This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Point Guard
Shaun Livingston, $4,100: It's not clear what's gotten into Livingston, but it appears the Warriors playing small ball with Livingston on the court is working for fantasy purposes. He's hit at least 18.4 fantasy points in each of his last five games and even has a 41.1 fantasy point effort sandwiched in there. Livingston should be in for a nice game since he might be up against John Lucas (who he has an eight-inch height advantage over), and the possibility of getting plenty of minutes in a blowout is in play with them matching up against a Pistons team that has lost seven straight.
Dennis Schroder, $5,000: Usually, it's wise to follow the playing time in daily fantasy sports, but Schroder is one of the few exceptions that seems to produce no matter what his playing time is. Schroder's minutes have varied from 19 to 35 over his last five games, but he has hit his value at his price every time. In those five games, he has produced fantasy points of 28.4, 24.4, 28.4, 31.8, and 34.8, showing how consistent he's been recently. What makes Schroder attractive is that he averaged eight assists over those five games, and while he's been shooting the ball well, he's not completely dependent on scoring. Look for him to make value in what is a plus matchup going against the Nuggets.
Shooting Guard
Austin Rivers, $3,900: The son of Doc has taken full advantage of Jamal Crawford's injury and earned extra playing time over the last week. Rivers scored a team-high 22 points Monday and now has fantasy games of at least 22.2 points in three of his last four contests. The matchup against Oklahoma City is decent, and the game has one of the higher over/unders of the night. There's also the possibility that Chris Paul is limited as he's dealing with a knee contusion that could decrease his playing time. Finally, should a blowout take place by the Thunder, there would be no reason to play Paul late in the game, and Rivers could have a ton of garbage time production. The floor is pretty low here, but he's one of the better punt options at shooting guard.
Tony Allen, $4,400: This isn't the sexiest pick, and Allen is probably only suited for cash games given his lack of upside. That doesn't mean he should be ignored totally, as he's set up a nice floor for himself. Allen typically has a modest scoring total, but his ability to get steals and rebounds usually puts him around 20 fantasy points, making value. In fact, he has at least 19.4 fantasy points in each of his last four games, and two of those games were over 24 fantasy points. The Celtics still play an up-tempo style of basketball, and they might be without Avery Bradley, their best perimeter defender.
Small Forward
Andrew Wiggins, $6,500: This is the most expensive player in this column, and he's coming off a game where he had only 14 fantasy points. So why consider him? First, when the Timberwolves have been in close games, he's a lock to play around 40 minutes. Their game against Phoenix should be full of fantasy goodness and be one of the higher-scoring games on the Wednesday slate. Before Monday's dud, Wiggins had scored 33.8, 29.5, 31.6, and 32.8 fantasy points over his last four games. Look for him to bounce back nicely against the Suns, and expect a low ownership with people thinking about the Clippers' game.
Power Forward
Marvin Williams, $3,900: With Cody Zeller (back) already ruled out for Wednesday's game, it'll likely be Williams who gets a crack at the starting lineup. Williams has been pretty inconsistent this season but still has enough upside at his salary, with an uptick in minutes, to be considered a good punt play. The Kings' combo of Carl Landry and Jason Thompson is nothing to fear, and Williams has four games of 20 or more fantasy points coming off the bench in his last 10 games.
Nikola Mirotic, $5,700: Mirotic's salary still hasn't caught up to his value, and it's always a good idea to pick players going against the 76ers. Mirotic has been unstoppable since Taj Gibson's (ankle) injury and has been the go-to offensive guy for the Bulls second unit. He now has at least 20 fantasy points in each of his last six games, and four of those contests were efforts of 34 fantasy points. Even if there's a blowout, Mirotic should still be close to 30 minutes. That should be all he needs to make value at this salary.
Center
Alex Len, $4,800: If you're going to pay up at the center position, Brook Lopez ($6,900) goes to South Beach and may be playing against Michael Beasley at times with Hassan Whiteside suspended. Len is the value play here at only $4,800. His salary is depressed after dealing with an ankle injury and a couple of sub-par performances. Len looked like his normal self Monday against the Warriors, recording a double-double en route to 21.2 fantasy points. His 28 minutes from that game should rise Wednesday, as the Suns will need some size to compete with Gorgui Dieng and Nikola Pekovic. Look for Len to at least make value tonight with the upside to get over 30 fantasy points in his home contest.
