This article is part of our FantasyDraft NBA series.
Each week, RotoWire will provide value plays for your daily fantasy basketball lineups on FantasyDraft. Users have a salary cap of $100,000 to select a lineup comprised of three guards, three forwards/centers and two utility players.
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The target for each player to reach value is 2.5x the player's salary. If a player costs $10,000 against the cap, expected value is 25 fantasy points.
Damian Lillard ($17,000)
Lillard is coming off a fantastic February which he closed out with 10 consecutive performances of at least 40.0 fantasy points. His hot streak coincided with Portland's move up the standings, and the All-Star snub is motivated to continue silencing critics by carrying the underdog Trail Blazers to the postseason. With seven games of at least 30 points in his last eight, Lillard is scoring as well as anyone right now.
Evan Turner ($10,000)
Turner easily outperformed his $10,000 price throughout February, averaging 31.0 fantasy points in 12 games. The jack-of-all trades shooting guard finds different ways to contribute every night with his mix of ball-handling, scoring, rebounding and defense, so tough assignments or shooting slumps don't slow him down as much as they do players with less variety. For this reason, Turner has consistently been a nearly matchup-proof net positive in lineups for a while.
Mike Dunleavy ($8,100)
Dunleavy's return to respectable minutes has coincided with his reemergence as a fantasy factor. He has played at least 24 minutes in four consecutive games after previously failing to do so all season due to injury-related limitations, and his 23.50 fantasy point per game average in that span shows that Dunleavy can still be reasonably productive when given enough playing time. At just $8,100, he's still priced well below expectations in his new role.
Tobias Harris ($11,100)
Harris has continued to pour it on offensively since being traded to the Pistons, scoring between 14 and 22 points in each of his first six games in Detroit en route to a 17.0 PPG average. He has also grabbed at least seven rebounds twice in his last three games, laying to rest the idea that being traded by Orlando might negatively impact his contributions in that category. Look for Harris to continue to act as a consistent source of points and rebounds in Detroit after struggling to maintain a high level due to variances in playing time with the Magic.
Notable Injuries
Evan Fournier (wrist), Day-to-Day
Just as he was starting to heat up again offensively, a wrist injury has forced Fournier out of two straight games. Rookie Mario Hezonja drew his first two career starts in Fournier's absence, and the flashy Croatian's scoring ability makes him worth a short-term look playing for a Magic team that relies on the small forward position for significant offensive production.
Nikola Mirotic (Appendectomy), Out Indefinitely
Mirotic doesn't seem much closer to a return after dropping 15 pounds following an appendectomy, as he hasn't been feeling well following recent practices. Look for Doug McDermott, Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis to continue seeing increased frontcourt minutes while Mirotic recovers.
Danilo Gallinari (ankle), Out One Month
Gallinari was diagnosed with two torn lateral ligaments and a medial ligament sprain in his right ankle Monday, leaving him sidelined for the next month. Will Barton upped his production when Gallinari was out earlier this season, so expect the explosive shooting guard to once again see a greater share of offensive touches in Denver.
Kobe Bryant (shoulder), Day-to-Day
Bryant missed Tuesday's game against the Nets, but he's likely to return Wednesday against the Nuggets considering head coach Byron Scott's Monday statement that Kobe would most likely be available for both games of the Lakers' back-to-back set.
Michael Carter-Williams (knee), Questionable
Carter-Williams is listed as questionable to play Wednesday despite missing Tuesday's practice on top of Monday's game. His injury coincided with Jerryd Bayless' return, so look for the veteran point guard to slide right into Carter-Williams' vacated minutes for the time being.
Brandon Knight (groin), Week-to-Week
Knight has been ruled out of Phoenix's four-game road trip that runs through Mar. 6, meaning youngsters Archie Goodwin and Devin Booker will continue doing the heavy lifting in the Suns' backcourt for at least another week. Phoenix has little incentive to rush Knight back, so he could still be out a while with an ailment that has kept him sidelined since Jan. 19.
