Welcome back to the FanDuel NBA Lineup Advice on Thursday following the All-Star break! Thursday also concludes the trade deadline which ends at 3:00 PM EST. We have some of the same faces in new places including DeMarcus Cousins in New Orleans, Lou Williams in Houston and Tyreke Evans returning to Sacramento. Well, let’s get into the much anticipated second half of the season. Check out my lineup and hope you get off to a solid start in your second half.
Tonight’s point projection totals:
POR vs. ORL– 214
CHA vs. DET – 206
HOU vs. NOR – 227
NYK vs. CLE – 223
LAC vs. GS – 230
DEN vs. SAC – 221
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Point Guards
Darren Collison (SAC): $5,500 vs. DEN
Collison starts off my lineup for Thursday with a favorable matchup against the Nuggets who allow the second most points to opposing point guards this season. The big news for Collison is that DeMarcus Cousins is now in New Orleans and he will be the go-to-guy on offense with Cousins in New Orleans, Matt Barnes waived and Rudy Gay out for the season. Collison is one of the best value plays of the evening.
Elfrid Payton (ORL): $5,600 vs. POR
Orlando’s point guard is another player who seems to be priced lower than he should be. In the previous meeting against the Blazers, Payton scored 18 points while dishing out seven assists and grabbing four rebounds. Unfortunately, Payton fouled out in the previous meeting so he will look to improve on Thursday. I’ve elected to use some of my money elsewhere instead of inserting Stephen Curry or Kyrie Irving.
Also Consider
Kyrie Irving (CLE): $9,000
Stephen Curry (GS): $9,100
Jameer Nelson (DEN): $5,600
Shooting Guards
James Harden (HOU): $12,500 at NOR
Harden comes in here as a potential nightly triple-double candidate for your team. The Pelicans remember what he did to them in the previous meeting posting a triple-double with 29 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. The addition of Lou Williams gives Harden yet another shooter on the wing that can knock down shots. There’s no reason to expect anything less than a triple-double on Thursday from Harden. PLAY YOUR STUDS!
Buddy Hield (SAC): $3,500 vs. DEN
Buddy is now a Sacramento King and this bodes well for him as the like starting shooting guard moving forward. Hield draws a favorable matchup against the Nuggets who allow the second most points to opposing shooting guards. Expect to see Darren Collison and Hield run the show for the Kings on the offensive end and what matchup is better than the Nuggets. Arron Afflalo looks to be headed elsewhere as well leaving more minutes for Hield and Tyreke Evans.
Also Consider
C.J. McCollum (POR): $7,600
Eric Gordon (HOU): $5,400
Kyle Korver (CLE): $4,300
Small Forwards
Aaron Gordon (ORL): $4,500 vs. POR
Gordon will likely not be listed as a small forward to much longer so getting him in your lineups while his price tag is slow is a smart move. With Serge Ibaka now in Toronto, Gordon expects to slide over the four where he played well last season. Gordon gets a favorable matchup and should see more looks in this game compared to his first matchup with the Blazers. Ibaka posted a double-double while Gordon only took five shots scoring eight points. Gordon could start off the second half with a nice stat line.
Solomon Hill (NOR): $4,200 vs. HOU
Hill comes in here as a sneaky under the radar DFS play with New Orleans ready to unleash their new “Twin Towers” in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. The Pelicans have opened up plenty of minutes for Hill by dealing Tyreke Evans, Buddy Hield and Langston Galloway. We’re unsure if Omri Casspi will be able to play, so Hill should see plenty of chances in a high-scoring game.
Also Consider
LeBron James (CLE) : $11,200
Carmelo Anthony (NYK): $8,600
Marco Belinelli (CHA): $3,700
Power Forwards
Blake Griffin (LAC): $9,700 at GS
Even with Chris Paul expected to return on Thursday, Griffin has been playing his best basketball of the season averaging 24.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists over his previous five games before the break. CP3 will likely take some of those assists away but he’s still averaging 21 points per game in his three meetings with Warriors this season. PLAY YOUR STUDS!
Anthony Davis (NOR): $10,600 vs. HOU
Davis gets a favorable matchup in a potential shootout against James Harden and the Rockets. Anthony Davis wasn’t able to finish the first meeting between these two teams but he was still able to score 19 points in 23 minutes. This time, Davis will be playing alongside superstar DeMarcus Cousins, and expect both of them to try to gel together and fight for the eighth seed in the West. PLAY YOUR STUDS!
Also Consider
Nikola Jokic (DEN): $10,900
Frank Kaminsky (CHA): $6,000
Ryan Anderson (HOU): $4,800
Center
Jusuf Nurkic (POR): $3,700 at ORL
Nurkic benefits greatly from the trade that sent him to Portland and Mason Plumlee to Denver. Nurkic is now the starting center in Portland and will see his 25 plus minutes moving forward. In his first game as a Blazer, he scored 13 points, grabbed seven boards and added three steals. Aminu is also out leaving more chances for rebounds and minutes making him an excellent value play.
Also Consider
Andre Drummond (DET): $8,300
DeMarcus Cousins (NOR): $11,000
Willy Hernangomez (NYK): $5,800
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Sean Fitzpatrick is a FantasyPros Correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Sean, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @seanfitz2323.
