FanDuel NBA: Friday Value Plays

The NBA is back in action today after breaking briefly for Thanksgiving. Every team is playing today as part of a 15-game slate that puts every player in the league up for consideration. James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis all have great matchups, and putting all three into your lineup, whether it's cash or GPP, is a definite possibility tonight

Jamal Murray, DEN vs OKC ($3,800) – Murray is $300 short of being the ultimate punt-play today and while it's tough to predict his minutes, he's trending the right way fantasy-wise. Murray has found his shooting stroke over the last three games averaging 21.7 points, good for an average of 30 fantasy points per game. Will Barton has been on a minutes restriction, and with Danilo Gallinari banged up, the hope here is that Murray will get close to the 35 minutes he played last game. If Gallinari plays, Jerryd Bayless ($3,500) is a nice pivot.

Rajon Rondo, CHI at PHI ($5,700) – Perhaps Rondo taking some time off to rest his ailing ankle was exactly what he needed for fantasy. He's turned in three solid performances since returning scoring 31.8, 34 and 39.2 fantasy points. The key with Rondo has always been his ability to stuff the stat sheet while not relying heavily on being a big scorer to put up good fantasy numbers. Tonight he'll face the 76ers, who gave up 49.3 fantasy points to Mike Conley last time out, albeit in overtime.

Victor Oladipo, OKC at DEN ($5,900) – Oladipo has turned the corner after a slow start to the season, averaging 35.5 fantasy points over his last five games. He's been logging heavy minutes (at least 36 over those five games) and the Nuggets have given up 41.6 fantasy points (the worst in the league) to opposing shooting guards, so there's a lot working in his favor Friday. Jordan Clarkson ($4,900) is an alternative at shooting guard if you're looking to save another $1,000.

DeMarre Carroll, TOR at MIL ($3,800) – Carroll is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season where he had 38.6 points over only 27 minutes. His playing time has been down overall so far but he's played 27 and 33 minutes in his last two games. The Bucks give up the third most fantasy points to opposing small forwards and this should be a fast-paced, competitive game with an over/under of 216 an a point spread of three.

Thaddeus Young, IND vs BRO ($5,600) – Young's minutes have been pretty much locked in the 30s since joining his new team, except for in games that he had foul trouble or were blowouts. Indiana has an implied team total of around 112 (second only to Golden State), suggesting this is a great matchup overall. Looking deeper, Trevor Booker and the Nets are giving up a league-worst 46.8 fantasy points to opposing power forwards. While all of the Pacers are in play tonight, Young has a good chance to provide the best value.

Gorgui Dieng, MIN at PHO ($5,900) – Dieng's fantasy production has slowed down a tad since scoring in the mid-30s at the beginning of the season. He still has over 30 fantasy points in two of his last four games but the others were 28.1 and 23.7-point efforts. It's worth noting the low score came against Memphis and he has a much better matchup tonight against the Suns. Phoenix is giving up the third most fantasy points (45.8) to opposing power forwards this season and this game should be one of the higher scoring ones with an over/under of 213.

Joffrey Lauvergne, OKC at DEN ($3,700) – This is easily the riskiest pick of the night considering in two of his last five games Lauvergne has scored 2.2 and 3.2 fantasy points. As a result, don't even think for a second about using him in any type of cash game. However, should you need a punt-play at center to load up elsewhere tonight for a GPP, he's an option. In those other three games that weren't duds, Joffrey scored 19.3, 20.4 and 25.9 fantasy points, showing his ability to easily exceed 5X his value when given the minutes. Those minutes should be there tonight especially if coach Billy Donovan takes into account the narrative of Lauvergne facing his old team. A player at the position with a better floor but not as high of an upside is Zaza Pachulia ($3,800) against the Lakers.

Robin Lopez, CHI at PHI ($4,900) – Tonight it appears to be a good idea to spend down at center and allocate most of your resources to the other positions. If you're looking for almost a sure thing for 5X value take a look at Lopez. He won't have to contend with Joel Embiid (rest) and the 76ers are giving up 50.2 fantasy point to opposing centers, the second worst mark in the league. Ro-Lo has hit 5X his value in six of his last seven contests — four of which made it up to 6X. Furthermore, inserting multiple Chicago players into your DFS lineup tonight isn't a bad idea.