This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Point Guard:
T.J. McConnell vs. DAL ($4,800): Daily fantasy is all about finding value and maximizing it as much as possible. T.J. McConnell is always a great option to maximize his price as an underrated starting point guard. McConnell has had two below par games in a row, but he's shown his ability to stuff the stat sheet earlier in the season. In half of McConnell's games, he has surpassed 24 FanDuel points and that makes for a fantastic value at his price. The goal is to get 5X value on the price you pay for a player and that would mean we need 24 points from McConnell for him to be an elite play on Monday. Considering he has reached 34 fantasy points in three games and scored less than 16 only twice, he's a relatively safe choice to live up to his price tag and likely surpass it. The icing on the cake here is the matchup, as he'll be squaring off against Deron Williams, who is a below-average defender with all the injuries he has suffered throughout his career.
Shooting Guard:
Wesley Matthews @ PHI ($5,000): Matthews has really given us no reason to trust him for DFS purposes, but this price is just too good to pass up. The shooting guard has been slowly recovering from an Achilles tear from last year, but he has just recently been playing a full complement of minutes as of late. In fact, Matthews has played over 30 minutes in his last two games and had his best game of the season in that stretch. That was a 25 point-six rebound performance against the Los Angeles Clippers. He got to rest in the Mavericks last game and that should benefit him here against the worst team in the NBA. Matthews is one of the best defenders in the league and he could very well cause multiple turnovers against a bad team like the Sixers. This is simply playing a guy who was priced in the $7,000 range in years past and banking on him having a resurgence and finding his old form.
Small Forward:
Trevor Ariza vs. BOS ($5,600): Ariza played terrible against the Mavericks in his last game, but he was playing really well prior to that. It's no coincidence that he was playing that game nicked up and it clearly hurt his numbers. Prior to that game, Ariza was averaging 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and two steals a game across nearly 38 minutes over his five most recent games. The minutes are what I like most, as he is a near guarantee to play 35 minutes and that alone should give him solid fantasy production. The price is very friendly as well, considering Evan Turner and Chandler Parsons are in the same price range and are far less valuable. Both of those guys will likely only play half the minutes that Ariza will and minutes are the most important stat to gather up fantasy points.
Jae Crowder @ HOU ($5,000): Crowder has been significantly underrated all season long. He has averaged nearly 25 FanDuel points a game and that simply doesn't match his price tag. That gives us the 5X value that we talked about earlier and that's all we can ask for from a $5,000 player. What is so enticing about Crowder is that he gives us production through rebounds and steals, which means he could give us even more if he scores in double-digits. Houston is one of the worst defensive teams in the league right now, as well as one of the most turnover-prone teams. The Rockets are currently 24th in turnovers and rank 28th in points allowed. Crowder should have plenty of opportunities to provide counting stats in this game and getting 5X value seems like a strong possibility at an incredibly affordable price.
Power Forward:
Terrence Jones vs. BOS ($5,900): Jones is the only healthy power forward on this team right now and he is coming off his two best games of the season. He has been battling injury issues all season long, but he played 42 minutes in his last game, when he tallied 23 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Along with that impressive game, he put in a nearly identical performance in the game prior, in just 21 minutes of action. That shows the upside that Jones presents and scoring two 37-point FanDuel games in a row is hard to do for a player below $6,000. The price has dropped this low because of the injury issues Jones has had and that makes this the perfect time to buy-low on him and use him at a cheap price. This is a tasty matchup as well, as he'll be facing off against a small frontcourt in the Celtics and could abuse players like Jared Sullinger, Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk.
Markieff Morris vs. LAL ($5,500): Morris has been dealing with a knee issue as of late, so this is a play we have to keep an eye on prior to game-time. Aside from Morris' last game, in which he got injured in six minutes of play, Morris has scored at least 24 FanDuel points in seven of eight games. Morris is a very talented player and he should be able to re-capture his form once he gets healthy. The matchup is what most intrigues me about this play though. The Lakers are currently one of the worst defenses in the NBA right now and it's the perfect recipe for Morris to score over 20 points and grab 10 rebounds off some poor Laker shooting. If he can get that double-double that he is capable of, Morris is a great value at $5,500. If he doesn't play, that makes Jon Leuer ($3,700) a strong choice, as he should take over starting duties for Morris.
Center:
Zaza Pachulia @ PHI ($5,800): Pachulia is one of the most underrated fantasy assets right now in the NBA. Aside from two lopsided games, Pachulia has been averaging over 30 FanDuel points a game. His last six games have been especially good, as he is averaging 12.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, two assists and one steal per game. This is an extremely reliable center as well, considering he has played at least 26 minutes in eight straight games while grabbing at least eight boards in every game but one. The Sixers are a fantastic matchup for Pachulia, as he'll be asked to scoop up many rebounds against one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA. Pachulia doesn't have the greatest upside of all the centers, but when it's such a weak day for centers like it is on Monday, it's better to go with a reliable option like Pachulia and set a stacked lineup around him.
