This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Friday features a full slate of thirteen games to sink your teeth into. With the trade deadline and All-Star break passed, the race to the playoffs truly begins. Speaking of the trade deadline, it was busy: many moves for many players of higher and lesser quality. What the immediate impact of many of these trades will be is a question that's hard to answer.
I favor exploiting gaps in lineups that arise from transfers that will not yet be in the starting lineups rather than guessing at a player's role on a new team. Speculating at this point is just that, and as the lineups for Friday come out, the values will become clearer (some possibly arising where they haven't been foreseen). The player pool has considerable depth with plenty to choose from at every position in practically every price range.
Friday Value Plays
Point Guard
Tim Frazier, PHI, $,3600: During Michael Carter-Williams' missed time just before the All-Star break, Frazier stepped in, getting over 35 minutes in each of his three games. Now, Carter-Williams has been traded away, completely opening up the starting job. Every game Frazier gets to play in will be to his advantage. He had 10 points, six rebounds, and seven assists last time out against Golden State. Frazier was a triple-double threat in the D-League. Is there a chance he could do it in the big leagues at near the minimum price? Isaiah Canaan is a new transfer attained from the Carter-Williams trade and is the only threat to impede Frazier's minutes going forward, but it's unlikely Canaan will take many if any of Frazier's minutes his first day with the Sixers, and Canaan may not even be available at all Friday.
Tony Parker, SA, $5,400: Parker was magnificent in Thursday's loss to the Clippers with 21 points, thirteen assists, three rebounds, two steals, and 48.1 FanDuel points. The Spurs may have a tough matchup with the Warriors, but the game should realistically be a shootout with Parker in fine shooting and passing form.
Shooting Guard
Monta Ellis, DAL, $7,200: Ellis was cold Thursday against the Thunder, but with his shot quantity, he should get back to his average 19.54 points, if not surpass it. What's a nice development for Ellis has been his steals, grabbing six and seven in consecutive outings. With an average of over four assists per game, he looks a good option to capitalize on what could be a very high-scoring game.
James Harden, HOU, $10,800: "If Harden doesn't do it, it doesn't get done." The two-guard is among the MVP candidates as he carries his Rockets in the absence of Dwight Howard. He's scored over 25 points in seven of his last 10 games. Harden can put up double figures in both rebounds and assists, making him a triple-double threat on any night. He only had 39 FanDuel points last time he faced Dallas, but he should well surpass that this time around.
Wesley Matthews, POR, $6,000: With recent addition of Arron Afflalo, Matthews now gets an additional competitor for minutes. Afflalo won't be ready Friday night though, and Matthews will look to capitalize on a very sizeable portion of minutes. He has over 30 FanDuel points in four of his last six games, a trend he seems a good candidate to continue.
Shooting Forward
Danilo Gallinari, DEN, $3,600: Gallinari looks to be the starting shooting guard Friday. When given minutes, Gallinari has proven a very useful player. He scored 22 points against Philadelphia and pulled down seven rebounds against Boston on consecutive nights leading into the All-Star break. At just one hundred bucks over the minimum price, and no more Afflalo on the team, Gallinari is poised to offer extremely good value.
Lance Thomas, NY, $3,500: The Knicks' lineup has been anything but solid this season, and with Carmelo Anthony shutting it down for the remainder of the season, the gaps only increase. Thomas didn't play in the final game before the All-Star break, but he could be ready to go now and is a top candidate to take over a good portion of the production Anthony has vacated. Thomas surpassed 20 FanDuel points in four of the last seven games in which he saw at least 20 minutes, scoring over fifteen points alone on three consecutive nights against the Thunder, Pelicans, and Magic at the end of January. Make sure to check his status prior to the game.
Power Forward
Josh Smith, HOU, $6,500: With Howard gone, much of the dirty work inside has been left to Smith in Houston. It'd be fair to say Smith was on a tear heading into the All-Star break, breaking off 45.6 FanDuel points against the Clippers. Smith has gone over thirty FanDuel points in six of his last eight (including that 45.6 night). There should be lots of shots taken and Smith should be among the top two rebounders in the game.
Jason Smith, NY, $5,100: Smith established himself as an offensive threat before the All-Star break, putting up 25 points and seven rebounds on the Magic. With both Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts out of the contest, Smith could be a matchup nightmare for Miami. He'll be in position to score and rebound at a very good pace. Whiteside will be manning the middle for Miami, so rebounds aren't guaranteed, but Whiteside can't get all of them.
Center
I want to start by saying the center position is extremely deep Friday. If your opinion lays elsewhere, feel confident in going that way. I struggled mightily to narrow down the pool to just three centers.
Hassan Whiteside, MIA, $7,700: White has established himself as one of the most menacing defensive stalwarts in the NBA. With Bosh out Friday, much of the load falls to Whiteside, and he should take advantage of the Knicks' lack of talent to secure an obscene amount of rebounds. He has also proven to be possibly the league's best shot blocker this season.
Rudy Gobert, UTA, $5,700: With the departure of Enes Kanter, Gobert is now has the center position to himself in Utah. He's been effective this year in limited minutes, and his leash should be loosened now. As one of the league's premier defenders, Gobert should put up big defensive stats in terms of both rebounds and blocks. The more time on the floor, the more he'll produce. He could soon turn into a double-double machine.
Tyler Zeller, BOS, $4,500: It looks like both Olynyk and Sullinger will be out Friday, leaving Zeller with a wealth minutes he's seldom received this season. He put up 33.3 FanDuel points on Philadelphia in 26 minutes. Zeller has a strong chance to surpass that minute total and very possibly that point total. He does faceoff with the league's top-priced center in DeMarcus Cousins, truly the only negative among a litany of positives.
