5 bench players to target nightly in daily fantasy

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Conventional wisdom suggests that starters are more valuable across the board in daily fantasy. It stands to reason. Starters typically play more minutes and have earned their status in the starting rotation because of a high-level of performance (or injury to another player, of course).

In daily fantasy, you can usually only roster two or three top stars before your roster budget starts swirling the drain. Most daily fantasy rosters worth their salt need to fill in the margins by seeking bargains coming off the bench. But not all bench players are created equally.

It's important to know which reserves are 1) getting the most minutes and 2) doing the most with those minutes. Don't forget, many of these players are facing opponents' second units, and see their upside spike because of it. In the case of a blow-out, these backups are going to see more floor time as well, further buoying their chances at big tournament scores.

Here are the five best bench options you need to roster on a nightly basis:

PF Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies

Playing time may be down for the big man, but Randolph is still a force. He's rebounding at a better clip and is barely off his average scoring from a year ago. In fact, if you extend his numbers to his per-36 averages, he's at 23.6 points and 13.4 rebounds. The rebounds would be a career-best and points just behind his 2006-07 numbers.

Randolph is not wasting his floor time, tallying a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 20. Randolph's daily fantasy salary is regularly higher than your average backup, but his bench status makes him far more affordable than he would be as a starter despite having similar, and better, returns compared to his contemporaries.

PG/SG J.J. Barea, Dallas Mavericks

Barea has started five of eight games he has played this season, including his most recent - but that won't be the case long-term. The Dallas Mavericks began the season hurt, and were forced to thrust Barea into the starting rotation. Still, in the first game of the season, Barea came off the bench and played a whopping 39 minutes, scoring 22 and making six assists.

Deron Williams is back, which will move Barea back to his bench role. Even if his salary doesn't correct immediately, he will be cheaper soon and he won't lose much in the way of production. He's only slightly worse than Randolph in PER with 18.5, and he'll hit a couple of three-pointers most games. Give Williams a game or two and be ready to pick Barea with abandon.

PF/C Greg Monroe, Milwaukee Bucks

Monroe has been reduced to a rebounding specialist with scoring upside while averaging the fewest minutes per game in his career. His nightly salary hasn't quite dipped enough, but it is trending in that direction, especially since John Henson just leapfrogged Monroe to become the starting center.

But, like the other names on this list, his numbers per 36 minutes are in line or better than he's tallied as a starter through his six seasons. He's rebounding at an improved rate than ever before at 13.1 per 36 and his 23.7 PER is the best of his career. As his daily fantasy salary craters, he will become a much more viable option and it should happen very quickly.

SG Lou Williams, Los Angeles Lakers

Williams is mostly a pure scorer off the bench, adding little in terms of rebounding or assists. He is, however, stealing 2.4 times per 36 minutes, which is easily a career high. Despite his poor showing against Brooklyn on Tuesday -- the occasional bust is a risk of every bench player, no matter how good -- he has been one of the Lakers' most consistent scorers to date.

The benefit of a bad game, especially against a bad team, is that he could see his salary go down again, making him an even better option next time out.

PF Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors

The numbers aren't very encouraging, but he does a little bit of everything most times out. His shooting percentage is down, but he costs next to nothing to roster. Patterson very rarely puts up zeroes or ineffectual counting stats. He's possibly the Raptors' best 3-point shooter off the bench, and it helps boost his potential value.

Patterson will do in a pinch, though he's not ever going to be the focal point of a roster. But that's the point. Patterson and the others listed provide affordable alternatives who provide steadier returns than picking any random bench player just to round out an affordable back end to your roster.