This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
For a second straight week, the Friday night slate will largely be defined by injury news, with a slew of key situations potentially opening up cheap value plays that allow us to roster superstars like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden.
The Knicks are one obvious source of value, with Carmelo Anthony (knee), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jose Calderon (groin) all uncertain for an extremely favorable home matchup against the Suns. Anthony is tentatively expected to return, whereas Porzingis and Calderon seem closer to questionable or doubtful. Jerian Grant ($3,100) and Langston Galloway ($4,000) will probably be the most attractive options, but Kyle O'Quinn ($3,000), Lance Thomas ($4,000) and Derrick Williams ($5,700) could also be in play. None of the injuries appears to be overly serious, so things could clear up by the time Sunday's matchup with Golden State rolls around.
The Lakers are another strong candidate to provide value, as Lou Williams (illness) could miss a second straight game Friday night against the Clippers, and Kobe Bryant may be rested in the second half of a back-to-back. Jordan Clarkson ($5,700) is the strongest play here, with Anthony Brown ($3,100), D'Angelo Russell ($5,100) and even Nick Young ($3,200) carrying some intrigue. However, it'll be tough to roster Brown, Russell or Young unless both Williams and Bryant are absent. Clarkson, on the other hand, becomes a very strong play even if only one of his teammates sits out. The Lakers also have a game Sunday against the Hornets, but Williams and Bryant should be available for that one.
Devin Harris (toe) isn't a guy we think about too often, but his absence opened up extra minutes for Raymond Felton ($3,900) and J.J. Barea ($3,900) in the last two games, with the latter taking advantage to the tune of 30.5 and 24.75 DraftKings points, respectively. Although a repeat is probably too much to ask for, Barea and Felton could both make for solid punt plays in Friday's favorable home matchup with the Nets.
Looking ahead to Saturday, the Pelicans should be a phenomenal source of value in a favorable matchup against the aforementioned Nets, with both Anthony Davis (concussion) and Tyreke Evans (knee) potentially missing more time. Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Norris Cole are the obvious plays, but Omer Asik, Alonzo Gee and Bryce Dejean-Jones may also warrant consideration.
Point guard
Russell Westbrook, OKC (Fri. vs. HOU), $10,800: Injuries should lead to some obvious value at point guard Friday night, but even so, Westbrook may still be the top play at his position. He put up at least 53 fantasy points in six of his last seven games, with his ridiculous across-the-board production often allowing both him and scoring-machine Kevin Durant to have big games at the same time. Friday's matchup shapes up perfectly for both OKC stars, as the Rockets play at a fast pace with poor defense, yet still have enough firepower to conceivably keep the game close. A Westbrook-Durant-Harden stack is entirely reasonable, assuming that injuries open up some strong value plays to fill out the other roster spots. Imagine what those three guys could do together in a real-life lineup…actually, hold that thought until May when the Thunder are down by 20 points in an elimination game against the Spurs. But hey, at least Jeremy Lamb (toe) is having a decent season for the Hornets.
Other options: Kemba Walker, CHA (Fri. at POR, Sun. at LAL), $8,700; Deron Williams, DAL (Fri. vs. BKN, Sun. vs. PHO), $6,000; Jordan Clarkson, LAL (Fri. at LAC, Sun. vs. CHA), $5,700; Patrick Beverley, HOU (Fri. at OKC, Sat. vs. WAS), $4,200
Shooting guard
Archie Goodwin, PHO (Fri. at NY, Sun. at DAL), $5,600: Even with the rapid increase in price, Goodwin has the potential to provide a massive return on his mid-range salary, as he's now the primary ball-handler for one of the league's fastest-paced teams. He's also a candidate to play 35-40 minutes, a reality that may be partially obscured by the combination of foul trouble and a blowout that limited his playing time the past two games. Goodwin still managed 45 and 24 fantasy points in those contests, respectively, bringing his average to 34.25 in the four games since Brandon Knight (groin) suffered his latest injury. I'll be even giddier about Goodwin if some combination of Jose Calderon (groin), Carmelo Anthony (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) is unavailable for Friday's game. In such a scenario, there would be a lot of merit to a Suns-Knicks game stack featuring 3-6 players from the contest.
Other options: James Harden, HOU (Fri. at OKC, Sat. vs. WAS), $10,000; Khris Middleton, MIL (Fri. vs. MIA), $7,200; Dwyane Wade, MIA (Fri. at MIL, Sun. vs. ATL), $6,700; Zach LaVine, MIN (Fri. at UTA, Sun. at POR), $4,600; Wayne Ellington, BKN (Fri. at DAL, Sat. at NO), $3,300
Small forward
Chandler Parsons, (Fri. vs. BKN, Sun. vs. PHO), $6,700: I usually try to avoid players on hot streaks when the price has already risen and there's no obvious role change. However, I'll happily make a temporary exception for Parsons, seeing as his recent level of production isn't too far off from his pre-injury norm. It's also hard to dismiss the hot streak as a fluke when the player in question has five straight games with at least 35 fantasy points, having comfortably outperformed his salary in each of those contests. There are other small forwards worth considering in big tournaments, but it's tough to justify fading Parsons in any kind of cash game or 50/50.
Other options: Kevin Durant, OKC (Fri. vs. HOU), $10,100; Nicolas Batum, CHA (Fri. at POR, Sun. at LAL), $6,800; Aaron Gordon, ORL (Fri. at BOS, Sun. vs. BOS), $4,900; Joe Johnson, BKN (Fri. at DAL, Sat. at NO), $4,900
Power forward
Julius Randle, LAL (Fri. at LAC, Sun. vs. CHA), $5,900: The Friday night options at power forward aren't particularly exciting, with nobody standing out as a strong bet to top five points per $1,000 of salary. Randle is simply the best of a weak bunch, averaging 29.5 fantasy points in 29.2 minutes per game in his last five. Larry Nance might eventually take the starting job back, but Randle should be fine for at least Friday night. If we're lucky, injuries will open up some better value at power forward by the time the first tip-off rolls around.
Other options: Thaddeus Young, BKN (Fri. at DAL, Sat. at NO), $6,300; Serge Ibaka, OKC (Fri. vs. HOU), $5,700; Ryan Anderson, NO (Sat. vs. BKN)
Center
Spencer Hawes, CHA (Fri. at POR, Sun. at LAL), $4,800: Hawes has really stepped up in the absence of Cody Zeller (shoulder), comfortably emerging over Frank Kaminsky as the Hornets' top big man. Hawes put up 37, 25, 32.25 and 17.5 points in the four games Zeller missed, logging 32, 34, 30 and 26 minutes in those contests, respectively. The dud came Thursday night against Utah, but it was largely the result of a blowout limiting Hawes' minutes, not to mention a highly difficult matchup. He should be back around 30 minutes this weekend for much more favorable matchups with the Trail Blazers and Lakers.
Other options: Nikola Vucevic, ORL (Fri. at BOS, Sun. vs. BOS), $7,600; Dwight Howard, HOU (Fri. at OKC, Sat. vs. WAS), $7,500; Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN (Fri. at UTA, Sun. at POR), $7,100; Greg Monroe, MIL (Fri. vs. MIA), $7,000; Rudy Gobert, UTA (Fri. vs. MIN), $6,700; Mason Plumlee, POR (Fri. vs. CHA, Sun. vs. MIN), $5,300a
