After a relatively quiet night in the NBA on Thursday the schedule ramps up big time in the association on Friday with 20 teams in action. That means there will be plenty of options to choose from when it comes to building the optimal lineup in Daily Fantasy Leagues and while that is mostly a good thing it’s also important not to miss out the top superstar players worth building around as well as the strongest value plays on the board. Here is some important NBA fantasy advice to consider for Friday’s action.
Weak Defense To Target: Phoenix Suns
Phoenix has lost nine of its last 10 games to plummet down the standings in the Western Conference and while they are dealing with several issues both on the floor and in their locker room the area that they have struggled the most according to the statistics is on defense. The Suns have dropped all the way down to 29th in the NBA in scoring defense with an average of 106.2 points allowed per game and the schedule isn’t about to get any easier for them with the Miami Heat in town on Friday night. Chris Bosh has consistently been putting up some excellent numbers across the board for Miami of late while Luol Deng and Tyler Johnson both appear to be quality sleeper value options matched up against a Phoenix team that has been absolutely awful over the past couple of weeks of action.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Golden State Warriors’ guard Klay Thompson and Chicago Bulls’ guard Jimmy Butler have both been hot of late for their respective teams but when it comes to the complete package there isn’t another player in the NBA that has been more dominant from a fantasy perspective than George of late. George has averaged 28.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 three-point shots, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game over the past week of action and his ability to stuff the stat sheet across the board combined with the fact that the Pacers are set to visit a New Orleans Pelicans’ side that has been terrible defensively all season makes him the perfect superstar to build your lineup around for Friday night’s NBA Daily Fantasy Leagues.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For…. Shane Larkin, Robin Lopez
The Brooklyn Nets have turned to Shane Larkin following the loss of Jarrett Jack to a torn ACL and while his numbers haven’t been great so far this year he scored nine points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals in Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors and should produce similar numbers against the Orlando Magic on Friday as he continues to play big minutes moving forward this season.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks gave Robin Lopez some big minutes against the Miami Heat on Wednesday in order to slow down their combination of Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside and it paid off as he scored 19 points with four rebounds, two blocks and an assist in a 98-90 win. Lopez should play big minutes again on Friday when the Knicks visit the San Antonio Spurs and that makes him another strong value play for Friday’s NBA slate.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: OKC @ LAL
The Oklahoma City Thunder are playing their second game in as many nights but they can still score points in bunches and they should have no problem putting up some decent numbers against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Lakers have played better basketball of late and should be able to at least keep this game close even if they can’t find a way to win it. Anthony Morrow has played at a very high level of late and is a strong play from the Thunder for those that can’t afford Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook while Lou Williams has been outstanding for Los Angeles of late and is a strong value play whose potential vastly exceeds his price tag in NBA Daily Fantasy Leagues.
