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FanDuel NBA Value Plays: Wednesday (4/18)

FanDuel NBA Value Plays: Wednesday (4/18)

We have three games on the FanDuel main slate tonight. It is the second game for each of these teams in 2018 NBA playoffs. Teams typically shorten their rotations during the playoffs, which makes it more difficult to find value plays, but we’ll try to provide you with some solid options below.

The Houston-Minnesota game is the highest projected game of the night with a 214.5 total but Houston is favored by 10 points. The Cleveland-Indiana game has a 209 total and the Utah-OKC game has a 206.5 total. As far as salaries go, there are five players priced at $9,800 or above. On a three-game slate with five studs and few true value plays, this will be a difficult night to construct rosters. Most likely you will not have a roster that you like but rather you will need to put together a roster that you can stomach.

If you want to play any of these top-end players tonight then you’ll need to find some salary relief to fit them into your roster. Here are 7 value plays that are worth considering as you set your lineup for tonight’s slate of games. Be sure to check the news and injury reports, especially in the 30 minutes prior to lock. Use all the information available to you to make the best decision possible for your lineup. Good luck and have fun!

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Point Guard

Darren Collison (IND): $5,600 at CLE

Collison had a decent game on Sunday earning 25.0 FD points in 30 minutes of playing time but he was overshadowed by Victor Oladipo‘s monstrous game. I don’t expect Oladipo to have as good of a game and maybe Collison some additional opportunity. The Cavs are poor defensively, so this is a good matchup. In the four times that Collison played Cleveland during the regular season, he earned 50.9, 15.5, 45.0,  and 34.0 FD points.

Derrick Rose (MIN): $3,600 at HOU

He played 23 minutes in Game-1 so it looks like the veteran might be in the playoff rotation for Tom Thibadeau’s Timberwolves. Yes, he is not as good as he once was and yes, he possibly has to deal with Chris Paul defense, but with a near-minimum price tag, there is not a lot of downside on a three-game slate for someone that has offensive talent and will see 20+ minutes. His 22.4-point FanDuel performance in Game-1 was not expected but I see no reason why it can’t be replicated, especially if he sees more of Houston’s bench then Chris Paul.

Shooting Guard

JR Smith (CLE): $3,600 vs. IND

My lock of the night is that a Cleveland Shooting Guard will be a great value play. The problem is knowing if that Shooting Guard will be Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, J.R. Smith, or Kyle Korver. I am going with Smith because he is the most explosive of the four, played the most minutes (28) in Game-1 on Sunday, and didn’t play his best. That last part is a subjective opinion because he did go 3/6 from behind the arc. But watching that game, it didn’t look like he played his best all-around game (though to be fair, none of the Cavs outside of Lebron played well). Despite not passing the eye-test for me, he still earned 16.9 FD points. Plus, in the three regular season games against the Pacers, he went for 34.0, 22.0, and 23.0 FD points.

Small Forward

Bojan Bogdanovic (IND): $5,000 at CLE

He has gone for 30+ FD points three times in the last 10 games so there is upside. Cleveland is not very good defensively, so it is a good matchup. I also expect Cleveland to focus more on Oladipo after his big game on Sunday. If this happens, it opens up more chances for Bojan. What I liked most about his game on Sunday was that he earned 31.7 FD points but shot the ball terribly. He was 1/6 from behind the arc and 5/17 overall. If he gets his shooting stroke back then there is no reason he can’t light up the Cavs tonight.

Gerald Green (HOU): $4,000 vs. MIN

In the last nine games of the regular season, Green averaged 24.2 FD points and 27 MPG. He only played 19 minutes in Game-1 but it was a closer game than expected. The spread for tonight’s game is 10 points. If Houston can get control early and Green sees more minutes down the stretch with the second unit, then he could easily to for 6-7X his salary. Small Forward is a really good position tonight so you might not want to spend down too much but Green has tournament upside and saves you salary.

Power Forward

Jae Crowder (UTA): $4,500 vs. OKC

He has reached value in the last five games that he has been healthy. He is more of a cash game play (though it’s questionable whether you should be playing cash on a three-game slate). Regardless, he is a relatively safe play that provides you salary relief. In his last five healthy games, he has averaged 26.3 FD points, while playing 26.6 MPG. He doesn’t have much upside but is a solid consistent play.

Center

Myles Turner (IND): $5,500 at CLE

Normally I’d say don’t get cute and play KAT but he drastically underperformed on Sunday night. I think Clint Capela is the best play of the night at this position but if you are trying to save salary, then Turner is probably the guy to turn to. Cleveland is not good defensively, especially on the interior. Turner earned 30.6 FD points in 33 minutes. The only other game that Turner played the Cavs, he earned 36.9 FD points. Just realize that going into the playoffs, Turner had five straight games without reaching 20 fantasy points. His talent and the matchup seem to be a great fit but he is not without risk.

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Jamy Bechler is an NBA fantasy contributor for FantasyPros. His DFS twitter is @WinningDFS101 and his website is www.FantasyFocusFootball.comWhen he is not playing DFS, Jamy is an author, host of the “Success is a Choice” podcast, and is a leadership trainer, working with businesses and teams across the country (including the NBA). Even though he offers his advice on players and contests, after additional information and consideration, he may end up using different players and strategies than what he recommends.

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