FanDuel NBA: Saturday Value Plays

FanDuel NBA: Saturday Value Plays

This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.

Saturday night brings a short five-game slate, with two games particularly offering the potential for some fireworks. Accordingly, a lot of the top value options appear to be centered on those Nets-Hawks and Wizards-Timberwolves contests. Although the marquee Celtics-Lakers tilt also offers one particularly appealing bargain option. Without further delay, let's take a closer look at where you can get the most bang for your buck Saturday:

POINT GUARD   

Tomas Satoransky, WAS at MIN ($6,300): Satoransky's price continues to be affordable despite the fact he's demonstrated his ability to exceed the 40 fantasy-point mark on multiple occasions this season. He's in the midst of a strong stretch as well, having scored 29.5 to 43.1 fantasy points in three of his past four games. And in the one game during that sample where he fell below that range – a matchup against this same Timberwolves squad last Sunday – Satoransky still shot an eye-popping 75.0 percent. It's also worth noting the T-Wolves come in allowing the fourth-most fantasy points (55.2) to point guards over the last five games, and that they've yielded the highest three-point percentage (37.4) on the season. In turn, Satoransky is draining an impressive 42.1 percent of his three-point attempts.

Tyler Johnson, PHO at POR ($5,600): Johnson's production has been a bit up and down since he joined the Suns, but he's begun steadying out his efforts a bit. The former Heat guard has scored 35.8 and 29.8 fantasy points over his last two games, respectively. He also scored 28.7 to 50 in another three-game stretch coming out of the All-Star break and will face a Trail Blazers squad allowing the seventh-most fantasy points (49.6) per game to point guards over the last 10, along with the second-most points (30.0). Johnson's price remains such that he should be able to generate a solid return if the Suns can keep up their recent caliber of play and make a competitive game of it against Portland.

SHOOTING GUARD         

Kent Bazemore, ATL vs. BKN ($5,400): Bazemore has been a valued source of multi-category production off the Hawks bench, and he comes into Saturday's game having scored 22.9 to 30.9 fantasy points in his last three games. The versatile veteran wing has scored in double digits in each of those contests while also pulling down at least six rebounds as well, and he'll be in a potentially rewarding position versus the Nets on Saturday. Brooklyn has been more generous to shooting guards of late, yielding 53.1 fantasy points per game to the position over the last 10, along with a bottom-half figure of 8.6 rebounds per contest.

Jaylen Brown, BOS at LAL ($4,900): Brown continues to come off the bench and offer strong contributions more of than not, as he's scored 23.3 to 34.6 fantasy points in seven of the last nine contests. Brown has also scored in double digits in all nine of those games while taking double-digit shot attempts in five of them. His usage could well be elevated again against the fast-paced Lakers, which come in allowing the second-most fantasy points per game (41.5) to shooting guards, including the most points (23.4). Los Angeles has also allowed the highest shooting percentage (45.0) and offensive efficiency rating (25.0) to the position, furthering Brown's case at a very reasonable cost.

SMALL FORWARD

Jabari Parker, WAS at MIN ($5,800): Parker has fit right into the Wizards system since arriving via trade, as he's scored at least 20 fantasy points in five straight and already has six 30-plus fantasy-point efforts overall since arriving in the nation's capital, including two over 40. The Timberwolves were one of his victims already, as they yielded 38.7 fantasy points to Parker last Sunday. Minnesota naturally remains an appealing target, considering they're surrendering the eighth-most fantasy points (41.0) per game to fours for the season. Moreover, the T-Wolves allow the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating (45.4) to opposing second units, which bodes well for Parker in his bench role.  

Joe Harris, BKN at ATL ($4,200): Harris is one of two value-priced Nets that I find worthy of highlighting in what could turn out to be a shootout. The long-range marksman is draining 47.1 percent of his three-point attempts overall, and he's shot 52.4 percent, including 53.8 percent from distance, in two previous games versus the Hawks. A recent downturn has brought Harris' price down by a few hundred, making it an opportune time to jump on him against an Atlanta squad allowing bottom-half figures in fantasy points (39.8), points (21.5) and offensive efficiency rating (24.9) to two-guards.

POWER FORWARD    

Rodions Kurucs, BKN at ATL ($4,900): Kurucs is the second Brooklyn bargain worthy of consideration, and he comes into Saturday's game in the midst of a successful stretch as the starting power forward. Kurucs has scored 21.4 to 29.7 fantasy points in the last three games, and he's shot 50.0 percent versus Atlanta in two prior games this season. The fact the Hawks also play at the fastest pace in the league (108.1 possessions per game) should help his cause in the form of more opportunities, and their propensity for allowing scoring in the paint (49.5 points per contest) should serve him well also. Atlanta also comes in allowing the sixth-most fantasy points per game (41.5) to power forwards for the season, along with the third-highest offensive efficiency rating (26.8).

Taj Gibson, MIN vs. WAS ($4,800): No team has been more facilitating of fantasy production to power forwards than the Wizards, which have simply proven completely incapable of defending the position. That much is borne out by the fact Washington is yielding the second-most fantasy points per game to power forwards for the season (44.7), including the most over the last 10 games (60.4), and the highest shooting percentage (50.2). The Wizards also yield the most rebounds per game to fours for the season (12.7), and they just surrendered a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double to Gibson last Sunday, which led to 27 fantasy points. Gibson has eclipsed 20 fantasy points in four of his last five games overall, making his Saturday price very enticing, especially given the matchup.

CENTER   

Alex Len, ATL vs. BKN ($4,700): Dewayne Dedmon has been downgraded to doubtful for Saturday's game due to his knee injury, which should afford Len another starting opportunity.  Len has scored 24.4 to 47.8 fantasy points in three of his last four games while seeing at least 20 minutes in each, and a matchup against a Nets team that allows the fifth-most fantasy points per game (38.1) to centers on the season could be the recipe for more of the same. Brooklyn is also yielding bottom-10 figures in points in the paint per game (51.3) and offensive efficiency rating (60.6) in that part of the floor, weaknesses Len is equipped to exploit.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Juan Carlos Blanco plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: jcblanco22, FanDuel: jc_blanco22, DraftPot: jc_blanco22, FantasyDraft: jc_blanco22, OwnThePlay: jcblanco22.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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