This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Point Guard
Emmanuel Mudiay, DEN at LAL ($6,000): Much like the last play of the game Wednesday night, Mudiay has been up and down for DFS owners as of late. On that last play Mudiay took a long in-bounds pass with virtually no time left on the clock and inexplicably dribbled to the middle of the court instead of towards the hoop, managed to bobble the ball before shooting and, of course, drained a long three to win.
He's had games of 36.6 fantasy points in four of his last 10 but also has games of 11 and 13 in that stretch. The key is the matchup against a Lakers team that allows the most fantasy points per game to point guards. That fact alone is good enough to deploy him tonight as well as to consider D.J Augustin ($4,600) in GPPs.
Deron Williams, DAL at GSW ($6,100): One of the keys to fantasy basketball this time of the season is to check the standings. In particular, see which teams are fighting for the last playoff spot in each conference. Dallas happens to be one of those teams, as they're in the in the seventh spot right now but a loss Friday could have them tied for the eighth and final spot. A 14-point underdog in Golden State doesn't look very promising but it's worth noting that Williams has played 39 and 43 minutes over the last two games, respectively. Not surprisingly, that's translated into 31.1 and 59.6 fantasy points, including double-digit assists in both.
Shooting Guard
Josh Richardson, MIA vs. ORL ($4,400): Richardson has scored double-digit points in six of his last eight games and hit over 5x value every time. The floor is a little low, as those other two games he only had 6.2 and 15.6 fantasy points. However, the upside is that he can get into the low 30s (twice in those eight games), so he's more suitable for GPPs than cash games.
Bradley Beal, WAS vs. MIN ($5,300): This is a good game to target both sides, as it should up-tempo with plenty of scoring. Many will be off Beal after his 11.5 fantasy-point dud the other night that hopefully will keep his ownership low. He's a good bounce-back candidate who is playing 30-plus minutes per game, and before that dud had at least 24.6 fantasy points in each of his previous four. Minnesota have been a favorable matchup over their last 10 games to shooting guards and the Wizards have an expected team total of 112.5.
Small Forward
Kyle Anderson, SAS v. MEM ($3,500):Kawhi Leonard has already been ruled out and it's likely Anderson will get the start. The last time Leonard missed a three-stretch game at the end of February, Anderson played 28, 28 and 29 minutes. This should be the floor for his minutes Friday and that could easily be more with three other teammates ruled out as well. Anderson makes for one of the better punt plays and it doesn't hurt that Memphis has given up the 10th-most fantasy points to small forwards over the last 10 games.
Andrew Wiggins, MIN at WAS ($6,900): Wiggings has blossomed into a reliable fantasy source, scoring at least 31.1 fantasy points in eight of his last nine games. Targeting Otto Porter is similar to targeting James Harden in terms of defense, as the Wizards are allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to small forwards this season. Plus, this game has a healthy 217 over/under total according to Vegas.
Power Forward
Brandon Bass, LAL vs. DEN ($4,200): This isn't the sexiest of picks but Bass has carved out a nice role for himself coming of the bench. His worst game out of his last nine resulted in 16.5 fantasy points, yet he also has three games during that span with at least 26.6. That shows his floor is roughly 4x his value and he's more likely to hit 6x. Throw in that Denver has given up the second-most fantasy points to power forwards and that makes this a good value play.
Jon Leuer, PHO at SAC ($4,600): Leuer is going to be the chalk pick at the position provided that Tyson Chandler is once again ruled out. Sacramento has given up the most fantasy points per game to power forwards over their last 10 games and this is slated to be a high-scoring affair, according to Vegas. If there's a red flag it's that playing in the paint against DeMarcus Cousins (Alex Len will be on him one-on-one but Leuer will be in the vicinity) could land Leuer in foul trouble. Still, it's hard not to see Leuer hitting at least 5x his value after eclipsing 7x in each of his last two.
Center
Salah Mejri, DAL at GSW ($4,700): In case this news was missed, here is the new starting center for the Dallas Mavericks. Mejri has replaced Zaza Pachulia and it's paid nice dividends over the first two games. Salah has recorded double-doubles in both, scoring 29.9 and 43.3 fantasy points, respectively. The pace for Friday's game against the Warriors should be high, and they've given up the most fantasy points per game to centers over the last 10 games with Andrew Bogut at less than 100 percent.
Editor's note: an earlier version of the article showed James Anderson instead of Kyle Anderson. It has since been corrected.
