Happy Thanksgiving! The NBA takes a back seat to football today and makes up for it on Dec. 25. What did we learn on a busy Wednesday? It was “Drake Night” in Toronto and Kyle Lowry looked fabulous in the OVO jersey as the Raptors surprised Cleveland.
Gerald Green $3300 started for Luol Deng $4200 (hamstring) and Heat lost all four quarters to the Pistons. The 76ers gave Boston a scare and will win one eventually. Robert Covington $5100 and Isaiah Canaan $3900 are DFS bargains even when they lose.
Russell Westbrook $11300 and Kevin Durant $9600 combined for a confident home victory, while James Harden $10100 scored 40 in a losing cause; he could go crazy tomorrow against the Sixers. Anthony Davis $10800 taking on Blake Griffin $9100 is another highlight of Friday’s 12-game schedule, with Chris Paul $8400 and DeAndre Jordan $7200 also solid value in that clash.
Plays of the Day
Friday contests that close at 7:00 ET and span all 12 games are open at DraftKings. In addition there are Turbo pools, which close at 8:00 Eastern and cover just five games. The Turbo $30K Sharpshooter is a $3 buy-in (FREE to new depositors) that pays the top 2,302 finishers from up to 11,495 teams. First place wins $2,000. Enter now and you can make unlimited lineup changes until each player’s game begins tomorrow.
All eyes will be on the Warriors, heavily favored to stay unbeaten. Stephen Curry $10900 and Draymond Green $7500 are often worth the money. If Eric Bledsoe $8400 (knee) isn’t 100%, Brandon Knight $8200 could have another huge night. Jon Leuer $3200 came out of nowhere with 20 points and 12 boards in 25 minutes, while Mirza Teletovic $3300 has hit 20 3-pointers in his last eight games.
The Spurs should win big in Denver. Kawhi Leonard $8400 is the #1 option, Tony Parker $5300 remains a great price — he gave us 37.5 FP last night — and LaMarcus Aldridge $6800 is healthy. Danilo Gallinari $7000 grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds on Tuesday and scored 20 points. Until Kenneth Faried $5800 (ankle) returns, Darrell Arthur $4000 and Nikola Jokic $4600 are starting for the Nuggets.
Minnesota at Sacramento is reasonably priced, especially if DeMarcus Cousins $10600 (back) doesn’t play. Rudy Gay $7200 scored 36 in Milwaukee, Rajon Rondo $9300 continues to play well and Darren Collison $4400 appears to be heating up. While the matchup between Karl-Anthony Towns $7300 and Kentucky teammate Willie Cauley-Stein $3500 may be interesting, Kosta Koufos $4500 has value while Boogie sits and Gorgui Dieng $3700 is fresh off a double-double with three blocks. Zach LaVine $4800 will get heavy minutes if Ricky Rubio $6900 (ankle) can’t go.
All of the above key games for me, though DFS bargains can come from anywhere. With a $50K salary cap, if you take more than two Premium players, you are forced to go ultra-cheap at multiple positions. Even Kawhi and Blake are compromise choices based on affordability.
This is a very early look at the player pool and only one of many possible lineups. Injury reports, lineup changes and other news will affect multiple players between now and Friday evening.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Russell Westbrook $11100 | Tony Parker $5300 | Isaiah Canaan $3900 |
| SG | James Harden $10100 | Jimmy Butler $8200 | Gerald Green $3300 |
| SF | Paul George $10200 | Kawhi Leonard $8400 | Robert Covington $5100 |
| PF | Anthony Davis $10800 | Blake Griffin $9100 | Jon Leuer $3200 |
| C | Andre Drummond $9100 | Marcin Gortat $5400 | Gorgui Dieng $3700 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.