After a busy night in the NBA on Wednesday, the Thursday slate is a lot lighter with only three games on the schedule. That means far fewer options to choose from in Daily Fantasy Leagues and a much slimmer margin of error when it comes to filling out your lineup with the best possible options. Here’s our daily cheat sheet if you’re playing DFS:
Weak Defense To Target: Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have won three straight games following a 1-7 start to the season but they are still giving up an average of 107.9 points per game at the defensive end, which has them ranked 28th in the NBA in that department. The Kings have dropped each of their first two road games of the season so it will be worth targeting their weak defense when they visit the Miami Heat on Thursday night. They have allowed at least 100 points in all but one of their contests this season.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
There might not be a more exciting player in sports to watch right now than Warriors’ MVP Stephen Curry, who has picked up where he left off in last year’s NBA championship run with an incredible start to the season. Curry talked about how he felt both he and his teammates were disrespected after winning it all last year and he has certainly looked like he has started this season with a chip on his shoulder. He’s averaging 33.7 points, 5.9 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game early on as well as a ridiculous 5.2 threes per game. Nobody has been better for fantasy purposes than Curry so far this season. Considering the light schedule, the reigning MVP should be the player every lineup is built around in Daily Fantasy Leagues for Thursday night. Everyone is going to have him; don’t be the guy that tries to outsmart everyone else.
Injuries & Rest Create Opportunities For…: Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers
Both Chris Paul and J.J. Redick are doubtful to play on Thursday. Paul did some light work on Wednesday but it looks like the Clippers would rather hold him out for a full week to give him time to recover from the groin injury. Combined with the fact that Redick (back) is also expected to be out, Jamal Crawford is a player worth targeting. Crawford has stepped up big time with Paul out of the lineup including a season-high 37 points with eight assists, six rebounds, three three-point shots and a block in LA’s 101-96 win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. Paul and Redick’s injuries have opened the door for Crawford to step up and even if Paul returns Crawford should be a strong option.
While Crawford has been fitting in at both the point and two-guard, Rivers has also had the opportunity to soak up more minutes. Rivers had 13 points, three rebounds, an assist and three three-point shots in 42 minutes against Detroit. Rivers has started three games for the Clippers and has averaged 11.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.7 threes, 1.7 free throws, 1.3 assists and 0.3 steals. He’s getting 35.7 minutes per start, which is a very healthy number. If Paul is sidelined, he could see big minutes once again.
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Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: GS @ LAC
We have already talked about Curry as the player Daily Fantasy League lineups should be built around and mentioned Crawford and Rivers as players that could have big nights depending on injury statuses, but we’ve got another reason to eye players from the Warriors-Clippers game on Thursday: it’s projected to be the highest scoring of the night. Online sportsbooks have this game pegged with the highest total, so we should see points galore. Both teams have the potential to put up big totals with Los Angeles looking to end Golden State’s perfect start, look for that game to be the highest scoring contest on Thursday night’s slate.
