This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We've approached the final 10 days of the NBA regular season, and with just seven games on tap, we needed to go a little deeper down the price list for our value plays this Sunday. You'll find a few new names on Sunday's list that have earned extra minutes recently to make themselves fantasy relevant. As always, all players listed below are under the $6,000 threshold to help build value into your daily fantasy rosters. Here's a look at Sunday's value plays.
Sunday Value Plays
Point Guard
Aaron Brooks, CHI, $5,500: With Derrick Rose's return coming sooner than later, this may be one of the last opportunities to cash in Brooks at this price tag. He's scored a minimum of 22 fantasy points on FanDuel over the past seven games and is averaging over 30 minutes per game in that span. The matchup is usually on the plus side when facing Cleveland's point guards on defense, as they've allowed the fourth most fantasy points to their opponents at that position over the past three weeks. Brooks makes for a safe cash game play for Sunday.
Ray McCallum, SAC, $5,000: Sacramento coach George Karl has finally begun to realize that an Andre Miller/Ray McCallum timeshare isn't in the team's best interest and has begun to shift the minutes in McCallum's direction. McCallum's minutes are finally averaging above the 30-minute range in the past eight games, and his production has begun to rise with the extra run. My main interest with McCallum lies in the fact that Rudy Gay has been ruled out for Sundays game, giving McCallum the scoring opportunity he needs. Since Gay left Wednesday's game with a concussion, McCallum has produced fairly well, averaging 24 points per game in the last two contests. That's likely to be a safe baseline for him again on Sunday.
Shooting Guard
Dion Waiters, OKC, $4,500: Waiters can be maddening for anyone who's played him recently, but the price is still just way too juicy for us to ignore. He's averaged 32 minutes per game, 12.4 shot attempts, and 13.6 points over the past two weeks, so the minutes and opportunity is there. The matchup should help him, as the Rockets are in the bottom half of the league in points allowed to opposing shooting guards, and the total on Sunday's game (217) is higher than any total Sunday. He's probably more suited for GPP action than cash games, but Waiters is still worthy of a recommendation Sunday against Houston.
Small Forward
Matt Barnes, SAC, $5,100: Granted, Barnes certainly isn't one of the more sexier options on FanDuel, but if you aren't paying up for any of the top four guys at small forward Sunday, Barnes is one of best remaining options. The matchup itself makes this play attractive, as the Lakers are ranked 24th in fantasy points allowed to small forwards over the past three weeks. As long as Barnes' minutes stay in 30+ per game range, he makes for a reasonable cash game play for Sunday's action.
Luol Deng, MIA, $5,500: After a short two-game stint last week where Deng missed time with a knee injury, he's come back strong with 29 fantasy points against Cleveland on Thursday and 24 fantasy points against Detroit on Saturday. Deng shouldn't have too much trouble against the Pacers on Sunday, who come into the game ranked 22nd in fantasy points allowed to small forwards and will try to work Paul George back into playing shape. Deng is likely to be a consistent play across all of my lineups Sunday.
Power Forward
Andrea Bargnani, NY, $5,400: We're willing to throw out Bargnani's 18-minute dud performance Friday for a few reasons. For starters, even with that last game factored in, he's still averaging 23.18 fantasy points per game over the past three weeks. Second, the main concern with the Knicks is usually blowout potential, but that's probably not a concern Sunday against the Sixers with the betting line standing PHI -1. Add in the fact that the Sixers rank 24th in fantasy points allowed to power forwards this season, and you have enough positive factors to roll with Bargnani Sunday against Philly.
Ryan Kelly, LAL, $4,200: Let's start by clarifying that we only like Kelly Sunday as a GPP punt play at power forward. His playing time at power forward has been consistent of late, as he's averaged 33 minutes per game in the last two weeks, but the scoring output is of the boom-or-bust variety. Kelly is capable of putting up 37 fantasy points like he did Monday against the Sixers but is also susceptible to the 12 point fantasy let down he gave us Friday. If you're looking for a sneaky tournament home run play, Kelly may be your guy.
Center
Steven Adams, OKC, $5,400: If you read last week's article, you'll remember that I was fairly unkind to Adams for being foul-prone and how that limits his minutes and fantasy scoring potential. He's seemed to have toned down the chippiness lately and understands that the Thunder need him to play more minutes with Ibaka out of the lineup. He's now averaging just under 30 minutes per game over the past two weeks and has posted three double-doubles since March 22. The center position in Houston is still a mess, as Dwight Howard remains on a minutes restriction that he is unhappy about, and they are still missing Donatas Motiejunas, who has been out the past five games with a back injury. Look for Adams to grind his way to 20+ fantasy points at home Sunday.
