Fantasy NBA: DraftKings and FanDuel Value Plays for Feb. 13
When it comes to daily fantasy sports (DFS), and basketball in particular, there's a lot of data out there that can help you make lineup decisions. One source of helpful data is FantasyLabs, an analytical sports resource site that features DFS projections as part of its stock of premium content.
FantasyLabs provides a wealth of data available at the fingertips of the DFS player to help identify top plays, save time in building multiple lineups, and look at where the value is in a given slate of games based on factors ranging from projected ownership to simple projected points per dollar. Players can even tweak the model based on what they weight to be the most important factors, and the FantasyLabs model will spit out a rating for the individual user that ranks players based on his or her preferences. There's also up-to-the-minute news scrolling in a sidebar that makes it easy to follow breaking injury reports.
We're going to provide a sampling for free right here on PokerNews Sports. Each day this recurring article runs, we'll go over three of FantasyLabs' top value plays on both DraftKings and FanDuel using the premium projections. We'll take a look at why these players could represent value and show you what FantasyLabs expects out of them statistically.
All stats are projected totals at the time of writing. Ceiling and floor represent the top 15 percent and bottom 15 percent of a player's projected outcomes, respectively.
FanDuel Value Plays
| Player | Price | Minutes | Proj. Points | Ceiling | Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SG Evan Fournier (ORL@MIA) | $5,400 | 35.9 | 26.2 | 36.2 | 12.7 |
Fournier missed some time injured but is getting back to his role as one of the main ball-handlers in Orlando's putrid offense. He's probably the team's most dangerous player with the rock in his hands on the perimeter and showed why recently with three 20+ point efforts in the past four games for a team absolutely desperate for offensive creativity. Miami is a bad matchup, but at this price, there's still plenty of upside for Fournier, and his ownership level shouldn't be high.
| Player | Price | Minutes | Proj. Points | Ceiling | Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PF Nerlens Noel (PHI@CHA) | $5,400 | 28.4 | 27.5 | 39.8 | 12.7 |
The Sixers are back to a Noel-centric frontcourt as they work diligently to move Jahlil Okafor and pack Joel Embiid back in the bubble wrap. Noel consistently crushed when he had the team's C minutes to himself a few weeks ago, and he's already posted 26.9 and 33.1 FD points the past two games when he reclaimed the alpha role, the former coming in just 22 minutes. Blocks and steals make Noel's ceiling quite juicy, and this price won't last long, so get grab him before he's over $6,000 again.
| Player | Price | Minutes | Proj. Points | Ceiling | Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SG Will Barton (DENvsGSW) | $5,800 | 33.7 | 26.2 | 38.6 | 14.8 |
Always a bit of a volatile commodity, Barton has seen his role solidify for the moment with Kenneth Faried missing time injured. Before the blowout loss to Cleveland, Barton had played 34+ minutes in three straight, and should see around that much clock if Denver doesn't get completely waxed by the Dubs. The high-paced matchup should bear plenty of fantasy fruit, and Barton's crafty scoring game will thrive.
DraftKings Value Plays
| Player | Price | Minutes | Proj. Points | Ceiling | Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF Khris Middleton (MILvsDET) | $3,900 | 22.9 | 21.6 | 30.9 | 7.4 |
The Bucks desperately missed their leading scorer from last season and the shooting he provides, and they need it more than ever with the emerging Jabari Parker sadly finished for the year. Middleton is on a minutes restriction as he works himself back into game shape after missing the first 50-some games of the season, but even seeing around 20 minutes, he's quite capable of hitting value at this ridiculously low price. Roll him out if you need salary relief.
| Player | Price | Minutes | Proj. Points | Ceiling | Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Nikola Jokic (DENvsGSW) | $9,200 | 34.2 | 46.9 | 63.9 | 32.6 |
Jokic is on an absurd tear of late, with 52+ DK points in five of the Nuggets' past eight games. He's really been showcasing his smooth all-around game, and his price has rocketed past $9,000. Still, the fact that it hasn't seen a marked increase tonight in a game with a total of 240.5, by far the night's highest, is a bit odd. Take advantage of that against a Golden State team that's soft inside at the moment without enforcers Zaza Pachulia and David West.
| Player | Price | Minutes | Proj. Points | Ceiling | Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PF/C Frank Kaminsky (CHAvsPHI) | $5,700 | 33.7 | 29.2 | 42.7 | 15.1 |
Cody Zeller's already been announced out with a quad injury, so Kaminsky will grab the majority of the frontcourt minutes again for Charlotte after the team traded away Spencer Hawes. Kaminsky's price has rocketed up to a season high, but there's clearly still some upside here as he has put up around 40 DK points in three of the past four games that Zeller sat. The value is starting to diminish here for sure as his price starts to reflect his new role, but if Kaminsky gets hot from the outside against the lackluster defense of Ersan Ilyasova or a guy in Nerlens Noel not used to playing on the perimeter, he could deliver another big game.
Want to see all of today's top plays on DraftKings and FanDuel? Try FantasyLabs' premium tools!
