FanDuel NBA Regular and Value Plays for 3/12

It's impossible to create a DFS lineup of studs only. You can try to fill it up with mid-tier players and pass on studs, but that doesn't seem to always work. It's important to find the right balance of stars and value plays, so in this article I'll outline some must-plays and some value plays at each position.

Point Guards

Regular Play

Ish Smith, Philadelphia 76ers

FanDuel Price: $6,700

Smith has been a production machine all season. I really have no reason why the Pelicans found him so expendable, but I bet they wish they still had him right now. Now on the Sixers, Smith plays a lot of minutes, scores, rebounds, and assists. He can fill up the stat sheet easily, averaging 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists over his last six games. Plug him into your lineup at a good price, and you can be more flexible at your other positions.

Value Play

Toney Douglas, New Orleans Pelicans

FanDuel Price: $3,600

Douglas has seen his minutes skyrocket over the past two games with Norris Cole out. Cole is questionable for tonight's game, but even if he does play, Douglas might still see plenty of time due to the Pelicans being ravaged by injuries and the possibility of Cole not seeing his usual full slate of minutes. Douglas isn't a great player, but the opportunity could be there for him to crush value given his price tag.

Shooting Guards

Regular Play

Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks

FanDuel Price: $7,900

After flashing his potential last season, Middleton has become a bonafide stud in 2015-2016. An excellent shooter and slasher, he also provides plenty of rebounds and assists and picks plenty of pockets as he averages 1.5 steals per game. He gets a prime matchup tonight against the Pelicans, the league-worst defense against shooting guards that has now lost its starting shooting guard for the rest of the season.

Value Play

Josh Richardson, Miami Heat

FanDuel Price: $3,700

Richardson exploded for 22 points last night, just two days removed from a 14 point, two rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals performance. The Heat seem to have found something in the 22-year old and his minutes are starting to reflect his massive improvement. Over his last nine games, he's averaged 27.5 minutes per game, which has resulted in 19.5 FanDuel points per game. Not bad for a rookie that costs pennies on FanDuel, right? With Goran Dragic not having any backup point guard, Richardson has taken up that role in some capacity and contributed plenty to the Heat's recent success. His fantasy success has followed suit.

Small Forwards

Regular Play

Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets

FanDuel Price: $6,900

If there was ever a guy who could "do-it-all", it's Batum. He averages 14.5 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.7 blocks and around 1 steal. Last night, with Kemba Walker struggling a little bit, he took over the ball and dropped 11 dimes. He has his nights where he can't score, but this shouldn't be one of those nights as he faces off against the league-worst fantasy defense against Small Forwards, the Houston Rockets.

Value Play

Matt Barnes, Memphis Grizzlies

FanDuel Price: $4,800

Did Matt freakin' Barnes really record a triple double last night? In a scene from a twilight zone episode, Barnes is now the star of the Grizzlies as the rest of their team has been demolished by injuries. Many DFS players are going to be on him tonight, and he may very well put up a dud as he's still Matt Barnes, but given his opportunity and recent production, you kind of have to take that chance given his low price.

Power Forwards

Regular Play

LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs

FanDuel Price: $8,000

After an unsure start to his Spurs career, Aldridge has been on fire as of late. He's gone over 37 FanDuel points in each of his last six games, and has averaged 47.1 FanDuel points over his last three. You can point to his easy recent matchups as the cause for that success, but he's definitely been playing at a much higher level than he was earlier in the year. The Thunder are stingy against Power Forwards, but with Tim Duncan no longer posing much of a threat to Aldridge's fantasy production, you can safely roll with the former Blazer for guaranteed points.

Value Play

Mirza Teletovic, Phoenix Suns

FanDuel Price: $4,400

An underrated player on a terrible Phoenix team, Mirza has arguably been the Suns' most consistent player (other than outstanding rookie Devin Booker of course). He can shoot and he can grab rebounds, which translates to fantasy production. We saw yesterday that the Warriors can be vulnerable to big men who can shoot from the outside (Meyers Leonard), so this may be a game where Teletovic has some success. At his price, the high reward and floor outweigh the risk.

Centers

Regular Play

Greg Monroe, Milwaukee Bucks

FanDuel Price: $6,800

Monroe hasn't really been a focal part of the Bucks offense for much of the season, but he still averages 16 points and 9.5 rebounds. He's also dished out 13 assists over his last four games to go along with four blocks and three steals. He's capable of doing it all from the center spot, and gets a prime matchup against the Pelicans, the second-worst defense against centers in terms of fantasy points.

Value Play

Meyers Leonard, Portland Trail Blazers

FanDuel Price: $3,600

Many may be looking at Dewayne Dedmon as a cheap center play for tonight with Orlando center Nikola Vucevic out again. But I'll be looking at the team they are facing instead, focusing on Leonard, who has put up three straight 10 point games. At such a low price point, he'll keep going over value if he keeps that scoring up, which he's more than capable since he's a great perimeter shooter. The 19 rebounds and six assists over his last two games are just an added bonus, but shows what he's capable of in good matchups.