This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
After a crazy 13-game slate Wednesday, we only have two games on tap tonight. The early game features a Chicago team coming off a head-scratching loss in Orlando last night and now going up against a desperate and injury-depleted Miami squad. The late-night special is a matchup between two Western Conference powers in the Warriors and Trail Blazers. Let's take a look at the mid-to-low salary options that you can use to round out your lineups.
Thursday's Value Plays
Point Guard
Goran Dragic, MIA, $6,600: Dragic is coming off his best scoring outing as a member of the Heat, torching Charlotte for 28 points and finishing with 42.3 FanDuel points. Miami is running out of healthy bodies, churning out injury reports that even make Minnesota's brass shake their collective heads. As one of the few players that doesn't have a mangled hand, gimpy knee, or flu-like symptoms, Dragic is arguably the safest Heat player to deploy Thursday. He gets a favorable matchup against Chicago's combination of Aaron Brooks and limited versions of Derrick Rose and/or Kirk Hinrich. Even if Dwyane Wade takes over on the scoring front, Dragic should be able to produce enough in other categories to have a solid outing.
Shooting Guard
Klay Thompson, GSW, $6,800: Thompson's mini slump has dropped his price under $7K, which is a bargain for a player of that caliber on a team like Golden State. The Warriors have dropped two straight for the first time since January, and I could see them taking out that frustration on a quality opponent like the Blazers to remind everyone that they're the alpha dog in the West. That means a bounce-back game for Thompson, who has 22.1 FD points combined in his last two games. Thompson won't have to face off against Wesley Matthews, which should help him snap out of his current funk where he's shot 35 percent from the floor over his last five games. There's no indication that coach Steve Kerr is going to rest his starters Thursday, so Thompson should make for a good play at a decreased salary.
Small Forward
Luol Deng, MIA, $5,600: Finding a legit value play at small forward tonight pretty much boils down to choosing the lesser of, well, many known evils. Deng isn't 100 percent healthy as he continues to deal with knee soreness, but Miami needs all hands on deck if they're going to sneak into the playoffs. He played 41 minutes Tuesday against Charlotte and put together a solid line of 21 points, six rebounds, and an assist. Deng has also played well against his former team, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds in two games against the Bulls this season. His ceiling isn't particularly high, but assuming he doesn't re-aggravate his knee during Thursday's outing, Deng is a guy you can plug into your lineup and not worry about him putting up a goose egg.
Other Suggestions: Andre Iguodala, GSW ($4,800); James Ennis, MIA, ($3,800)
Power Forward
Udonis Haslem, MIA, $5,100 and Taj Gibson, CHI, $4,700: It's between Haslem and Taj Gibson among viable power forwards for under $6K, and a case could be made for either one. Haslem has rounded back into form after an illness sidelined him for two games recently and limited him to 18 minutes on the floor in his first game back. He has put up consecutive 20+ FD point performances. The fact that he's starting and Miami doesn't have many options to replace him with off the bench helps bolster Haslem's value. Gibson has been hard to get a read on since he returned from an ankle injury a couple weeks ago, but his upside is higher than Haslem's. That said, Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau has a stable of excellent frontcourt options at his disposal, which means there will be nights like Wednesday when Gibson gets to put up 12 shot attempts and nights like last Sunday where he's held to four. I give Gibson a slight edge because Haslem has a much tougher matchup going against the aforementioned elite Chicago frontcourt.
Center
Andrew Bogut, GSW, $5,500: Bogut came out of nowhere to swat nine shots Tuesday against New Orleans, joining Hassan Whiteside, Anthony Davis, Pau Gasol, and Nerlens Noel as the only players to reach that number of blocks in a game this season. While I don't see him having a repeat performance Thursday, I do see him outproducing his price tag. Bogut has posted over 20 FD points in eight of his last 10 outings and over 30 FD points in three of his last 10. One of those 30 FD point outings came against Portland, where he had 10 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, and a steal. If you aren't targeting a higher-priced option like Hassan Whiteside at center, Bogut is a great play that saves you room to stack elsewhere.
