Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for March 7th

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 Friday'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.

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 Friday (March 7th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Brandon Jennings, Detroit Pistons (at MIN), $6,600: Jennings has been inconsistent and it's hard to trust him, but he has scored 21-plus fantasy points in three consecutive games and has a favorable matchup tonight. The T'Wolves have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season. In fact, Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson, who returned from a long absence to drop 56.3 fantasy points on the T'Wolves on Monday, will be in all of my lineups as he faces the Lakers, who lost by 48 points to the Clippers last night.

PG - Jose Calderon, Dallas Mavericks (vs. POR), $5,100: More likely than not, I'll pair Calderon or another stud point guard with Lawson instead of Jennings. Calderon ended a four-game streak of 20-plus fantasy points, but he should bounce back with a favorable matchup tonight against Portland. The Blazers have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

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SG - Randy Foye, Denver Nuggets (vs. LAL), $6,600: In the Lakers 48-point loss, they gave up 142 points to the Clippers. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season than the Lakers. In his past nine games, Foye has scored at least 21 fantasy points every game and has averaged 26.84 during that span.

SG - Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz (at NYK), $6,600: In his past five games, Hayward has scored at least 26.3 fantasy points every night, 30-plus in four games and 40-plus in two games. During that five-game stretch, Hayward has averaged an excellent all-around line of 17.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Only three teams have allowed more fantasy points to shooting guards this season than the Knicks.

SF - Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets (vs. LAL), $5,600: In his three games back since a one-game absence, Chandler has scored 21.1, 39.0 and 30.5 fantasy points, respectively. In his past two games, he is averaging 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. As you probably know or imagined, the Lakers are not good at defending small forwards as only the Sixers are worse.

SF - Kyle Singler, Detroit Pistons (at MIN), $4,600: While he lacks the upside of a monster night, Singler is a low-priced option that provides a steady source of solid production. In his past 10 games, he has scored at least 20 fantasy points in eight games. During that stretch, he is averaging 21.82 fantasy points per game. The T'Wolves have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.

PF - Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets (vs. LAL), $5,900: The Lakers are dead last at limiting fantasy points to three different positions and power forward is one of those three. Over his past three games, The Manimal has averaged 17.67 points, 8.67 boards and 1.0 steals to average 33.07 fantasy points per contest.

PF - Amir Johnson, Toronto Raptors (vs. SAC), $5,300: Since returning from a two-game absence, Johnson has scored a minimum of 22 fantasy points in seven consecutive games. During that span, he has averaged 10.43 points, 6.71 rebounds, 3.00 assists, 1.14 blocks and 0.86 steals per game. The Kings have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season.

C - J.J. Hickson, Denver Nuggets (vs. LAL), $5,600: Considering there is only one roster spot for centers in FanDuel games and guys like Al Jefferson, Joakim Noah, Andre Drummond, etc. have been so dominant lately, it may be hard to pass up one of the studs at the position. Against the Mavs on March 5th, Hickson had 16 points, five rebounds, five blocks and three assists for 36.5 fantasy points. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing centers this season than the Lakers.

C - Kelly Olynyk, Boston Celtics (vs. BKN), $4,200: An even cheaper option is Olynyk although his matchup against the Nets isn't great. Olynyk has been scored 29.5 and 38.6 fantasy points in his past two games played. In those two games, he has averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

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Daily Fantasy Basketball (March 2nd): DraftKings Bargains

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who isn'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, you select your team based on a player's salary and your team's salary cannot exceed the game salary-cap maximum.

For DraftKings leagues, rosters consist of eight players and the salary cap is $50,000, which averages to roughly $6,250 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Sunday's games, Thunder SF/PF Kevin Durant ($11,300) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,000).

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 Sunday (March 2nd) DraftKings leagues:

PG/SG - Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic (vs. PHI), $6,900: With eligibility at either guard spot in DraftKings leagues, Oladipo is only the 10th-highest priced point guard-eligible player. Despite an off game against the Heat last night, Oladipo racked up 40.25 fantasy points against the Sixers on Wednesday with 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

PG - Jose Calderon, Dallas Mavericks (at SAS), $5,600: Over his past five games, Calderon has averaged 12.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game. Although Tony Parker is expected back today, the Spurs have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

PG - Tony Wroten, Philadelphia 76ers (at ORL), $4,700: Wroten has gone to the free-throw line at least nine times in three of his past four games. During that four-game stretch, Wroten has scored 18.5 points and averaged 28.0 fantasy points per game in DraftKings formats.

PG/SG - Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City Thunder (vs. CHA), $5,100: With Thabo Sefalosha (calf) out on Sunday, Jackson should see an uptick in minutes. Sefalosha left Friday's game early and Jackson played 34 minutes. Especially so in FanDuel leagues, where his salary ($7,400) is $900 less than what it is in DraftKings' contests ($8,300), I really like Russell Westbrook today. That said, I could see the potential of Westbrook playing less than his normal amount of minutes in what could turn out to be a blowout against the Bobcats as well. Based on odds from Sportsbook.com, the Thunder are nearly double-digit favorites over the Bobcats.

SG/SF - Mike Dunleavy, Chicago Bulls (vs. NYK), $5,300: Over his past three games, Dunleavy has averaged 35.8 fantasy points per game. During that stretch, he has averaged 17.67 points, 6.67 boards, 3.67 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

SG/SF - Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs (vs. DAL), $5,200: Especially due to his defensive stats, Leonard has had two productive outings in a row since missing 14 straight games. With 36.0 and 33.0 fantasy points against the Pistons and Bobcats, respectively, Leonard had a total of five steals and four blocks in those two games in addition to 27 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

SG/SF - James Anderson, Philadelphia 76ers (at ORL), $4,400: Only five teams have allowed more fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season than the Magic. Anderson has at least 25 fantasy points in two of his past three games.

SF - Maurice Harkless, Orlando Magic (vs. PHI), $3,600: With 30-something minutes per night over his past three outings, Harkless has been relatively productive with a minimum of 23.75 fantasy points during that stretch. With the 76ers coming to town today, Harkless may improve upon those numbers (although that low of 23.75 fantasy points was against Philly on Wednesday).

SF/PF - DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta Hawks (at PHO), $5,100: In his past three games, Carroll has played 34-plus minutes per game and has knocked down nine of 18 three-point attempts. Carroll has 37-plus fantasy points in two of those three games.

PF/C - Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic (vs. PHI), $7,800: Vucevic played only 23 minutes last night, but he finished with his third consecutive double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds). During that span, he has averaged 43.08 fantasy points per game that included 49.75 against the Sixers on Wednesday. Vucevic has now scored at least 33 fantasy points in eight of his past nine games.

PF/C - Elton Brand, Atlanta Hawks (at PHO), $5,200: With Paul Millsap out again on Sunday, the good times may continue to roll for Brand. Brand has at least 34.25 fantasy points in back-to-back games and he has averaged 8.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in those two games.

PF/C - Kyle O'Quinn, Orlando Magic (vs. PHI), $4,100: Despite playing only 22 minutes last night, O'Quinn also had a double-double (14 points, 15 rebounds) against the Heat. In fact, he hasn't played more than 24 minutes in any of his past four games, but he has scored 24-plus fantasy points in three of those games. In his past four games, he is averaging 9.0 points, 8.25 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.25 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.

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For those interested in FanDuel leagues, I posted some FanDuel values earlier this morning here.

If you play in full-season leagues, check out my rest-of-season Fantasy NBA rankings.

Keep track of our Fantasy NBA updates by following us on Twitter, "liking" us on Facebook and/or adding us to your Google+ circle.

Rajon Rondo has a triple-double vs. Hawks

The only player to have multiple triple-doubles last year was Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (six).

This year, the only player to have multiple triple-doubles was Toronto's Jose Calderon (two).  Until tonight, that is.

Rondo had his second triple-double of the season and finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Hawks tonight.

It was Rondo's 15th career triple-double.

Jose Calderon has season-high 18 assists

Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon had a season-high 18 assists in today's win over the Magic.

With the exception of only nine assists last night, Calderon has double-digit assists in four of his past five games.  He has three double-doubles, one of which was his first-ever triple-double, during that stretch.

During those five games, Calderon is averaging 13.2 points and 11.6 assists per game.

Until Kyle Lowry returns, he should continue to be a great source of assists for fantasy owners.