This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The best part of Fridays for DFS is that there's almost always going to be a big slate of games to choose players from. In turn, hopefully that keeps ownership levels across the board down and allows the players who do their homework a little more of an advantage. The key games tonight include the Knicks (1-3) at the Bulls (3-1) and the Warriors making the short trip to visit the Lakers. New Orleans makes their sixth attempt to get into the win column as they host the Suns (1-4) in the Big Easy.
Guards
Tim Frazier, NO vs PHO ($5,500) – Everyone on the Pelicans had an off game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night and the hope here is that everyone will be off Frazier as a result. The matchup at home should be much more uptempo against the Suns and Frazier should bounce back nicely. Not surprisingly, his two lower outputs this season were against Memphis (17.2 FPs) and San Antonio (18.3 FPS) but in his other three games he has 44.1, 40.2 and 45.3 fantasy points. Forget about Wednesday and consider him for both cash and GPPs.
Derrick Rose, NY at CHI ($5,700) – This game has some interesting plotlines, the biggest of which is Rose's return to Chicago. He'll have the revenge factor (if you believe in that narrative) working in his favor, as well as a good matchup. Rajon Rondo — who has always carried the reputation as a poor defender —
The best part of Fridays for DFS is that there's almost always going to be a big slate of games to choose players from. In turn, hopefully that keeps ownership levels across the board down and allows the players who do their homework a little more of an advantage. The key games tonight include the Knicks (1-3) at the Bulls (3-1) and the Warriors making the short trip to visit the Lakers. New Orleans makes their sixth attempt to get into the win column as they host the Suns (1-4) in the Big Easy.
Guards
Tim Frazier, NO vs PHO ($5,500) – Everyone on the Pelicans had an off game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night and the hope here is that everyone will be off Frazier as a result. The matchup at home should be much more uptempo against the Suns and Frazier should bounce back nicely. Not surprisingly, his two lower outputs this season were against Memphis (17.2 FPs) and San Antonio (18.3 FPS) but in his other three games he has 44.1, 40.2 and 45.3 fantasy points. Forget about Wednesday and consider him for both cash and GPPs.
Derrick Rose, NY at CHI ($5,700) – This game has some interesting plotlines, the biggest of which is Rose's return to Chicago. He'll have the revenge factor (if you believe in that narrative) working in his favor, as well as a good matchup. Rajon Rondo — who has always carried the reputation as a poor defender — will likely guard Rose. Furthermore, Derrick has scored 28, 28.3 and 28.8 fantasy points over his last three games, so he's got a solid floor heading into this one.
Bradley Beal, WAS vs ATL ($5,300) – It seems like it's only a matter of time before Beal breaks out. He's logging heavy minutes (39,40) over his last two games and scored 24.1 and 22.2 fantasy points in those contests. While his defense has improved over the years, Kyle Korver still presents as a plus-matchup for Beal, who should be able to score at will on him.
Forwards
Kristaps Porzingis, NY at CHI ($6,400) – One of the best strategies to use in DFS hoops is to take a good shooter coming off a bad game. Porzingis missed all four of his attempts from the field against the Rockets to finish with only three points but 19.6 fantasy points. Those four field-goal attempts weren't the only stat down as his 28 minutes were the lowest on the season. He's got a good matchup tonight against Taj Gibson who lacks the mobility to stay with Porzingis on the outside. Look for a big bounce-back game from Zinger.
Justise Winslow, MIA at TOR ($5,000) – It took overtime in his last game but Winslow was able to keep his streak of 20-plus fantasy points in every game this season intact. He's been a pleasant surprise for the Heat, filling the stat sheet on a nightly basis averaging 13 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and almost 2 blocks/steals per game. He should continue to see heavy minutes as well with tonight's game in Toronto expected to be a close one.
T.J. Warren, PHO at NO ($5,900) – Warren has been one of the few bright spots for the Suns this season as he's taken over as one of their primary scorers. He's averaging 22.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game thus far and has scored at least 22.3 fantasy points in every contest this season. Three of those five games were efforts of 38.7, 41.4 and 44.3, proving that his price should be much higher. Dante Cunningham, who has been banged up, should prove to be a good matchup for Warren.
Centers
Zaza Pachulia, GS at LAL ($3,900) – Tonight, instead of wondering whether to go with Tarik Black or Ivica Zubac, take a look at the other team. Both of those guys will be matched up with Pachulia at some point, who should have no problem taking advantage of their inexperience/lack of talent. Pachulia doesn't play a ton of minutes but should get enough court time to get at least 5X his value. He's done that in two of his four games going into Thursday night (20 and 22.7 fantasy points), so there's a good chance he'll provide that value again against the Lakers.
Cody Zeller, CHA at BKN ($4,700) – The injury to Roy Hibbert has moved Zeller into the starting lineup for the Hornets. Surprisingly, Zeller's worst game of the young season came last time out against the 76ers when he scored only scored 16.2 fantasy points. The good news is he played 26 minutes (a season high) last time out and has been above 20 minutes for all four contests. Tonight he'll get Brook Lopez and a Nets team not known for their interior defense.
