Player values are constantly moving targets in daily leagues. A high profile player can put together a couple of big games and see his price tag skyrocket. Likewise, a couple of bad games can lead a player's stock to plummet. The correlation isn't always immediate, leading to some discrepancies in value. Savvy DFS players can take advantage of falling values and avoid inflated prices to find the best value on a given night in the hopes of increased success. In this article, I will identify players whose anticipated value relative to their current price is on the rise, making them desirable targets. I will also name players whose value is dipping below their cost, making them players to fade.

Note: I will only be selecting players who are owned in at least 75% of Yahoo! leagues. Graphs are taken from SportingCharts.com's NBA Daily Fantasy Value Tracker and are indicative of values on 1/9/17.

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FanDuel Value Risers - Week 12

Stephen Curry (PG, GS) - It's hard to imagine Curry ever being labeled a value play this season (or any time soon for that matter), but his salary had been steadily declining over the last month. In the second game of December, his salary hit a peak at $9,500 but has since dropped to $8,100 on January 6. His 40-point effort that day changed things quickly. There may be another game or two to take advantage of his renewed shooting prowess before he approaches $10K. Curry has climbed over 50% on field goals the last two games after going eight straight without hitting over half of his shots.

Goran Dragic (PG, MIA) - More injuries for the Heat (Josh Richardon's foot this time) means better value for the Dragon. Dragic himself has had injury troubles this year, but has been strong in the past four games since returning from back spasms. He has averaged 21 points and six assists, while shooting nearly 50% since the new year began. The fact is that his back could keep troubling him in the future, which is the likely cause for his price drop, but for now he appears to be a solid DFS play once again, as he was in early December.

Victor Oladipo (SG, OKC) - A player gets hurt, misses a couple of weeks, his price goes down and he immediately starts providing value upon return. If you've heard that story before, it's shouldn't surprise you that Victor Oladipo is performing above his average salary over the last five games with an average of 27.5 fantasy points per game at less than $6000. He was playing even better before his injury, so it's conceivable that he could keep rising for another week or two before his salary catches up.

 

Dwayne Wade (SG, CHI) - His first year in Chicago has seen some wild fluctuations in point totals. In the games he's played, Wade has nine under 25 FD points and five over 40 FD points. Of course, there's always the occasional off-day for the veteran too. The Bulls will see four back-to-backs in January, which could mean more rest days for Wade. That actually is good news if you monitor lineups, because his price could become depressed as a result, making him more valuable on the days he does suit up. It's risk-reward at this point with Wade.

Dirk Nowitzki (PF, DAL) - Nowitzki hasn't been lighting it up since his latest return, averaging just over 11 points and six rebounds per game in the last four contests. The good news is that his minutes have steadily increased, up to 30 on January 7 against Atlanta. It may take another couple of games for him to get into the groove, but low price tag could make him a decent flex play in daily formats.

 

FanDuel Value Fallers - Week 12

Isaiah Thomas (PG, BOS) - Thomas has been on fire lately, including games of 38, 24, 29, 52, and 31 in the last two weeks. He's also shooting a ridiculous 60% on three-pointers in that span. As always, what goes up must come down. Thomas' salary has already shot up over $1000 in the last week and could continue to climb before he falls back to Earth. The shooting percentages are unsustainable, so it's best to not get sucked into the hype surrounding his hot streak when building your lineups.

Lou Williams (PG/SG, LAL) - A great early-season value, it looks like the days of 40+ fantasy points are over for Williams. D'Angelo Russell is healthy and playing better and Brandon Ingram is coming on, so Williams has less of an offensive burden than he did a few weeks ago. Williams has gone cold in January as well, shooting under 40% in the month. Even worse, he's played just 17 minutes in three of the last five games. If you're in a season-long, it may be too late to sell high on Williams, but you can at least avoid him in daily play.

Joakim Noah (PF/C, NYK) - Noah has stayed healthy as of late, which is a small victory for the nine-year veteran. He hasn't experienced great success in New York overall, however, and is not providing enough return on investment despite a low price tag. His already meager scoring average has fallen to 5.5 PPG this season. He's only hit double digits three times in the last month. With no offensive game to count on, he must fall back on rebounds alone. He did post three games with 16 boards the previous two weeks, but in his last two games he has 15 combined. Meanwhile, his salary continues to soar simply because he's staying on the court. His low minute totals in those games (20 and 21) are a big factor and should be considered going forward.

Robin Lopez (C, CHI) - You might consider Lopez to be a poor man's Joakim Noah (Brook Lopez would be too obvious a comparison). He's a center who is in there for his defense and rebounding, relying on putbacks for a scoring average that hovers just under 10 points. His overall numbers this season are in line with last year, but he's only grabbed five rebounds in each of the last three games with no more than six points in any of them. He's a pretty cheap option at the center position, but you have to evaluate how much you're getting in return.