Friday features a nine-game slate starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Point Guard
Stud
Friday night’s game between the Warriors and Wizards should be fantastic from a fantasy perspective. The Wizards have played at the fastest pace in the league, and the Warriors rank second in that department. The total on this game currently sits at 239.5, which is the top mark on the slate by more than 10 points.
Steph Curry should be able to do some damage in this matchup. He’s coming off a massive performance in his last game, finishing with 41 points vs. the Bucks, and the Wizards rank just 26th in defensive efficiency. Curry’s Opponent Plus/Minus of +1.56 is the second-highest mark at the position on DraftKings.
Value
Coby White is coming off the bench for the Bulls at the moment, which has caused his price tag to absolutely plummet on DraftKings. He’s seen a price decrease of $2,000 over his past 10 games, and his current $4,300 price tag comes with a Bargain Rating of 95%. That makes him an interesting buy-low target against the Hawks. He’s still managed to post a positive Plus/Minus in his past two games, and the Hawks are not a scary matchup for point guards.
Fast Break
Terry Rozier continues to stand out as one of the strongest options at the position on FanDuel. He leads all point guards with 13 Pro Trends, and his $7,300 salary comes with a Bargain Rating of 87%. Rozier has logged at least 39.2 minutes in two of his past three games, and his current minute projection of 36.8 is the second-highest mark at the position.
The Hawks were extremely shorthanded in their last game, and they could be thin again on Friday. John Collins remains out of the lineup with an injury, while Clint Capela and Danilo Gallinari are both listed as questionable. That makes Trae Young an interesting option, particularly on FanDuel given his Bargain Rating of 87%. He’s increased his fantasy production to 1.33 FanDuel points per minute with Collins, Capela and Gallinari off the court this season.
Shooting Guard
Stud
Paul George has posted excellent performances in his past two games, finishing with at least 52.75 DraftKings points in both, yet his salary hasn’t budged for Friday’s matchup against the Rockets. His $8,200 price tag on DraftKings comes with a Bargain Rating of 88%, and the Rockets have played at the fourth-fastest pace this season. There is some blowout concern in this matchup — the Clippers are favored by 12 points — but George has excellent upside if this game stays competitive.
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: Paul George #13 of the LA Clippers.
Value
The Grizzlies are an interesting team on this slate. On one hand, they have a brutal matchup against the Knicks. They’ve played at the slowest pace in the league this season, and they also rank fourth in defensive efficiency. On the other hand, they’re likely going to be without three rotation players in Brandon Clarke, Justise Winslow, and De’Anthony Melton.
Dillon Brooks is someone who the increased playing time likely outweighs the poor matchup. He’s averaged 0.96 DraftKings points per minute this season, and he’s currently projected for 31.4 minutes in our NBA Models.
Fast Break
Zach LaVine looks like an elite buy-low candidate, particularly at just $7,500 on FanDuel. He leads the position with 10 Pro Trends, and LaVine has historically averaged a Plus/Minus of +2.50 with a comparable salary (per the Trends tool). His production has been down since the team acquired Nikola Vucevic, but he did drop 55.7 FanDuel points on the Raptors yesterday.
Bradley Beal is another potential buy-low option. He’s been out of the lineup recently, which has caused his salary to drop to just $8,300 on FanDuel. That’s simply too cheap for Beal, who finished with 38.7 FanDuel points over just 30.4 minutes in his first game back. He should see a few additional minutes tonight in an elite game environment.
Small Forward
Stud
The Celtics are another team with a favorable matchup on Friday. The Timberwolves rank just 27th in defensive efficiency this season, and the Celtics’ implied team total of 118.0 ranks second on the slate.
Jaylen Brown is coming off 58.0 DraftKings points in his last outing, and he should continue to benefit from the absence of Evan Fournier. He’s still out of the lineup due to health and safety protocols, which opens up a few additional minutes for Brown on the wing.
Value
The Hornets are playing without LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward at the moment, which has allowed Miles Bridges to move into the starting lineup. He’s coming off nearly 36.5 minutes in his last outing, and Bridges has averaged 0.88 DraftKings points per minute this season. He’s simply too cheap at $5,500 on DraftKings.
Fast Break
Kelly Oubre has played at least 37.1 minutes in back-to-back games, and he’s unsurprisingly responded with a positive Plus/Minus in both contests. He got off to a rough start this season shooting the ball, but he’s managed to turn things around as the season has progressed. Overall, he’s averaged a respectable 0.95 DraftKings fantasy points per minute this season, which makes him an excellent target vs. the Wizards. The Warriors are favored by 4.5 points in that matchup, so their 122.0 implied team total is unsurprisingly the top mark on the slate.
Kawhi Leonard stands out on DraftKings for a lot of the same reasons as George. Leonard has been a steady contributor recently, posting a positive Plus/Minus in seven of his past nine games, and his $9,400 salary comes with a Bargain Rating of 92%.
Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: Los Angeles Clippers F Kawhi Leonard
Power Forward
Stud
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status is obviously a massive factor on this slate. He’s missed the Bucks’ past two games, and his absence on Friday would open up a bunch of value for the rest of the team. Guys like Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis would all warrant consideration in that situation.
If Antetokounmpo is active, then he becomes a very interesting option. People will be hesitant to roster him in his first game following an injury absence, and targeting him at lower ownership is always appealing in tournaments. He carries arguably the highest ceiling every time he’s on the slate given his average of 1.69 DraftKings points per minute.
Value
This slate doesn’t have a ton of appealing punt plays at the moment, but Jalen McDaniels stands out for the Hornets. He seemingly came out of nowhere to log 31.9 minutes in his last outing, and he ultimately responded with 38.5 DraftKings points. There’s no guarantee that he sees that much playing time again vs. the Bucks, but McDaniels is currently projected for 29.5 minutes in our NBA Models. He’s averaged 0.83 DraftKings points per minute this season, and his $3,300 salary comes with a Bargain Rating of 98%.
Fast Break
Draymond Green is another potential option for the Warriors on Friday. He’s an elite value on DraftKings given his Bargain Rating of 97%, and he’s increased his production to 1.09 DraftKings points per minute over the past month. He’s coming off a poor performance in his last outing, but he did score at least 44.25 DraftKings points in each of his two previous games.
Rudy Gay has developed into an effective sixth man for the Spurs late in his career. He comes off the bench and simply gets buckets, and he’s averaged 1.06 FanDuel points per minute over the past month. That makes him relatively safe at $4,400 despite a mediocre playing time projection.
Center
Stud
Nikola Jokic has been priced down to just $10,100 on FanDuel, which seems like a massive mistake. He’s not as effective on FanDuel since they don’t award bonuses for double- and triple-doubles, but he’s still averaged a ridiculous Plus/Minus of +11.62 with a comparable salary this season — that’s over a sample size of 17 contests, and he’s posted a Consistency Rating of 82.4%, which means he provides an elite ceiling and floor for Friday’s matchup against the Spurs.
Value
Cody Zeller is coming off a huge performance in his last outing, finishing with 38.5 DraftKings points over 28.1 minutes. He’s averaged 1.11 DraftKings per minute over the past month, and he’s currently projected for 24.5 minutes vs. the Bucks. He’s simply too cheap at $4,400 on DraftKings, resulting in a Bargain Rating of 88%.
Fast Break
Wendell Carter Jr. is another elite value on DraftKings given his Bargain Rating of 97%, and he’s averaged a stout 1.15 DraftKings points per minute over the past month. He played just 23.2 minutes in his last outing, but he had played at least 31 minutes in each of his prior three games.
He has the chance for a big performance if he returns to that kind of workload vs. the Pacers. They’ve struggled vs. opposing big men this season, resulting in an Opponent Plus/Minus of +2.65.
Ivica Zubac stands out on FanDuel given his Bargain Rating of 78%, and he owns an elite Opponent Plus/Minus of +3.44 vs. the Rockets. He hasn’t seen a ton of minutes recently, but he’s currently projected for 27.4 minutes in our NBA Models. That should be enough for him to return value given his average of 1.00 FanDuel points per minute this season.
