Basketball fans can celebrate the holidays with a full slate of NBA action scheduled for Christmas Day as the association has scheduled five games back-to-back beginning at noon eastern time. That means there will be 10 teams to scout when it comes to finding the perfect balance between superstar talent and sleeper value bargain plays in Daily Fantasy Leagues so consider the following information an early Christmas gift. Here is a look at some important fantasy advice to consider for Friday’s NBA action.
Weak Defense To Target: New Orleans Pelicans
The Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers won’t exactly bring elite defensive play to the floor on Christmas Day but if there is one weak defense to target above the rest it has to be the New Orleans Pelicans. Anthony Davis and company rank dead-last in the NBA in points per game allowed this season and while they have played better basketball overall of late there is no doubt they will be vulnerable at their own end of the floor when they match up against the Miami Heat on Christmas Day. It likely won’t help the Pelicans that it’s an early start with tipoff just after noon in Miami so target the New Orleans defense with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade the obvious picks while Luol Deng and Justice Winslow represent decent options if you are looking for a pair of strong bargain plays for Friday’s slate.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder are flying under the radar a little bit because of how good the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have been but they are clearly one of the best teams in the NBA right now with Russell Westbrook playing at an elite level and Kevin Durant the hottest player in the association over the past week of action. Durant has averaged 28.1 points,6.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.2 three-point shots and 1.2 steals per game over the past seven days of action and that makes him an excellent superstar option to build your lineup for Friday around with Oklahoma City set to host the Chicago Bulls.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For… Brandon Rush, Ben Udrih
Anybody looking for a steal of a bargain play for Friday’s NBA slate will want to lock in Golden State Warriors’ forward Brandon Rush, who has been pushed in to a starting role following an injury to Harrison Barnes. Rush has capitalized on the opportunity by averaging 10.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 three-point shots per game over the past week of action and his production combined with his extremely low price tag make him an absolute steal in Daily Fantasy Leagues for Friday.
The Miami Heat will be without Goran Dragic for Friday’s action and that makes Beno Udrih worth taking a long look at as well for another deep sleeper option. Udrih isn’t exactly a fantasy stud but he scored 14 points with six assists and three rebounds against the Detroit Pistons when pushed in to a bigger role for them following Dragic’s injury and if you have faith in him against the Pelicans’ suspect defense then he is worth taking a chance on with a potentially massive payoff if he has a strong performance and frees up some cap space for you to spend on other players.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: LAC @ LAL
The Lakers aren’t interested in playing defense or competing for anything other than their protected lottery pick in next year’s NBA Draft so offense is the key to keeping their fans at least somewhat entertained during the Kobe Bryant farewell tour. Meanwhile, the Clippers have climbed to eighth in points per game this season and with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and company looking to put on a show there should be plenty of scoring in this game on Christmas Day.
