I will not be able to cover next Sunday’s FanDuel article, so this marks my final FD piece of the NBA season. It’s been an amazing run, and I hope I helped some of you earn some dough. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you FanDuel enthusiasts throughout the year, and I plan on being back next season to help you guys out. I will continue my DraftKings articles all next week, though, so it’s too earlier to say goodbye! With that in mind, let’s finish this thing off strong!

If you have any comments or questions, reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel

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Most Value Per Dollar 

This might be my first article all year where we have more forwards than guards in this next section. That’s a good indicator of how crazy it is, though, because almost all of these selections are youngsters who have stepped into much bigger roles due to injuries. That’s the nature of the beast right now, though, with so many key players sitting games.

If you’d like to see more information on how the betting landscape will be for this slate, check out BettingPros.

Below is a list of the top-10 players of the day expected to generate the most value relative to their salary. These are ranked in order.

LaMelo Ball (CHA) $7,700

Ball is the clear frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, and it truly looks like we’re getting a glance at a future superstar. The stud rookie is averaging 35.3 FanDuel points per game for the year and has been even better recently. He’s scored at least 43 fantasy points in two of his last three games and is doing a lot more with Cody Martin, Miles Bridges, Devonte Graham, and Gordon Hayward all nicked up. We love this matchup, too, with the Pelicans ranked 22nd in points allowed and 24th in defensive efficiency.

Mo Bamba (ORL) $8,200

Bamba has been a per-minute beast all year, averaging 20 FD points per game in just 15 minutes a night. That minute total looks concerning on the surface, but it’s been skyrocketing recently. It started bumping up when they traded Nikola Vucevic, but it jumped up even more with Wendell Carter dealing with an injury. That has allowed Bamba to score at least 44 FD points in three straight games, averaging nearly 50 fantasy points per game in that span. We’re obviously not worried about him playing a 28th-ranked T’Wolves defense either.

Delon Wright (SAC) $8,100

Since taking over starting point guard duties in Sacramento, Wright has been a monster, picking up the slack with De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, and Harrison Barnes all sidelined. Those absences have led to Delon scoring 158 combined FD points over the last three games, equating to a ridiculous 53-point average in that span. It’s not like OKC is going to slow him down with the way they’re tanking.

Collin Sexton (CLE) $7,700

Sexton has a 30 percent usage rate with Darius Garland off the floor, and he’s really proven to be the focal point of this offense in his absence. The talented guard has scored at least 26 FD points in 25 of his last 26 games, providing a 37-point average in that span. He did a lot of that damage with Garland, and he should be even better without him here.

Isaiah Stewart (DET) $6,200

It’s risky to pick any Pistons, but Stewart should be starting at center here. We say that because Mason Plumlee started on Saturday, likely leading to a rest day in the second half of a B2B. Stew has started for Plumlee 12 times this season, averaging over 33 fantasy points per game. That’s a stellar total from a $6K player, especially with Chicago surrendering the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing centers.

Jalen McDaniels (CHA) $5,400

McDaniels has also benefited from all of the injuries in Charlotte, forcing him into starting duties. In his 13 starts this season, McDaniels is averaging 26 FD points per game across 32 minutes a night. You can’t ask for any more from a $5,400 player, and he should have another one of those games against this putrid Pelicans defense.

Josh Richardson (DAL) $5,100

Richardson has been in this section a lot for me this season, and it’s hard to understand why he’s remained so cheap. J-Rich is coming off a 40-point gem in his most recent outing and is averaging 25 FD points per game across his last 31 games. That alone is 5X value, and we expect that to be even higher if he matches his 32-minute average in that span too. It’s not like a 27th-ranked Cleveland defense will keep him below that average.

Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) $5,100

These last few plays are all GPP options because they all carry a fair share of risk. What intrigues us about Vanderbilt is his upside, starting on Friday and dropping 44 FanDuel points. That’s hard to overlook from a $5K player, and he’s shown this sort of ability in limited minutes earlier in the year.

James Johnson (NOR) $4,400

New Orleans is shorthanded right now, and it’ll likely force JJ into another start. They’re missing Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Steven Adams, leaving the frontcourt very thin. Johnson has proven to be very valuable when given the opportunity, averaging 28 FD points per game in his eight starts this year.

Moses Brown (OKC) $4,500

Brown is all over the map, but there are not many guys out there who have legit 10X upside. Since gaining the starting center job, Brown is averaging nearly 30 fantasy points per game over the last two months. He’s actually reached 36 fantasy points in seven of the 38 games he’s played, which is a truly ridiculous upside from such a cheap player. We also believe OKC will rest guys here in the second half of a B2B, which only adds more value to Brown.

Studs Worth Their Salary

• Luka Doncic (DAL) $10,600: On a short slate like this, it’s best to go with a safe guy like Doncic. The 22-year-old has scored at least 34 FanDuel points in 58 of his 61 games this season, averaging 51 FD points per game. That makes him hard to overlook against a Cleveland team that sits 27th in defensive efficiency ratings.
• Anthony Davis (LAL) $10,100: Now that LeBron James and Dennis Schroder are both out, this is AD’s team. Davis is posting a 33 percent usage rate with those two guys off the floor while averaging over 1.3 FD points per minute. That was on full display when he had 58 FanDuel points on Friday, one of the best games of the year.
• Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) $9,800: Towns has quietly had a really nice second half to the season. The big man is averaging 26.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists over his last 21 games played. That’s the guy who was a Top-5 pick in season-long leagues, and he should be able to continue that against a 22nd-ranked Magic defense that traded away all their talent at the trade deadline.

Notable Players to Fade

• Andre Drummond (LAL) $6,200: I thought that the Drummond acquisition was a good idea by the Lakers, but he doesn’t look right in LA. He’s losing minutes to Davis, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell, leading to Drum having the worst stretch of his career. In fact, Dre has played 22 minutes in each of his last three games, posting an ugly 15-point FD average in that span.
• Lauri Markkanen (CHI) $4,100: It’s sad that this talented youngster has been moved to a bench role, but it’s killed his fantasy value. Since the Bulls acquired Nikola Vucevic and Daniel Theis, Markkanen is averaging 17 FD points per game across 21 minutes a night over his last 15 fixtures.
• Detroit Pistons: I know we just recommended Stewart, but I don’t know what to do with this team. Not only are they absolutely terrible, but they also do wacky things with their rotations. We never know who’s going to play or who will be in the rotation, making them impossible to trust. The fact that they’re in the second half of a back-to-back makes them even more frustrating, so we’re just going to stay away.

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Beyond our daily fantasy basketball content, be sure to check out our Daily Fantasy Basketball Tools. Our Lineup Optimizer allows you to build winning DFS lineups in seconds for Cash and GPP contests – to our DFS Cheat Sheets – that helps you get a quick read on the day’s players. We’ve got you covered this fantasy basketball season.

Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.