The weekend has finally arrived and while football fans will be excited about the divisional playoff round an absolutely loaded slate of basketball games means there will be plenty of opportunity to make some serious cash in NBA Daily Fantasy Leagues. Friday night’s schedule includes nine games and while that provides the flexibility of choose from 18 NBA rosters when building your fantasy roster it also can make it a lot tougher to narrow down the best options. Here is some important fantasy advice to consider for Friday’s NBA action.
Weak Defense To Target: Minnesota Timberwolves
Don’t look now but the Timberwolves have dropped eight games in a row and are only three games up on the Los Angeles Lakers, which sit in the Western Conference basement right now. Minnesota has struggled at both ends of the floor during their skid but they haven’t been good defensively all year as they rank 21st in the NBA with an average of 102.7 points per game. The schedule isn’t about to get any easier for the Timberwolves as they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night so it’s definitely worth targeting Minnesota’s weak defense. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are the obvious options from the Thunder but Steven Adams could also be a valuable sleeper play after averaging 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 block per game over the last week of action.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Danilo Gallinari, Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets aren’t doing that much better than the Timberwolves this season but they have strung together consecutive victories and one of the biggest reasons for it has been the fact that Gallinari is absolutely on fire right now. Gallinari has averaged 28.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 three-point shots per game over the last week of action and it won’t be a surprise when Denver leans on him again on Friday night when they host the Miami Heat. He has been stellar in the month of January, which has clearly been his best month of the season. He has averaged 26.2 points per game this month; he hasn’t scored more than 17.6 in any other month. Along with the points, he’s also giving you 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 threes, 0.8 steals and an incredible 10.8 free throws made per game in January. Given how he’s delivered this month, it’s worth taking a chance on him as a player with superstar fantasy potential at a very reasonable price.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For… Mirza Teletovic, Ian Mahinmi
The Phoenix Suns have been incredible inconsistent of late but they have gotten some solid play from Mirza Teletovic, who has been one of their best players over the past week of action. Teletovic has averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 three-point shots, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game over the last week of action and he should be a solid value play for Friday night’s matchup with the Boston Celtics.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers continue to lean on Ian Mahinmi at the center position and that makes him a worth fantasy candidate for Friday night when he matches up against the Washington Wizards. Mahinmi has averaged 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game over the past seven days so expect similar numbers when he plays this weekend and for as long as he continues to log quality minutes for Indiana.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: CLE @ HOU
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been excellent defensively this season but they will be on the road against a high-scoring team in the Houston Rockets on Friday night so they might need to lean a little more on their offense in order to get the job done. LeBron James continues to play at an elite level but it’s also worth noting that JR Smith has been very good of late as well, averaging 17.0 points, 3.7 three-point shots, 2.0 steals, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game over the last week of action. Meanwhile, Houston’s fourth-ranked scoring offense is a big reason why they have won five straight games and it makes sense to consider both Terrence Jones and Trevor Ariza as decent value plays for Friday night if you can’t afford to lock in the Rockets’ superstar James Harden.
