This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Friday features a slate of nine games. Paying attention to players missing out tonight and exploiting the corresponding matchup is key. Make sure to pay attention to any late lineup adjustments, as players often get rest this time of year. Their will be several high-scoring games, and the selection corresponding with this is considerable. The biggest risk may lie with the games that end up as blowouts, resulting in the first stringers sitting the late stages.
Friday Value Plays
Point Guard
Goran Dragic ($6,500)
Dragic looks to have recovered from his tailbone bruise and looks like a good contender to get back to the ascending trend he was displaying prior to the injury. Wednesday against Brooklyn was a good start, but it should be expected that he gets his assist back up with his interior presences returning to the lineup Friday against Toronto's inferior interior.
Shooting Guard
J.J. Redick ($6,600) and Austin Rivers ($3,800)
With Jamal Crawford (calf) out, these two have seen increased roles. Redick has gone on a scoring frenzy while Rivers has been a tad less consistent but certainly provides in a big way on his night. Both primarily rely on scoring for their production, which makes them slightly risky if they have an off-night; but the duo have considerable upside when the minutes are high and the shots are going in.
Kyle Korver ($5,000)
Slump no more, Korver is burning the nets off, shooting over 75 percent from the field in both of his last two games. The Suns' poor perimeter defense is unlikely to do anything to slow him down, and his upside goes way up when he gets his shot attempts back into the double digits.
Small Forward
Tobias Harris ($6,600)
Harris has surpassed the 30-FPT mark in four consecutive performances, and the Celtics' poor defense versus the SF position points toward a continuation of the trend. Harris is a very fair price for his consistency, and he provides a sound source of production (even with limited upside).
Draymond Green ($8,000)
Denver has been playing small while Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) is out of the lineup, often seeing Kenneth Faried manning the paint. Nurkic is a game-time decision Friday, but the signs point toward him missing out once again. In the event the Nuggets favor a smaller lineup, a likely happenstance, Green will be the perfect matchup with his versatility to both play the perimeter and get into the paint. It's nights like these that Green is capable of putting up very big numbers.
Power Forward
Pau Gasol ($9,200)
No Al Jefferson (knee) and no Cody Zeller (shoulder) means Charlotte's backups will be responsible for containing Gasol – a task Marvin Williams and Bismack Biyombo are extremely unlikely to be able to handle. Gasol's highest FPT total over the past ten days was 48.1 and it just so happened to come against the Hornets. Coming off a huge 47.2-FPT performance Wednesday against the 76ers, Gasol will be shouldered with much of the load once again as he'll attempt to lead his injury-depleted Bulls to victory.
Nerlens Noel ($7,500)
Noel is making a name for himself to be considered among the best young defenders in the NBA, as he is a consistent source of rebounds, blocks and steals. Throw in the fact that he's reached double-digit scoring in seven of the last ten games, and his ever-rising price will likely keep increasing with little reason to think they'll regress.
Center
Joakim Noah ($7,000)
Noah falls into the same bag as Gasol, though the former is a tad freaky in his capability to rack up assists. The inside-out passing game and linkup between the two Chicago big men is very good. Noah is possibly the only big man in the NBA that is capable of a traditional triple-double. His scoring production has lacked lately, but with a few nights of rest and the aforementioned matchup against the injury-depleted frontcourt of the Hornets, he makes for a solid play Friday.
Bismack Biyombo ($4,100)
With the primary big men out of commission Friday night for Charlotte, Biyombo will see a large uptick in playing time. His offensive repertoire is less than impressive, but he's a good defensive threat, and rebounds and blocks alone make him worth his meager price tag. You only get one center on FanDuel, so it basically breaks down to whether you want to spend on the position or save. Regardless, I see the Chicago/Charlotte game as a good target for your center.
