The Golden State Warriors’ march towards the longest win streak in NBA history is on hold until they resume action on Saturday evening against the Toronto Raptors but there are six games on the schedule for Friday night. That means plenty of options in Daily Fantasy Leagues. Here is some important advice to consider the fantasy action.
Weak Defense To Target: Phoenix Suns
Phoenix is coming off back-to-back defeats including a 127-122 loss to the Detroit Pistons and could be vulnerable as they continue their road trip against the Washington Wizards on Friday night. The Suns are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for 26th in the NBA with an average of 105.8 points allowed per game and that’s contributed to this cold spell where they’ve dropped six of seven. During this stretch, they’re allowing an average of 114 points per game and have allowed 120 or more four times.
That makes them worth targeting for Friday’s NBA action with John Wall, Bradley Beal and Marcin Gortat all strong candidates to deliver strong fantasy stat lines. Washington’s offense has labored at many points in the season so far but this is a good opportunity to fire some of those guys up.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons
Jackson has been on fire of late as he was one of the players that benefited from facing the Suns earlier in the week. He torched them for 34 points, 16 assists, three rebounds and a steal in Detroit’s 127-122 win on Wednesday. Jackson has averaged 22.0 points, 9.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game over the past week of action and he could be in line for another big performance on Friday night when the Pistons host the Milwaukee Bucks. Although the Bucks are first known as a defensive team, that has been far from the case this season. They finished the month of November allowing 102.8 points per outing, which was the eighth-worst number in the league. Roll with Reggie.
Injuries & Rest Create Opportunities For… Jerryd Bayless, Jon Leuer
The Bucks have lost four of their last five games so it’s no surprise that head coach Jason Kidd has already moved Jerryd Bayless into his starting lineup to replace Michael Carter-Williams and try to create a spark. Bayless has averaged 10.3 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game over the past week. As a starter this season, he’s actually scoring less per game (11.0 as starter, 12.3 off the bench) but his rebounds and free throws are up. He should continue to play big minutes ahead of Carter-Williams, especially with Greivis Vasquez injured, which means he should be a decent option for DFS.
Meanwhile, Markieff Morris did not play for the Suns when they visited Detroit on Wednesday and he could miss Friday’s game against Washington as well. That opened the door for Jon Leuer to play 39 minutes against the Pistons and he delivered in a major way with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Leuer might not match those totals in Friday night’s game against the Wizards but he should put up a strong enough stat line to make him worth targeting. He’ll be a cheap option and don’t sweat the Wizards defense. They’ve been terrible this season.
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Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: HOU @ DAL
It’s not a surprise that the Rockets and Mavericks both rank in the top half of the NBA in points per game as well as in the bottom half of the association in points allowed per game. There is every reason to expect a high scoring game when they clash on Friday night in Dallas. James Harden and Deron Williams are the obvious options but they will also be the most expensive in Daily Fantasy Leagues, so consider turning to more reasonably priced options like Zaza Pachulia and Wesley Matthews for the Mavericks as well as Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela for the Rockets.
