Friday night on the NBA hardwood we have a big 10-game slate to start off the holiday weekend. There is a pair of matchups with a Vegas total pushing over 230 points with the Hawks and Knicks squaring off at Madison Square Garden and the Pelicans facing the Lakers at the Staples Center to finish off the night. Those two games will be popular spots to find your high-priced stud but also offer some solid mid-range and maybe even a value option.
Meanwhile, the slate also had a lot of tight matchups according to Vegas with only one game featuring a favorite of more than five points. We could have an overtime game or two that could tilt the slate so don’t be shy about building some game stacks in GPPs. Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
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One Stud
LeBron James (SF/PF – LAL): $10,900 vs. NO
With question marks around Anthony Davis after bouncing in and out of his last game, give me the rock that is LeBron as my one stud of the night in the same game. The game has the highest Vegas total on the slate and with both teams clear of any back-to-backs they should be rested and ready to play big minutes. James is coming off a game with a monster line that included 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists and gets a plus matchup against the Pelicans who have allowed increased production across the board to SFs this season.
Friday night on the NBA hardwood we have a big 10-game slate to start off the holiday weekend. There is a pair of matchups with a Vegas total pushing over 230 points with the Hawks and Knicks squaring off at Madison Square Garden and the Pelicans facing the Lakers at the Staples Center to finish off the night. Those two games will be popular spots to find your high-priced stud but also offer some solid mid-range and maybe even a value option.
Meanwhile, the slate also had a lot of tight matchups according to Vegas with only one game featuring a favorite of more than five points. We could have an overtime game or two that could tilt the slate so don’t be shy about building some game stacks in GPPs. Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
One Stud
LeBron James (SF/PF – LAL): $10,900 vs. NO
With question marks around Anthony Davis after bouncing in and out of his last game, give me the rock that is LeBron as my one stud of the night in the same game. The game has the highest Vegas total on the slate and with both teams clear of any back-to-backs they should be rested and ready to play big minutes. James is coming off a game with a monster line that included 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists and gets a plus matchup against the Pelicans who have allowed increased production across the board to SFs this season.
Core Plays
Jrue Holiday (PG/SG – NO): $9,000 @ LAL
Holiday is a solid option even if Anthony Davis and Julius Randle suit up on Friday night against the Lakers. However, he becomes a near must-play if one or both of them miss the game. Holiday has scored at least 20 points in five of his last six games and typically stuffs the box score with close to double-digit assists to go along with a few steals and rebounds. He should produce even more of those numbers against a Lakers team that allows increased production in points (+11.9%), rebounds (+9.1%) and assists (+8.4%) to SGs. Enjoy the Holiday season!
Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG/SF – NYK): $7,400 vs. ATL
Hardaway Jr. must be still holding a grudge against his former team, the Hawks. In two games against the Hawks this season, Hardaway has averaged 32.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals, good enough for 49.6 DraftKings points per game. It might not be a grudge at all, it might just be that the Hawks are bad at defending opposing wing players as they have allowed increased production across the board to SGs and SFs alike this season. If it’s not Hardaway then be sure to get some Knicks exposure through Emmanuel Mudiay ($6,200) or Kevin Knox ($6,000).
Myles Turner (C – IND): $7,300 @ BKN
Rostering Turner in cash games still scares me because I know that his production and be very volatile from game-to-game. That said, he has been pretty consistent over his last seven games reaching at least 34 DK points in six of them. Turner gets a favorable matchup playing against the Nets who have been destroyed by big men this season giving up increased production in points (+12.8%), rebounds (+8.4%) and blocks (+8.9%). That might just be enough to give me the strength to click on the button to put him in my cash game lineup.
Fred VanVleet (PG/SG – TOR): $5,500 vs. CLE
Kyle Lowry remains out for the Raptors which opens up the starting PG job for VanVleet. Fred has averaged over 34 minutes in the last two games with Lowry out while putting up 16.0 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds while chipping in with a block and steal per game. While his last matchup against the Pacers was a tough one for PGs, he should have an easier time producing against the Cavaliers who have given up increased production in points (+7.1%), rebounds (+21.7%) and assists (+4.8%) to PGs this season.
Value Plays
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (PF/C – BKN): $4,900 vs. IND
Ever since Hollis-Jefferson rejoined the starting lineup for the Nets at the end of November he has seen his production and minutes go up. He’s averaging a solid 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his last 13 games and has reached at least 30 DK points in four of his last six outings. The matchup against the Pacers isn’t ideal but the game should be close, and Hollis-Jefferson should play big minutes against a big Pacers frontcourt.
Reggie Bullock (SG/SF – DET): $4,800 @ CHA
I’m not sure what got into Bullock since he has returned from injury, but he has been a man possessed over his last three games. He has scored 15, 24 and 33 points in consecutive games while knocking down 16 three-pointers. With all of the attention of the defense focused on stopping Blake Griffin who is playing great basketball right now, Bullock should continue to get open looks as the Hornets have allowed the eighth most three-point attempts to SFs this year. Ride him while he is hot.
Jeremy Lin (PG/SG – ATL): $3,800 @ NY
Lin could still have some Madison Square Garden magic for the Knicks fans left in a matchup that should see plenty of points. He is coming off a game where he scored 16 points in 24 minutes and could get some extra run if he starts off hot. I’ll admit this is a little bit of gut call but when we are value hunting on Friday’s slate we might need to take some calculated risks to jam in the high-priced studs.
D.J. Wilson (PF/C – MIL): $3,400 @ BOS
Wilson has finally cracked the Bucks rotation over the last two games playing 24 and 26 minutes respectively. He has also played well averaging 9.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He could see similar minutes against the Celtics to help defend the strong wing players such as Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris. Easy buckets are always a possibility with Giannis Antetokounmpo drawing so much attention and Wilson can also step out and knock down a three-pointer as he has done in each of the last two games.
Brad Richter is a correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay and GoingFor2. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.
