This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Every week, this article will take a look at players who are undervalued and should be in your lineup. These are players who should exceed their value in fantasy points when looking at their cost. These players 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.
Point Guard
Patrick Beverley, $5,600 – Beverley has hit the ground running since returning from injury and has yet to see his price rise significantly. He has been logging heavy minutes and can produce in a number of ways while being one of the better point guard defenders in the league. Beverley has at least 31.4 fantasy points in three of his last four games. His value will take a little hit as Dwight Howard sees his minutes increase, but until then, Beverley is a great mid-priced player to deploy.
C.J. Watson, $4,300 – Watson has been handed the keys to the Pacers' offense, becoming the starting point guard while Rodney Stuckey shifts over to his more natural two spot. Watson has been consistently around 20 fantasy points per game and hasn't been below 18 fantasy points in any of his last six games. For the price he's at, it's hard to pass on him for cash games, as he's providing a solid floor at a cheap price. Watson is the perfect punt play at point guard that you can pair up with another stud at the position or use the extra money to spend heavily on your big men.
Shooting Guard
Tim Hardaway, $4,000 – On top of having a severe lack of talent on their roster outside of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are now dealing with a slew of injuries to their main players. Anthony, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith have all missed time over the last week, with Shumpert likely out for at least the next 3-4 weeks. That's put Hardaway into the starting lineup and given him the most playing time of his career. He's produced nicely over his last three games with point totals of 18, 16 and 23 points, in addition to a few rebounds and assists. Hardaway will barely contribute in the blocks and steals categories, making him rely heavily on his scoring to meet or exceed his value at this price. Still, he's way too cheap for the amount of floor time he's seeing and should chuck up over 10 shots per game.
Small Forward
Robert Covington, $4,700 – Covington has emerged as one of the few bright spots for Philadelphia and taken advantage of his opportunity of more playing time. He's even moved into the starting lineup, which he rightfully deserved since he now has at least 17 points in five of his last six games. The great part about Covington is his ability to pad the stat sheet in different categories with his ability to block shots and get steals. He's been an outstanding three-point shooter and has been excellent on the glass with six rebounds in five of his last six games. Until his price goes up, he's a nice player to build your lineup around and you can pair him with that LeBron James fellow at the position.
Terrence Ross, $4,800 – Ross has been relied on a little more for his scoring since DeMar DeRozan went down with a groin injury. Ross has been very consistent over the last 2-3 weeks as evidenced by scoring over 16 fantasy points in each of his last nine games. One of the keys to his recent success has been his rebounding, as he's averaging almost five per game during that nine-game stretch. For their prices, Covington is the safer play for cash games, but don't forget Ross has the upside in GPPs to have a 51-point outing as he did last season against the Clippers.
Power Forward
Taj Gibson, $6,000 – With Joakim Noah out with an ankle injury, Gibson has been given all the run he can handle and produced nicely. Whenever Noah or Pau Gasol miss a game this season Gibson becomes an automatic play at this price for both cash games and GPPs. He followed up a 30 fantasy point performance Sunday with just over 38 fantasy points on Monday. Gibson is a must play while Noah is out, as fading him alone could cost you your cash game.
Center
Rudy Gobert, $4,400 – Gobert is an interesting play as someone who isn't going to rack up the scoring but has the athleticism to make a fantasy impact rebounding and blocking shots. Derrick Favors has been dealing with an ankle injury, and through two games as his replacement, Gobert has scored 24.8 and 40.2 fantasy points. It's unclear exactly how much time Favors will miss, but as long as he's out, Gobert is worth considering for your lineup.
Mason Plumlee, $4,900 – Plumlee has taken advantage of extra playing time with teammate Brook Lopez on the mend with a back injury. It didn't hurt that Mirza Teletovic missed three games with a hip injury, opening up even more minutes. Teletovic returned Tuesday night, but it was Plumlee who was still in the starting lineup. Plumlee has played fantastic over his last three games, averaging a double-double with 12.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and two blocks/steals. There's no timetable for Lopez's return, meaning Plumlee should continue to be an under-the-radar fantasy producer.
