This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
With the NBA season creeping toward the end of the first quarter, weekend No. 6 won't lack for intrigue. Friday's massive 12-game slate is followed by six games on Saturday and seven on Sunday, and it just so happens that some of the most interesting teams play twice.
Let's start in Washington, as the Wizards draw two upper-echelon matchups this weekend; first against the Nuggets on Friday, and then in Boston on Sunday. The Nuggets and Celtics are both in the top-six for pace and bottom-10 for defensive rating, making them two of the friendliest opponents for fantasy production.
Adding to the intrigue, Washington may be without Nene (foot) and/or Paul Pierce (toe), which would leave Kris Humphries ($4900) and Rasual Butler ($3700) as viable low-price options. Butler has surprisingly emerged as Washington's top wing off the bench, and he's averaging 25.2 DraftKings points over 27 minutes per game in his last four contests, heading into Friday night. If Pierce isn't able to suit up, Butler will be a candidate for 30-plus minutes, which would give him a good shot to top 25 points. Humphries is a bit less interesting, but he did record 38 DK Points over 30 minutes in Wednesday's game against the Lakers.
In other injury news, Miami's Luol Deng (hand) won't play Friday in Milwaukee, and he seems no better than questionable for Sunday in Memphis. There's no obvious candidate to take on his 31 minutes per game, so I'll take a wait-and-see approach Friday night. James Ennis ($3000) and Shawne Williams ($3700) could be dirt-cheap options for Sunday, if either sees a big minutes boost Friday.
Moving on to Utah, the Jazz only have one game this weekend, but they draw a favorable home matchup with the slumping Orlando Magic. Alec Burks (shoulder) will miss another game, which means Rodney Hood will likely get a second consecutive start Friday, after recording just 17 DK points over 26 minutes in Wednesday's loss to the Raptors.
Hood makes for a solid punt option, but it's really the rest of Utah's starting lineup that intrigues me. Trey Burke ($5400) may need to do more in Burks' absence, while all of Gordon Hayward ($7800), Derrick Favors ($7400) and Enes Kanter ($5700) also carry very reasonable price tags for Friday's game.
I may throw all five Jazz starters into a cheap GPP lineup alongside center Kyle O'Quinn ($3300) and another Magic player, and then top it off with a pair of stars from other games. That strategy might need an overtime or three in the Jazz-Magic game to work out, but it's the kind of lineup that can actually make sense when shooting for the moon. My example: Burke-Harden-Hayward-Favors-Kanter-Payton-Hood-O'Quinn. I'll probably swap Favors out, and won't actually use Harden, but I don't hate the general idea.
Here are some of the top choices for the upcoming weekend (Fri.-Sun.) on DraftKings…
Point Guard
Grievis Vasquez, TOR (Fri. vs. CLE), $4600 – Vasquez only gets one game this weekend, and while his price has come up a bit, he's still an excellent option in DeMar DeRozan's absence. In the three games since DeRozan went down with a groin injury, Vasquez recorded 29, 29.5 and 32.5 DraftKings points over 34, 30 and 31 minutes. He's as safe of a bet as you'll find to return five points per $1000 of salary.
Other options:Russell Westbrook, OKC (Fri. at PHI, Sun. at DET), $9800; Rajon Rondo, BOS (Fri. vs. LAL, Sun. vs. WAS), $7800; Trey Burke, UTA (Fri. vs. ORL), $5400; Derrick Rose, CHI (Sat. vs. GS), $6100
Shooting Guard
Bradley Beal, WAS (Fri. vs. DEN, Sun. at BOS), $5,800 – While Beal didn't exactly come sprinting out of the gates after recovering from his wrist injury, he's now safely back in the starting lineup, and he's coming off a huge performance of 43 DraftKings points. He's arguably the top bargain of the weekend, thanks to a combination of reduced price and highly favorable matchups. I can't think of a reason not to roster Beal, as his ceiling is tremendous for a sub-$6000 player.
Other options:Kyle Korver, ATL (Fri. at BKN, Sun. vs. DEN), $5600; Rodney Stuckey, IND (Fri. at SAC), $4600; Jamal Crawford, LAC (Sat. vs. NO), $5400
Small Forward
Rudy Gay, SAC (Fri. vs. IND, Sat. vs. ORL), $7700 - DeMarcus Cousins' (illness) absence leads to all kind of chaos. There are a ton of shots to absorb, and the leading candidates are Rudy Gay ($7700) and Darren Collison ($6700), both of whom carry rather reasonable price tags. Collison's Tuesday stinker (17.25 DK points over 19 minutes) will scare some away, but he's still averaging a bit better than five DraftKings points per $1000 of salary. The same goes for Gay, who is averaging 40.3 DK points in three games since Cousins suffered the injury. The Kings have two home games, against the Pacers on Friday, and Magic on Saturday.
Other options:Gordon Hayward, UTA (Fri. vs. ORL), $7800; Jeff Green, BOS (Fri. vs. LAL, Sun. vs. WAS), $6800; K.J. McDaniels, PHI, (Fri. vs. OKC, Sat. at DET), $5700; Rodney Hood, UTA (Fri. vs. ORL), $3700; Draymond Green, GS (Sat. at CHI), $5900
Power Forward
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL (Fri. vs. PHO, Sun. vs. MIL), $6200 – Along with Beal in Washington, Nowitzki is my favorite play of the weekend. He's averaging 33.2 DraftKings points over 29.2 minutes per game, good for 5.35 points per $1000 of salary. And he often goes well beyond 30 minutes in a contest, as his average was held back by a string of Dallas blowouts in mid-November. Nowitzki also gets the benefit of a matchup with the offensive-minded Suns, in a game that carries Friday's second-highest over/under. Sunday's matchup isn't quite so favorable, but I'll stick stick with Dirk Diggler, if he costs less than $6500.
Other options:David West, IND (Fri. at SAC), $6600; Amare Stoudemire, NY (Fri. at CHA, Sun. vs. POR), $5600; Reggie Evans, SAC (Fri. vs. IND, Sat. vs. ORL), $4200, $4500; Pau Gasol, CHI (Sat. vs. GS), $8600
Center
Gorgui Dieng, MIN (Fri. vs. HOU, Sat. at SA), $7200 – At first glance, this seems like way too much to pay for Dieng, even with Nikola Pekovic sidelined. The Senagelese center is averaging just 25.2 DraftKings points, which puts him well under four points per $1000 of salary. The catch is that Dieng is averaging just 25.2 minutes per game, and Minnesota doesn't have any other true big men healthy. That explains why Dieng logged 41.5 DK points over 41 minutes Wednesday against the Sixers, and while I'm expecting a bit less this weekend, it wouldn't be surprising to see him again go over 40 minutes.
Other options:Chris Bosh, MIA (Fri. at MIL, Sun. at MEM), $8600; Tyson Chandler, DAL (Fri. vs. PHO, Sun. vs. MIL), $6800; Brook Lopez, BKN (Fri. vs. ATL), $6700; Enes Kanter, UTA (Fri. vs. ORL), $5700; Kyle O'Quinn, ORL (Fri. at UTA, Sat. at SAC), $3300, $3600; Omer Asik, NO (Sat. at LAC, Sun. at LAL), $4400
