Welcome back to Thursday’s FanDuel NBA Lineup Advice. Check out the players below who I think can help your lineups win some money! With a small slate of games on Thursday, I didn’t include stars like John Wall and LeBron James into my lineup but chose instead to spread the money around to other positions.
Tonight’s games and point projection totals:
- PHO vs. CLE – 220
- DAL vs. MIA – 197
- WSH vs. NYK – 219
- DEN vs. SAS – 220
- MIN vs. LAC – 207
Point Guards
Kyrie Irving (CLE): $8,400 vs. PHO
Irving gets a chance for a huge breakout game against the Suns after posting only 17 points in a tough loss to the Warriors. In the previous meeting between the two teams, Irving posted a solid 27-point performance to go along with seven assists. Irving is in a good spot either way, but he would see a boost if Kevin Love is out. This game could easily be the highest scoring of the night.
Tony Parker (SAS): $4,700 vs. DEN
Parker draws another favorable matchup against the Nuggets who allow the second-most points to opposing point guards this season in FanDuel. With that said, Parker took advantage in their last meeting going for 21 points and nine assists for a total of 37.1 fantasy points. He’s one of the best value plays under on Thursday.
Also Consider
- Eric Bledsoe (CLE) : $8,000
- John Wall (WSH): $10,200
- Austin Rivers (LAC): $5,600
Shooting Guards
Jamal Crawford (LAC): $3,500 vs. MIN
Over the past two months of the season, Chris Paul has missed seven games. In those seven games, Crawford averaged 16.7 points, 4.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks per game while playing 30 minutes per game. Crawford has always been known for being one of the best players coming off the bench. Without Paul and Blake Griffin, this leaves many opportunities for guys like Crawford, Austin Rivers, Raymond Felton and J.J. Redick.
Devin Booker (PHX): $6,200 at CLE
Booker has at least 25 points in each of his previous four games while shooting an excellent 55 percent from the floor. Booker posted two consecutive 39-point games in Mexico followed by a 25-point performance against the tough defensive Jazz squad. His last meeting with the Cavaliers on January 8th, Booker scored 28 points while adding five rebounds and four assists.
Also Consider
- Bradley Beal (WSH) : $7,200
- Will Barton (DEN): $5,300
- Seth Curry (DAL): $4,000 (value play)
Small Forwards
Kawhi Leonard (SAS): $9,400 vs. DEN
Leonard has been an absolute stud lately scoring at least 30 points in each of his previous four games to go with at least 40 fantasy points in each of those games. At this point, there’s a pattern throughout this article. Most players in this article are going up against the Knicks, Nuggets and Suns who are bottom-10 defensive teams in the NBA with the Suns allowing 111.7 per game and the Nuggets at 111.5 per game.
Otto Porter (WSH): $6,000 at NYK
Porter is coming off one of his best games of the season against one of the better defensive teams in the NBA (Grizzlies). Porter posted 25 points on Wednesday to go along with seven rebounds. More impressive was his 4-for-4 start from beyond the arc and finishing six three-pointers made on the night. Porter and the Wizards looks to win their seventh game in eight chances.
Also Consider
- LeBron James (CLE) : $10,500
- Andrew Wiggins (MIN): $6,800
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas (NYK): $3,900 (value play)
Power Forwards
Markieff Morris (WSH): $6,100 at NYK
Morris has been excellent over his previous give games with 16.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Morris coming off back-to-back double-doubles with at least 17 points and 12 rebounds in each game. A matchup with the Knicks are in the top-10 in most points allowed at every position this season. With Kristaps Porzingis out, it’s another reason to play Morris.
Nikola Jokic (DEN): $9,400 at SAS
Jokic gets a tough matchup on paper against the NBA’s second best defensive team allowing only 98.4 points per game. However, Jokic played well in the previous matchup against the two teams scoring 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. To make things even better, the Nuggets will be without Gary Harris, Darrell Arthur and Wilson Chandler. PLAY YOUR STUDS! (Possibly Danilo Gallinari as well whose listed as questionable)
Also Consider
- Gorgui Dieng (MIN): $5,700
- LaMarcus Aldridge (SAS): $7,800
- Marreese Speights (LAC): $4,500 (value play)
Center
Marcin Gortat (WSH): $5,800 at NYK
Gortat rounds out my starting lineup for Thursday as my usual pick, Tyson Chandler, is suffering from an illness. After seeing star players like Jimmy Butler leave games early or be limited in game action, I tend to shy away from those players suffering from an illness. Gortat remains one of those low price centers who can be a consistent source of rebounds, points and blocks. A matchup with the Knicks never hurts.
Also Consider
- Karl Anthony-Towns (MIN): $10,100
- Hassan Whiteside (MIA): $8,700
- Willy Hernangomez (NYK): $3,900 (value play)
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Sean Fitzpatrick is a FantasyPros Correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Sean, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @seanfitz2323.