There are ten games on the NBA schedule for Friday, but for FanDuel participants only seven are available for "main" leagues beginning with the games that tip off at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. This takes players such as Boston's Isaiah Thomas, Indiana's Paul George, Washington's John Wall and Miami's Hassan Whiteside off the board, but there are still some quality high-priced options to choose from. At the top of the list are Houston's James Harden ($11,100) and New Orleans' Anthony Davis ($11,100), with the latter having an intriguing matchup with the New York Knicks. Averaging 52 FanDuel points per game, Davis saw his run of four consecutive double-doubles come to an end Wednesday night against the Clippers.
After scoring 28 points or more in each of those four games Davis tallied just 20 against the Clippers, but shooting wasn't the problem as he made eight of his 16 attempts from the field. Davis managed to grab just five rebounds in New Orleans' 102-98 victory, due in large part to the presence of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. Jordan finished the night with 25 rebounds, posting individual rebounding percentages of 11.4 (offensive) and 49.4 (defensive). New York doesn't have a dominant rebounder like Jordan, as they're ranked 29th in defensive rebounding percentage (73.8), which could clear the way for another double-double for Davis.
Here are our picks for tonight's games, using a nine-player roster and a $60,000 salary cap. (Getty)
PG: Jrue Holiday, New Orleans
Opponent: vs. Brooklyn
Price: $6,100
No team is allowing more FanDuel points per game to opposing point guard units than the Nets, who are giving up 50.9 FanDuel points per contest per Rotowire. And over the last five games, that number's up to 53.8. That bodes well for Holiday, who has a nice price tag and is coming off of a game in which he tallied 35.9 FanDuel points against a better defensive team in the Orlando Magic. He wouldn't be a bad player to select, thus saving some cap room for other spots while not making a major gamble from a production standpoint. (Getty)
PG: Tony Parker, San Antonio
Opponent: vs. Portland
Price: $4,400
Parker hasn't been a highly productive option from a DFS standpoint this season, averaging just 18.4 FanDuel points per game. However he's scored at least 23.7 points in each of his last two games, and in Portland the Spurs face one of the NBA's poorer defensive teams. The Blazers are ranked 28th in points allowed and 30th in defensive rating, and opposing point guard units are averaging 43.2 FanDuel points per game. While the days of Parker getting into the 40's may have passed, he's still capable of putting forth a solid performance against a porous defense. (Getty)
3. Houston
Record: 26-9
Last week: 5th
Houston's won its last four, most recently beating the Knicks with James Harden producing a dominant performance. Harden, who now has seven triple-doubles this season, finished with 53 points (14-for-26 FG), 17 assists and 16 rebounds. While Harden is clearly an MVP candidate, the play of his teammates is why the Rockets have managed to play so well thus far. Ryan Anderson scored 25 points against the Knicks, and in their 140-116 win over the Clippers a total of six players scored in double figures with Montrezl Harrell racking up 29 points. As long as the supporting cast continues to benefit from Mike D'Antoni's offensive system, the Rockets are sure to be heard from out west. (Getty)
SG: Klay Thompson, Golden State
Opponent: vs. Detroit
Price: $6,400
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made the decision to rest Thompson for Tuesday's game against the Heat, taking advantage of the fact that Golden State was up against a team hit hard by injury. Under the assumption that the rest will be beneficial, Thompson becomes an even better option than he already was with his price tag. The concern with Thompson from a fantasy standpoint has been what can he provide outside of scoring, and in four of his last six outings he's grabbed at least five rebounds. If he can continue to do that, Thompson is an even greater bargain. (Getty)
SF: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota
Opponent: at L.A. Clippers
Price: $6,800
After three straight games in which he scored 19 points or more, Wiggins was limited to just ten by the Spurs Tuesday night. He'll be up against another tough defensive team Thursday night, as the Clippers are ranked 5th in the NBA in defensive rating and 7th in scoring defense. Wiggins scored 22 points in the first meeting between the two teams in mid-November, but he did so on 8-for-24 shooting from the field. The hope here is that Wiggins can be more efficient against a team that's playing without two key starters in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. (Getty)
SF: Trevor Ariza, Houston
Opponent: vs. Charlotte
Price: $5,800
Ariza has accounted for 32 FanDuel points or more in four of the last six games for the Rockets, most recently tallying 32.9 points in their win over Toronto Sunday night. And during that six-game stretch he's averaging 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, with all three numbers being better than his averages for the season. Charlotte's done a good job against opposing small forward units recently, allowing just 34.1 FanDuel points per game over the last five according to Rotowire. But given how Ariza's played of late, he wouldn't be a bad player to have on your roster. (Getty)
PF: Nikola Jokic, Denver
Opponent: at Golden State
Price: $7,200
Mike Malone's shift to a smaller lineup should save Jokic some trouble tonight against the Warriors. In the original starting lineup either Jokic or Jusuf Nurkic would be asked to deal with Draymond Green, which would be a bad mismatch given the fact that Green can play anywhere on the floor offensively. Now, Jokic will be matched up against a Zaza Pachulia or Javale McGee, and while both are formidable big men that's a more advantageous matchup for Jokic. How bad was the Jokic/Nurkic pairing in the first meeting of the season, a 125-101 Warriors victory? Jokic finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists, and Nurkic wasn't much better with nine points and three rebounds. (Getty)
PF: Terrence Jones, New Orleans
Opponent: at Cleveland
Price: $4,200
Jones has been a solid supplementary piece for the Pelicans in the front court this season, averaging 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He hasn't been as productive of late, as he missed one game due to illness and that set him back a bit, but Jones' remains capable of being productive when star power forward Anthony Davis needs a break (or when they're on the court together). (Getty)
C: DeAndre Jordan, L.A. Clippers
Opponent: at Philadelphia
Price: $8,400
With Philadelphia's Joel Embiid (knee) ruled out, this is a good night to add Jordan to your FanDuel roster. Averaging 34 FanDuel points per game on the season, Jordan has scored at least 34.1 FanDuel points in four of his last five games. The lone exception was his 33.4-point night against the Hawks, a team that had both Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard on the court. With Philadelphia without its best big man, this could be a big night for Jordan even without Chris Paul on the court to throw him alley-oop passes. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for December 30