After choosing from an absolutely loaded schedule on Wednesday, the NBA slate narrows right down on Thursday with just four teams in action. The Miami Heat host the Chicago Bulls in a key clash as they look to stay alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race followed by a Western Conference battle between the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors, which should produce a little more in terms of scoring. Both games will be featured on the TNT doubleheader, so if you’re looking for a bit of action while watching the games, here are your best bets for your starting five in DraftKings and other daily fantasy leagues.
PG: Damian Lillard, Portland
Stephen Curry has had an MVP type season but his numbers are down of late as the Warriors have been coasting towards the playoffs. They’re the top seed in the Western conference and really, they aren’t really playing for much at this point. That’s enough to make us go with Lillard as the starting point guard here.
The Trail Blazers will be in tough to try and hang with Golden State on the road and any chance they have will require a big game from the best pure shooter in their lineup right now. Lillard is averaging a team-high 23.3 points along with 5.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds over the past week of action. In two game against the Warriors this season, Lillard has poured in 20.0 points per game, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.5 threes, 3.5 made free throws, 0.5 blocks and 0.5 steals. That’s a very healthy stat line and given the situation, a reasonable expectation for Lillard on Thursday night.
SG: Jimmy Butler, Chicago
Butler has picked up from where he left off since his return to the Chicago lineup, averaging a team-high 20.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals over the past two weeks of action. Last night, he had 19 points, six assists, five rebounds, three threes and a pair of steals against the Orlando Magic. It was encouraging to see him still be productive even though Derrick Rose returned to the lineup and soaked up some minutes.
The Bulls are still jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference standings as they try to hold off the Toronto Raptors for the third seed and Butler should have another strong performance versus the Heat on Thursday.
SF: Draymond Green, Golden State
The schedule leaves a little to be desired in terms of variety across the board but Green looks like a solid fit here. He’s had a couple of ugly outings of late but he bounced back from by scoring 24 points against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Green had been held to a combined 11 points in his previous two games but keep in mind that he has been dealing with some nagging injuries and had just returned to the lineup. But he appears to be back in rhythm and after exploding for 24 and 14 rebounds, he looks like a strong value play for Thursday night’s action.
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland
Sticking with the theme, of the Trail Blazers best scorers needing big performances to keep pace with the Warriors on Thursday night, it makes sense to have Aldridge in the starting five if his price tag can fit. Aldridge has led Portland with a team-high 23.3 points per game for the season along with an average of 11.1 rebounds so don’t shy away from slotting him in your starting five.
C: Pau Gasol, Chicago
Hassan Whiteside has been dealing with an injured hand and while he was good enough to play for Miami on Tuesday his production was limited and that means it makes more sense to look somewhere else for this category. Gasol has averaged 17.3 points, 10 rebounds and 2.7 assists over the last seven days and should work well with Butler as they look to cool off the Heat’s chances of making the playoffs with strong performances.
