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
Darren Collison, $6,500 – Collison missed a game last week which is why his price is a little depressed right now. He's made the Kings look very intelligent with his offseason signing as he's more of a floor leader and distributor than Isaiah Thomas was. Collison has played at least 30 minutes every game this season and has already found chemistry with DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. Collison's ability to contribute in every game gives him a high floor, and his price should creep past $7,000 in the not too distant future.
Mario Chalmers, $4,600 – Throughout the season, Dwyane Wade is going to miss time due to rest, and now he's dealing with a hamstring issue on top of that. In his absence, Chalmers has taken advantage of the extra playing time and has been a steal at this price. Chalmers is averaging 21 points over his last three games and has scored at least 30 fantasy points over that span. He's looking for his shot more with Wade out and has played 40, 34 and 35 minutes over said games. Continue to ride him in cash games as long as Wade is out.
Shooting Guard
Thabo Sefolosha, $3,800 – Very quietly, Sefolosha has put together a nice start to the season for the Hawks. While it's odd to see him in an Atlanta jersey and not an Oklahoma City jersey, Sefolosha has at least 12 fantasy points in each of his last eight games. In five of those games, he had 18 or more fantasy points. He hasn't suddenly become a big scorer but continues to play plus-defense while contributing in all of the fantasy categories. To put inyo perspective his value at this price, the studs are priced triple the cost, meaning they'd have to score, roughly 54 fantasy points, to equal Sefolosha's production. He's a great, great punt play at the position.
Dion Waiters, $4,700 – It's been an interesting start to the season for Waiters who did little from a fantasy perspective in the starting lineup to start the season to being a productive sixth man off the bench. Waiters had difficulty picking up the new offense as well as finding chemistry with the other four starters to start the season but has begun to embrace his role off the bench. Waiters has had at least 24.9 fantasy points in three of his last four games, and the stat that stands out is his steals (averaging over two his last four games). Keep in mind, too, he'll likely see extended minutes on nights there's a blowout.
Small Forward
Trevor Ariza, $6,200 – In daily fantasy, a lot of attention on the Rockets is turned to paying up for James Harden or punting at power forward and going with Donatas Motiejunas. He certainly isn't a bargain for his price, but Ariza has been one of the most consistent players for the Rockets and has a high floor for daily fantasy players. Ariza has not had less than 18.1 fantasy points in any of his 10 games this season, and six of those games have him scoring 25 or more fantasy points. Perhaps the key to Ariza is his 35.4 minutes per game average, as a contributor in multiple fantasy categories, time is often the key.
Power Forward
Jared Sullinger, $6,800 – This price sticks out like a sore thumb considering the rest of the players mentioned in this column. However, Sullinger has been a rock for daily fantasy owners despite playing less than 30 minutes in half of his games. Sullinger has become a daily double-double threat and has improved his passing as evidenced by his 3.2 assists per game (1.6 assists per game last season). He benefits from playing in an up-tempo offense led by Rajon Rondo, leading to many easy baskets in the paint. Sullinger's two worst games from a fantasy standpoint were 23.8 and 24.6 fantasy point efforts, and his other eight games this season were all for over 31 fantasy points.
Center
Steven Adams, $4,200 – Adams is learning on the job this season after becoming a starter with all of the injuries the Thunder have incurred. The price is excellent as he only has one game out of 10 of below 15 fantasy points, and has six of those games with 19.7 fantasy points or more. Adams should continue to improve his game (including staying out of foul trouble) and has improved his shot-blocking (13 in his last three games).
