This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Point Guards
Mo Williams, CHA, $6200 – Despite evolving into a fantasy monster since being traded to the Bobcats, Williams' salary hasn't seen a noticeable increase. Heading into Tuesday night's game, he has averaged just under 37 fantasy points per contest while establishing a nice floor with his lowest fantasy game being 27.9 points over his last five games. A matchup in Brooklyn isn't ideal given the Nets slower style of play, but until Williams comes back to earth it's tough to fade him at this price point.
Greivis Vasquez, TOR, $4200 – This play completely hinges on the health of Kyle Lowry (rest) and whether or not he laces up the sneakers to play Wednesday night. If Lowry is out, Vasquez will once again make for a safe play and great punt play for the position. Using a 5x scoring system, Vasquez would need just north of 20 fantasy points to reach value. He's accomplished this in each of his last two games with Lowry out (21.7 and 23.6 fantasy points) and would be in a good position to do so again versus Cleveland. Just realize that his upside will be limited and looking at another player in GPPs might be the way to go.
Shooting Guards
Klay Thompson, GS, $7300 – Usually a player with this big of a price tag doesn't get mentioned in this column, but there will be an exception made for Klay this time around. He had an off game Monday against the Nets and may have been worn down playing the last game of a six-game road trip. Wednesday night finds him back home in Southern California with a decent matchup against the Bucks, a team playing the second night of a back-to-back set. Before Monday's dud Thompson had five straight games of over 30 fantasy points while averaging 34.6 fantasy points over that span. Look for Thompson to rebound nicely and hope Monday's dud keeps him from being heavily owned.
Will Barton, DEN, $4200 – With the Nuggets turning in an incredibly disappointing season, one of the few bright spots for the team lately has been Barton. He's gotten more run since Arron Afflalo was shipped off to Portland and Barton has taken advantage of the uptick in playing time. Barton has over 20 fantasy points in five straight games and he's averaging over 30 minutes of playing time over his last three despite coming off the bench. His role could increase even more under a new coach and the Nuggets should be assessing any young talent for next season.
Small Forwards
Tobias Harris, ORL, $6500 – Ever wonder what Milwaukee would do if they had Harris, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kris Middleton? Have Giannis play the four? Harris appears back to full strength after sitting out three games with a sore knee. He's back to logging heavy minutes, playing at least 34 in each of his last three games. Before the injury, Harris was posting fantasy totals in the mid-30 to upper 40-point range. The matchup against the Suns, who typically play an up-tempo style of basketball with a lot of transition, also plays in Harris' favor.
Jae Crowder, BOS, $4800 – The Celtics have a lineup full of low-to-mid priced fantasy options on a nightly basis, including Crowder, Evan Turner, Avery Bradley, Isaiah Thomas and Brandon Bass. Crowder is the cheapest of the bunch, and he has been just as productive from a fantasy standpoint. Crowder has the ability to stuff the stat sheet, posting games of 32.4, 23.2, 33.2, 30.4 and 32.4 fantasy points over his last five contests. In other words, he's earned 6x his value in four of his last five contests. Over the long haul, don't be surprised if the Celtics got a steal here when they traded Rajon Rondo for Crowder, a first round pick and a second round pick.
Power Forwards
Andrea Bargnani, NYK, $4600 – Bargnani turned back the clock last Friday against the Pistons, scoring a whopping 47.7 fantasy points and leading a lot of winning GPP lineups. He plays on a team that severely lacks legitimate scoring options and he's actually done a nice job of scoring fantasy points with more than just his shooting. He's scored double-digits in six straight games and has five or more rebounds in five of his last six contests. It's not an ideal matchup against the Pacers, but he looks like one the best value play at power forward Wednesday night.
Ersan Ilyasova, MIL, $4300 – Ilyasova has apparently worked himself back into the good graces of Bucks coach Jason Kidd. He's played anywhere from 23-34 minutes in his last four contests while posting fantasy games of 17, 32.0, 19.7 and 35.2 points. Wednesday night's game against Golden State should be one of the highest scoring games on the slate, and Ilyasova has double-digit rebounds in two of his last four games. He's always an injury risk and Kidd could choose to limit his minutes, but Ilyasova is too cheap to ignore if you're looking for a discount option.
Centers
Rudy Gobert, UTA, $7200 – Despite the high price tag, Gobert will be heavily owned Wednesday night for multiple reasons. He's coming off a monster performance Tuesday, when he had 15 points, 24 rebounds and one assist on his way to 43.4 fantasy points. His matchup against the Celtics is ideal, as he should find little resistance in the paint going against Tyler Zeller. Gobert has five straight games of at least 30 fantasy points and has logged heavy minutes since Enes Kanter was dealt to the Thunder. It's reasonable to expect a double-double Tuesday night and if he can get the block party going a 40-fantasy point night is within reach.
Gorgui Dieng, MIN, $6100 – Dieng has been a little up and down lately, but he's a recommended play if Nikola Pekovic once again sits out with his balky ankle. Dieng has played 39 minutes in each of his last two games while Pekovic was out or very limited. Dieng has games of 27.2 and 26.8 fantasy points over those two games, and he has an outstanding matchup against Denver's terrible defense Wednesday night. Don't be surprised if Dieng puts together a 40-fantasy point game.
