FanDuel Economics: NBA March 26th

Welcome to the Saturday edition of FanDuel Economics, a daily fantasy column focused on player salaries and point-per-game trends. The purpose of this column is to evaluate player salary and point-per-game averages over a seven day period to provide daily fantasy sports players with a vital tool in their lineup tool belt. Finding the best value options often leads to a big pay day!

Saturday’s NBA schedule provides another slate of great fantasy basketball options for your FanDuel lineup. LeBron Jame is matching up against Carmelo Anthony and other great but expensive options will be available like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. So let’s investigate high value/low cost options which allow you to play Melo, LBJ, Durant, or Westbrook:

Point Guard (PG)

Tony Douglas has been taking advantage of his increased playing time due to injuries and the Pelicans season winding down. It seems like Jrue Holiday may miss another game on Saturday which could also help Douglas continue his high points streak. Over the last week Tony has averaged 29.0 points on a $5,100 salary landing him in the top 15 in points for PG’s (13th) with the lowest salary of the top 25 average points for PG’s. His salary climbed to $5,400 today but he’s still one of the cheaper options. While Shelvin Mack or Ish Smith may seem like appealing value options as well, you’re paying $600-$900 more for players averaging 4 points less over the last week. Douglas is a great value option again tonight and could be a great pairing with a more expensive player like Westbrook.

At $3,900, Tim Frazier is another great option from the Pelicans tonight. Frazier has averaged over 25 points in the past 7 days and is taking advantage of the same opportunities as Douglas. If Holiday misses time again tonight, he could be a slam dunk option!

Shooting Guard (SG)

Over the last week, Avery Bradley was 5th among SG’s with a 34.5 points average and his salary is still only $5,800. If $5,800 seems a little pricey for a value option, consider that Jimmy Butler cost you $8,000 and only averaged 31.1 points during the same span. So if you were paying for Butler over Bradley each time, you’re wasting $2,500 for roughly the same result. Bradley is definitely worth a consideration tonight!

As I wrote about on Friday, Jeremy Lin is a great value option at SG and that’s true once again on Saturday. However, Lin’s salary has quickly climbed to $4,300 over the past week and if you’re having trouble fitting him into your lineup, another slightly cheaper option (and teammate of Lin) is Courtney Lee. Lee has averaged 21.5 points over the past week and his salary has climbed to only $4,100. So if Lin lands you $200 over you total allowable salary, try plugging Lee in make your lineup work and maintain solid value!

Small Forward (SF)

Yesterday I talked about the great value P.J. Tucker and Thabo Sefolosha provided for Friday night at SF, and that’s again the case for Saturday. However, two more value options became available on Saturday well.

Nikola Mirotic averaged 26.8 points over the last 7 days and is $1,800 cheaper than Gordon Hayward, who has averaged only 26.4 points over the same period of time. If you wanted to get very expensive in another pairing of positions, you could put Mirotic and Tucker together and still likely yield a large total point value. He’s worth a consideration even with a healthy Bulls lineup on Saturday.

Hollis Thompson seems to emerge toward the end of every season as a great daily fantasy basketball option, and that appears to be the case again this year. As the 76ers Head Coach Brett Brown continues to tinker with his lineup, Thompson seems to be thriving. Over the last week Hollis has averaged 23.5 points on a $4,400 salary. As this continues, his salary will probably climb as well, so get him while he’s cheap!

Power Forward (PF)

Ed Davis seems to have quietly emerged as a great PF option. Over the last week Davis had 28.3 points, 12th among all PF’s, and his salary is only $4,400. Davis should be seriously considered at this value, especially with Portland playing at home against the Philly tonight!

Another PF I love for Saturday is Amir Johnson. In fact I like his daily potential so much I picked him up in my Fantasy League. Johnson averaged 33.7 points over the last 7 days, 11th among all PF’s, and his salary is still a very cheap $4,500. If you’re considering Kevin Love, Tobias Harris, or Thaddeus Young, keep in mind their average points per game were in the 26 range, well below Johnson, and they will cost you around $6,000 to as much as $7,700. Amir seems like the better value and could be a great pairing with Gorgui Dieng.

Center (C)

There are some great options at C tonight, even if they’re expensive. But if you need to find someone cheaper, you still have a great option. Mason Plumlee averaged 32.0 points over the last week, 13th among all C’s, and you’re still only shelling out $5,300 to play him. He’s the cheapest option in the top 15 and continues to take advantage of his increased playing time accumulating points across all of the categories including steals and blocks. Plumlee is worth a look if you’re trying to plug James, Durant, and Westbrook in your lineup at one time.

Next: Elite Eight Preview

Once again, I wish you all the best of luck tonight, and please make sure to keep your eye on late breaking news before locking in your lineups!