FanDuel Economics – Wednesday, March 30

Welcome to FanDuel Economics for Wednesday, March 30th, a daily fantasy column focused on FanDuel player salaries and FanDuel points-per-game (PPG) trends. The purpose of this column is to evaluate player salary and PPG 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!

Finding the right lineup on Tuesday was brutal for anyone trying to land expensive and value options. In my Tuesday write-up, I recommended Ibaka and Lin, but each was a last minute scratch from the lineup. So even with a robust line of nine games, you must keep your eye on lineup changes throughout the day and evening. As the season comes to a close, expect playoff teams to rest some of their best players. Now, for today, let’s take a look at some value options so you can spend smartly and enjoy a big pay day:

Point Guard (PG)

I noticed Jose Calderon slowing climbing up the PPG list, now at 27.8, over the last week and decided to take a shot at playing him on Monday and was rewarded with 29.4 points on a $4,200 salary. Tonight Calderon’s salary only climbed $200, to $4,400, which is still a tremendous value for someone who is averaging close to 30 PPG. He’s becoming a confident value play and allows you to plug in some of the more expensive but hard to avoid options like John Wall.

I talked about Jose Juan Barea in the Easter Sunday edition of FanDuel Economics. He continues to pile on more points each game. Barea had 28.6 PPG over the last week. As of Sunday, his weekly PPG was 23.4. That’s a great range of points for a salary only climbing to $5,000 tonight. Continue to play Barea until we know more about Deron Williams’ injury.

Shooting Guard (SG)

Deron Williams had a great run before getting injured and we just talked about how that’s providing a great daily value play in Barea (and also talked about Wes Matthews on Sunday). However, he’s not the only one benefitting from Williams’ absence. Over the past seven days Devin Harris has averaged 24.5 PPG, which is 13^th among all SG’s. Harris’ salary tonight is only $3,900 making him the cheapest option among the top 20 PPG SG’s (next to my second option below). Keep an eye on the Mavs’ lineup tonight and if Williams is out again, playing Harris will get you over 20 points and allow you to use an additional $2,000-$3,000 on someone else.

Seth Curry, no not his brother Steph (anyone else find that confusing?), has been getting more playing time lately and his PPG average over the last week has climbed to 22.8. With Rondo out, I tried using Seth Monday night and he rewarded me with 28.3 on a $3,600 salary. Seth’s salary tonight is $3,900 and another tremendous value play at SG, especially if Deron Williams suddenly enters the Mavs lineup tonight. However, use some caution. Keep an eye on Darren Collison and Rajon Rondo’s status. If they both play, Curry may struggle to get above 20 points, even with 20+ mins.

Small Forward (SF)

Andrew Wiggins’ salary climbed to $6,900 tonight but he’s averaging 32.2 PPG over the last seven days, 2 PPG higher than Gordon Hayward who’s also at $6,900 tonight. If you’re looking for more PPG, your next best option is Carmelo Anthony, at 37.2. But you’re going to have to pay $1,700 more for Melo. With Wiggins you’re getting a 30-35 point play and you can save $1,700 for another more expensive player in your lineup.

Omar Casspi has been quiet until lately. He seems to be getting more playing time as we move toward the end of the season. Casspi’s salary is only $4,700 but his PPG over the last week is 23.7. Casspi is averaging about the same as Otto Porter’s 23.8, but you have to pay $800 more for Porter, at $5,500. Even with Collison and Rondo in the lineup tonight, Casspi will likely get good minutes and continues to rack up 20+ points.

Power Forward (PF)

John Henson continues a late season surge averaging 29.7 PPG over the last seven days and tonight’s salary of $4,300 makes Henson a great value. Henson is 9^th in PPG among PF. The next cheapest top 10 PPG option is Gorgui Dieng, 10^th at 29.6. Dieng will cost you $6,400, so you’re giving up $2,100 in salary for roughly the same result.

FantasyCPR staff writer 2Lock has a NBA Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Picks March 30 column where he’ll provide a great pivot option from Henson, if you would like to consider other high return options.

Willie Cauley-Stein is hot and it’s not a secret. But it’s hard to avoid talking about his value tonight. Willie averaged 28.6 PPG over the last week and his salary tonight is only $5,000. Like Henson, you have to climb the PF salary list to get another option who will drop around 30 points, from Cauley-Stein, and you’re going to have to pay over $1,000 more. WCS provides another outstanding value at PF and is a great pairing with Aldridge, Green, or Millsap.

Center (C)

Jusuf Nurkic didn’t play on Monday because of an illness. Assuming he has recovered and starts on Wednesday, certainly possible, he is a great option. Nurkic averaged 28.4 PPG over the last seven days but his salary is only $4,500. Nurkic is 11^th among all Centers over the last week and is also the cheapest option of the top 20. If healthy, Jusuf will land you near 30 points and give you about $2,000-$3,000 back in salary to use elsewhere.

Next: Milwaukee Brewers 2016 Fantasy Outlook

I wish you all well tonight FanDuelers! Spend smartly and enjoy the return on your savings!