This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Wednesday is a full slate of 11 games, which means that there are a lot of options at every position, in every price range. The plan on such a night is to spend your big money on players who you are confident will produce, then to take some chances on lower priced players with mega upside. Let's see if we can find some value plays tonight:
GUARDS
Russell Westbrook, OKC vs CHI ($10,300): Westbrook has produced between 42 and 50 fantasy points in four of his last five games and has to take a larger role for the Thunder while Carmelo Anthony (back) is ailing. He also has a good matchup against a weak Bulls squad Wednesday.
Tim Hardaway, Jr., NY at UTA ($6,600): Hardaway threw away the first 10 days of the regular season, but since then has been a consistent 20-point scorer, which translates into expected production value of around 30 fantasy points, with a ceiling into the 40s or even 50s. He is coming off his second-best game of the season, in which he dropped 28 points, 10 boards, five assists and three combined blocks/steals on the Cavaliers.
Jordan Clarkson, LAL at BOS ($4,100): Clarkson is the instant-offense scoring guard off the bench for the Lakers, but he's a risky play. While he has two games with fewer than 17 fantasy points in the last week, he has four games of between 29 and 37 fantasy points in his last six outings. At his price point, he has more attainable upside than any other option.
FORWARDS
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL vs DET ($12,200): Antetokounmpo is the most consistent of the mega scoring options of late, having produced 50 or more fantasy points in five straight games and more than 56 fantasy points in each of his last four. He has taken well to playing with Eric Bledsoe and has another winnable match-up against the Pistons on Wednesday.
Jimmy Butler, MIN vs SA ($7,600): Butler said this weekend that he was going to start being more involved in the offense and since then has averaged 23 points, 7.5 assists, 5.5 boards and 2.5 combined blocks/steals in his last two games. This is the Butler that the Timberwolves expected this offseason, and he is playing up to that level.
Bobby Portis, CHI at OKC ($5,300): Portis has played well in all three games since returning from his eight-game suspension, averaging 19.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He has become one of the impact players on the Bulls, in a short time.
CENTERS
Joel Embiid, PHI at LAL ($9,700): Embiid has dominated every team that he's faced outside of the Warriors in the last couple of weeks, with five straight non-Warriors games of between 42 and 61 fantasy points. The Process is coming off a 32-point, 16-rebound effort against the Clippers and has a good chance to top that performance in the same arena against the Lakers on Wednesday.
Kevin Love, CLE at CHA ($7,200): Love had an awful game against the Knicks in his last outing, and has been up-and-down of late. But his last two "up" games were 53.5 and 62.7 fantasy points -- outstanding upside at a moderate price tag.
Jonas Valanciunas, TOR at NO ($5,300): Valanciunas' production is tied entirely to his playing time. In five games when he's played fewer than 20 minutes, he has averaged in the low-teens of fantasy points. However, in the four games that he has played between 20 and 30 minutes, he has averaged well over 30 fantasy points per game. The Pelicans have the size that requires the Raptors to put Valanciunas on the court, as evidenced by the 27 minutes, 13 rebounds, seven points and a blocked shot that he put up against them just last week.
