There is one certainty when it comes to winning money with FanDuel Basketball and that is you must have a lineup comprised of as much top-tier talent as you can afford. Of course by buying high on many of the game’s best players it leaves little cash left to fill out a balanced lineup. To this end, one must find value plays that are coming into underpriced on the night and who are poised to outperform their assigned price tag. There is little doubt that the single most important position on anyone’s FanDuel lineup is that of the PG2. It is easy to simply buy high on guys like Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and so forth; however, it is that PG2 spot that everyone skimps on and it is here that many a dollar is won and lost.
In advance of any set pricing coming out from FanDuel on the upcoming NBA season, we will take a look at players from each position and from each conference who are poised to contribute nicely in those secondary roles. While none of these guys are going to carry your lineup night in and night out, they will give you that value play that could just make the difference between winning and losing money.
Top 5 Fantasy Value Plays for Point Guards - Western Conference
Deron Williams - Dallas Mavericks
There are two guys on this list that are looking for resurgent type seasons. The first one is Deron Williams who landed with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. Williams is coming off back-to-back poor seasons in Brooklyn, where he was often the scapegoat for the team and battling injuries. With a fresh start in Dallas and the injury woes hopefully behind him, Williams could prove to be a very worthwhile pickup. Keep in mind that Williams is now 31-years old with a lot of mileage on his knees and ankles; so perhaps the decline in production is now the norm rather than the exception. Williams should get a chance to prove his doubters wrong as he figures to be out there come opening day running the point for the Mavs.
Emmanuel Mudiay - Denver Nuggets
The landscape in Denver opened up considerably for Mudiay with the jettison of Ty Lawson from the club. Lawson figured to have a stranglehold on the starting spot; however, with Lawson now in Houston the competition is wide open. Mudiay is not a prototypical point guard; however, his attacking style of play could still result in decent scoring numbers and hopefully some assists as he will have Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari to drop off to. Look for Mudiay to slowly climb the salary ladder as the season progresses. I could see this becoming a very popular play early and often throughout the season.
Zach LaVine - Minnesota Timberwolves
With Ricky Rubio expected to be at 100% health, it remains to be seen just how LaVine will fit into that rotation. He was a very productive and exciting player when he was given minutes; however, with the financial commitment to Rubio the Wolves will want to see what their investment can do over a full and healthy season. Over the last eight games of the season, where LaVine averaged 39.6 minutes a night he posted averages of 21.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 6.6 apg. Now those numbers are better than Rubio’s on a stats/minute average, so it will be interesting to see just how this situation unfolds in Minnesota this season.
Rajon Rondo - Sacramento Kings
Rondo is the second reclamation project on the list here as he went from being a fantasy-stud in Boston to a terrific disaster in Dallas. Now that Rondo is with Sacramento and paired with a coach who preaches an up-tempo offensive style, Rondo could revert back to his good old happy days. Rondo will open the season undervalued as his stock has taken a massive hit over the last two seasons. Look for Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins to develop some chemistry and with that the stats will come back. Rondo is definitely worth a look as a PG2 option as he is very much capable of posting a triple-double on any given night.
Trey Burke - Utah Jazz
This is all about timing for Burke as the Jazz have lost their pre-imminent point guard of the future in Dante Exum for the season. Burke will be once again thrust into the starting lineup and given every opportunity to show that he can do this in the Association. Burke has had his struggles as the starting point guard in the past as he is not a terrific on-the-ball scorer. Hopefully Burke has learned a thing or two in his maturation process and is now ready to be the scorer and distributor that the Jazz need at the point. For a starting point guard in the Association, Burke will come in on the cheaper side and he could really out-perform his value by simply playing within his game and within the system that Utah has in place.