After a busy night in the NBA on Wednesday, the schedule will be much lighter on Thursday with only 10 teams in action and while there will still be plenty of cash to make in Daily Fantasy League action the limited options in terms of player selection will make it that much more important to identify the best plays and have them in your lineup. Here is some important fantasy advice to consider for Thursday’s NBA Daily Fantasy action.
Weak Defense To Target: Sacramento Kings
The Kings have been stuck at the bottom of the NBA in terms of scoring defense for some time now as they have allowed an average of 108.3 points per game this season. That is a pretty ridiculous number and there is absolutely no reason to expect them to play any better when they host the Atlanta Hawks in their second game in as many nights on Thursday. Paul Millsap, Al Horford and Jeff Teague are the obvious All-Star options on the Hawks roster but it is definitely worth considering Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore as prime value plays when targeting Sacramento’s atrocious defense on Thursday night. Bazemore, in particular, has been an underrated asset of late as he’s averaging 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 threes, 1.1 free throws and 1.1 steals per game in January. He gets overlooked a lot in DFS but he’s a great asset to be using given his price points.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Davis has been on fire for the Pelicans over the past week of action and there is every reason to expect that to continue when New Orleans host the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. Davis has averaged 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.5 steals per game over the past seven days and you can count on him to deliver another outstanding performance on Thursday night. The Pistons defense has been weak all season long and has been particularly bad of late. They’ve allowed an average of 106.4 points per game over their last five. If you’re thinking about one red-hot superstar to build your lineup around, Davis is worth the budget.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For… Gary Harris, Ersan Ilyasova
The Denver Nuggets continue to give a huge chunk of minutes to Gary Harris at the shooting guard position as they are trying to build the backcourt of the future along first-round pick Emmanuel Mudiay, who is at point guard. Harris has capitalized on the opportunity by averaging 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 three-point shots per game over the past week of action. He’s averaging 30.6 minutes per game as a starter this season but he’s gotten a boost in January as he’s up to 33.5 minute of action this month. He’s played 36 or more in four of his last five. Because of the minutes, Harris should continue to put up strong numbers on Thursday night when the Memphis Grizzlies in town. He is available at a very reasonable price in Daily Fantasy Leagues.
Meanwhile, Ersan Ilyasova has really stepped up for Detroit of late and they continue to give him just upwards of 30 minutes per game as a result. Ilyasova has averaged 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.7 three-point shots per game over the last week of action and he will be leaned on again when the Pistons visit New Orleans on Thursday night. The Pelicans have been a disaster all year, so this sets up as a plus matchup for Ilyasova.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: LAC @ CLE
The Cleveland Cavaliers were embarrassed by the Golden State Warriors the other night so don’t expect them to allow the Los Angeles Clippers to roll in to town and embarrass them on Thursday night. The Clippers’ third-ranked offense should put up some decent numbers so look for LeBron James and company to step up in order to keep up. Chris Paul is the obvious superstar option from Los Angeles but it’s definitely worth considering having J.J. Redick in your lineup, as he has been absolutely on fire of late. Meanwhile, if you can’t afford LeBron James then consider J.R. Smith and even James Jones as decent sleeper options for NBA Daily Fantasy on Thursday night.
