopefully the game stays close and Parker sees a full allotment of minutes.

PG - Jarrett Jack, Brooklyn Nets (at LAC), $6,200: The matchup against Chris Paul is far from favorable as the Clippers allow the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing point guards. In his past three games, Jack has scored 49.5, 38.5 and 35.5 fantasy points, respectively, and he's averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals during that span. In addition, Jack has averaged more than 37 minutes per game over his past nine games and Deron Williams (ribs) will miss tonight's game.

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SG - Wesley Matthews, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. BOS), $5,700: With LaMarcus Aldridge (and Robin Lopez) out, Matthews will continue to shoulder more of the offensive load. Matthews now has 17-plus shot attempts in each of his past three games and has averaged 33.42 fantasy points per game during that stretch. That said, Avery Bradley is one of the league's best on-ball defenders, but it's possible he guards Damian Lillard instead of Matthews.

SG - Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets (at LAC), $6,000: Averaging more than 38 points per game over his past 12 games, Johnson broke out of a six-game slump (23.75 FPPG) with 31.75 and 34.5 fantasy points in his two most recent games. In his past 21 games, Johnson has as many games (two) with 40-plus fantasy points as he has with less than 20 fantasy points (two) and has averaged slightly more than 30 fantasy points during that span.

SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. UTA), $5,200: The Alphabet has played 32 minutes in back-to-back games with 25 fantasy points in each game. Given Jason Kidd's rotations and allotment of minutes, it's hard to trust any Buck not named Brandon Knight to get consistent minutes. But he should be able to reach 5x value if he gets 32 minutes once again and he has 40-point upside considering his stat-stuffing nature of his game. If you play The Greek Freak, however, I'd stick with GPPs over cash games.

SF - Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. BOS), $5,300: Breaking out of his slump, Batum scored a season-most 52.5 fantasy points last night after scoring no more than 38.5 in his first 36 games this season. In fact, he had just 67.25 fantasy points in his past four games combined. Knocking down six of eight three-pointers last night, Batum scored 27 points and added 10 rebounds, five assists and a block. It would be unrealistic to expect a repeat performance, but the injury to LMA should continue to lead to increased offensive opportunities for Batum, who does a lot more than just score.

SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. UTA), $5,100: Over his past nine games, Middleton has scored a minimum of 21 fantasy points and averaged 27.42 per game. Before that, however, he had a couple of games with seven or less fantasy points in a six-game stretch. That said, Middleton has averaged 11.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals over that nine-game stretch. Until Kidd pulls the rug from under us, Middleton appears safe.

SF - Dorell Wright, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. BOS), $3,000: Getting the start in place of Aldridge at power forward, Wright is a minimum-salary option at SF. Wright played (and fouled out in) nearly 35 minutes and finished with 30.75 fantasy points. Wright scored 15 points and added five assists, three rebounds and two steals and was three-of-six from behind the arc. Like with Batum, I wouldn't expect a repeat of last night's production, but he's certainly a viable punt option.

PF - Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls (vs. SA), $6,100: With Joakim Noah listed as doubtful for tonight's game, Gibson should once again get a heavy dose of minutes as is typical when Noah or Pau Gasol is out. Averaging close to 40 minutes in his past three games, Gibson has averaged 10.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during that span.

PF - Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. UTA), $3,700: After playing 12 and 22 minutes in his first two games of the month, Ilyasova is expected to move into the starting lineup for tonight's game. In the past eight games that the oft-injured Ilyasova has played 20-plus minutes, he has scored a minimum of 21.75 fantasy points and averaged 26.78 fantasy points. At his price point, he should easily reach value given starter's minutes.

C - Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets (at LAC), $6,400: Over his past three games, Lopez has averaged 35.5 fantasy points as well as 21.0 (real) points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.0 steal per game. In addition, Lopez has been getting to the line with 7.0 made free throws per game over that stretch. Meanwhile, the Clippers have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season.

C - Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (at MIL), $5,900: Starting and playing 33 minutes, Kanter had a monster 24/17 double-double last night and finished a fraction shy of 50 fantasy points. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert played less than 20 minutes. With starter's minutes, Kanter should be able to reach value tonight.

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Daily Fantasy Basketball (Feb. 27th): FanDuel Bargains

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who doesn't these days?!), you know that one of the keys to success is uncovering undervalued players to allow you to load up on studs elsewhere.

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 Thursday's games, Heat SF LeBron James ($11,400) 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.

And you know that enthusiasm you have after drafting your fantasy team(s)? Well, you get to experience that feeling on a nightly basis with daily fantasy basketball.

OK, with the preliminary stuff out of the way, here are some value plays to consider for Thursday (Feb. 27th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Aaron Brooks, Denver Nuggets (vs. BKN), $4,200: With only a four-game slate tonight, there aren't a ton of bargains and that is especially true with point guards. If Ty Lawson (ribs) misses another game, and it's possible he returns tonight, I'd consider Brooks as the Nets have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing point guards over the past 15 days.

* Note: The Nuggets tip off late (10:30 PM ET), which means Lawson's status may not be known by the contest start time (7:00 PM).

SG - Marcus Thornton, Brooklyn Nets (at DEN), $3,600: After missing a couple of games with food poisoning, Thornton made his debut with the Nets and played 27 minutes scoring only nine points with two rebounds and one assist. Thornton and the Nets' shooting guards have a nice matchup against the Nuggets, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to the position over the past 15 days.

SG - O.J. Mayo, Milwaukee Bucks (at IND), $3,900: While he doesn't have a great matchup against the league's best overall defensive team, Mayo is coming off a 25-point performance (31.7 fantasy points) in 35 minutes against the 76ers on Monday. He had played only 23 and 17 minutes, respectively, in his previous two games.

SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (at IND), $4,400: Not a great matchup, as I noted with Mayo, but the rookie from Greece has 29-plus fantasy points in three of his past four games. Of course, the lone exception was the matchup against the Pacers (17.7 fantasy points).

SF - Jeff Adrien, Milwaukee Bucks (at IND), $3,700: Not that you should load up on Bucks, but Adrien has a salary barely above the game minimum and has posted back-to-back games with double-digit boards. In each of of those games, he has posted 22-plus fantasy points.

PF - David West, Indiana Pacers (vs. MIL), $6,800: Considering that only Carmelo Anthony ($10,800) has a higher salary at the position, West is not necessarily a bargain but his salary is only slightly above the starter average ($6,667). West has had strong outings in back-to-back games including 30 points, seven boards and five assists against the Bucks on Saturday. In the past two games, he has averaged 42.4 fantasy points.

PF - Amir Johnson, Toronto Raptors (vs. WAS), $4,900: Consistent but not spectacular in his past five games, Johnson has scored a minimum of 22.2 points in each of those games. Tonight, Johnson and the Raptors face a Wizards' front court that will be without Nene Hilario and possibly Kevin Seraphin.

C - Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards (at TOR), $6,700: Miami's Chris Bosh is the most expensive center tonight at $7,300. As productive as Bosh has been over his past three games (24.67 PPG, 40.53 Fantasy PPG), Bosh and the Heat face the Knicks, who have defended the position well.

The Polish Hammer is slightly less expensive option and he's been productive and consistent (five consecutive double-doubles). During that five-game stretch, Gortat has averaged 16. 4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game and he has scored in a minimum of 30.9 fantasy points each game. Over the past 15 days, the Raptors have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing centers.

C - Timofey Mozgov, Denver Nuggets (vs. BKN), $4,300: If at first you don't succeed ... Getting the start against the Blazers, Mozgov had a decent line (14 points, six boards, two blocks and an assist) while J.J. Hickson, who went to the bench, blew up with a 16/25 night. That said, I wouldn't bank on Hickson having another monster night off the bench and I think Mozgov has a better night this time around. (Hickson's salary is $5,900, fourth-most at center tonight.)

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