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 ($11,200) 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.
OK, with the preliminary stuff out of the way, here are some value plays to consider for Tuesday (March 4th) DraftKings leagues:
PG - Will Bynum, Detroit Pistons (at BOS), $3,900: Despite the lack of playing time, Bynum has been productive. In his past five games, Bynum has scored at least 27 fantasy points in four of those outings despite playing 21 minutes or less in each of his past four games.
PG - Ray McCallum, Sacramento Kings (at BKN), $3,400: McCallum has seen an uptick in minutes and he has averaged nearly 20 fantasy points per game (19.38) in the month of March.
PG/SG - Randy Foye, Denver Nuggets (at NO), $4,900: Over his past 10 games, Foye has averaged 30.38 fantasy points per outing. During that 10-game stretch, he has averaged 16.8 points, 4.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
PG/SG - Patrick Beverley, Houston Rockets (vs. POR), $4,700: After scoring 34-plus fantasy points in his first two outings of the month, Beverley has averaged only 15.25 fantasy points in his past two games. That said, he has an opportunity to bounce back on Sunday as only the 76ers have allowed more fantasy points to opposing point guards this season than the Blazers.
PG/SG - Jerryd Bayless, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $4,300: Over his past six games, Bayless has averaged 31.5 minutes and 24.63 fantasy points per game. During that six-game span, he has averaged 15.5 points, 3.17 rebounds, 2.17 assists and 1.17 assists per game..
SG/SF - Gerald Green, Phoenix Suns (at GS), $6,000: Not only is Green coming off a monster outing where he scored 60.75 fantasy points (41 points, eight three-pointers, five boards and three steals), but Green has scored at least 40 fantasy points in three consecutive outings.
SG/SF - Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets (at NO), $5,800: Chandler extended his streak of games with more than 30 fantasy points to three games on Friday. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.67 points, 6.67 rebounds, 1.67 assists and 1.33 steals per game. Even though the Pelicans have been excellent at limiting fantasy points to opposing three's, Chandler is a solid option considering his still modest salary.
SG/SF - Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors (at MIN), $4,000: After missing a game due to his ankle, Ross scored 18 points as he knocked down six of eight three-pointers on Friday night against the Kings to score 29.0 fantasy points.
SG/SF - P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns (at GS), $4,500: Tucker has scored at least 23.5 fantasy points in three consecutive games. In those three games, Tucker has averaged 11.67 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.67 steals per game.
SF - Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors (vs. PHO), $3,800: Green has played in 21-plus minutes and has scored 23-plus fantasy points in each of his past three games. During that stretch, he has averaged 8.33 points, 5.33 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.33 steals per game.
PF - Marcus Morris, Phoenix Suns (at GS), $4,300: Morris has averaged 15.0 points and 5.25 rebounds per game over his past four games. During that span, Morris has scored at least 23.25 fantasy points in three of those games and has more than 30 fantasy points twice.
PF/C - Reggie Evans, Sacramento Kings (at BKN), $3,600: A great effort guy, Evans' production primarily comes from his rebounding and he has double-digit boards in two of his past three games. Over his past three games, he has seen at least 26 minutes and has scored more than 20 fantasy points in all three outings.
PF/C - Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors (at MIN), $4,300: In his past two games, Patterson has averaged 13.5 points and converted on five of nine treys while adding 5.5 boards, 1.5 blocks and a steal per game.
C - Kelly Olynyk, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $4,000: The Pistons have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. That said, Olynyk's minutes are a bit of a concern as he played only 17 minutes with six turnovers on Friday. With 27 minutes on Wednesday, however, Olynyk scored 19 points and added five boards, three assists and a block for 32.5 fantasy points.
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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.
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