This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Every week, this article will take a look at players who are undervalued and who should be in your lineup. These are players who should exceed their value in fantasy points when looking at their cost. They could be at the minimum or near minimum of $3,500 or could be in the $7-$8,000 range. It's easy to peg players like LeBron James or Anthony Davis, but the key is to find value players to plug in with them.
Shooting Guard
Wesley Matthews, $5,700 – Matthews seems to always be underpriced, and his salary is usually around the $6,000 mark. He gets a little lost in the shuffle playing with LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard but has turned into a nice fantasy player. He doesn't have less than 12 points in a game this season (averaging 17.7 ppg) and is averaging over four dimes. Matthews can hit the three and logs enough minutes to grab a few boards and record the occasional steal. He will also take on a bigger role with the team if Nicolas Batum is forced to miss any more time due to his hand injury.
Courtney Lee, $5,300 – Lee has shaken off a concussion to start the season, shooting over 55 percent from the field. He's averaging career numbers across the board and benefits from getting open looks when teams double Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in the paint. He's had at least 24.6 fantasy points over his last three games and is shooting over 92 percent from the free-throw line.
Terrence Ross, $4,400 – Ross has shown signs of life for the Raptors over the last week and has scored 31.5 and 22.5 fantasy points over his last two games. The 31.5 performance was impressive in that he had five rebounds along with two blocks and two steals. Ross probably isn't the safest cash game until he shows some consistency but at this price he's a great gamble in GPPs as a punt play to provide some salary cap relief.
Small Forward
Chandler Parsons, $6,300 – Kawhi Leonard ($6,200) was discussed here last week and hasn't disappointed with 49.5 and 39.3 fantasy points over his last two games. He's still the preferred play until his price rises, but Parsons is in play as well. An illness has resulted in some recent shooting woes for Parsons who hasn't scored double-digits in either of his last two games while going 2-for-20 from the floor. Parsons is too talented of a player for the drought to continue, and he should be completely healthy sooner than later. Don't be surprised if his price goes down even further here. Take advantage of him while he's a bargain.
Jeremy Lamb, $5,000 – Lamb missed the first five games of the season with a back issue but has come back on fires. He's logging heavy minutes with all the injuries the Thunder have. Lamb responded with games of 21.6 and 30.8 fantasy points in his first two games back before losing his shot in Tuesday's game. He's a scorer who can shoot the three and has enough size to put up decent rebounding numbers. Without Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, the Thunder's coaching staff has given Lamb the green light to shoot whenever he gets a good look, and that will translate into nice fantasy value.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, $4,900 – A bruised chest cost MKG two games, but he's back with Charlotte and in the starting five. He started the season nicely, posting at least 23 fantasy points in four of his first five games with a high of 36.1 over that span. The bruised chest has deflated his price, and he should be back to playing over 30 minutes per game soon. Kidd-Gilchrist has shown improvement with his shot (shooting over 61 percent from the floor) and has averaged over a block per game.
Power Forward
Boris Diaw, $4,300 – It's interesting with the Spurs' rest rotation that they've turned to a 32-year-old 10-year veteran in Diaw to pick up the extra minutes when Tim Duncan and other Spurs veterans need rest. In fact, nights that Duncan and Manu Ginobili sit means added minutes for Diaw, which helps his fantasy value. Diaw is one of the players who won't go for 25-30 points but is capable of being a fantasy asset by contributing across the board. He's another guy who is a terrific punt play with a high floor, especially on nights when San Antonio rests a few of their players.
Center
Jordan Hill, $6,100 – While the Lakers have been a big disappointment as a team to start the season, Hill has been one of their few bright spots. He's developed an effective mid-range jumper, and coach Byron Scott has encouraged him to shoot more. Hill has responded with four straight games scoring double-digits, that included back-to-back 23-point performances. He's also has improved his passing and has 13 assists over his last three games. For the season, he's averaging 14.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks.
