This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Friday features 12 games. We are now less than a week from the end of the regular season, and the dynamic of daily fantasy basketball has changed drastically. Finding players that will play and be in a competitive game is both the key and the most challenging aspect of choosing players right now. New Orleans and Oklahoma City look like they'll be fighting until the very last day of the season for the eighth seed in the West, and these teams are the best places to uncover some studs (though with DeMarcus Cousins (foot) already out and Rudy Gay (headache) questionable, the Thunder game could get out of hand very quickly). Then there's the matchup between the Lakers and the Timberwolves who both would appreciate a loss. That should be a good spot to find some value (or at least some mid-salary players). The West also has a very contentious race for the 2-6 seeds, so any games with teams in that vicinity that figure to be in close games should be fairly safe to roll with some higher-salary players. The only real fight in the East is for the last two seeds, which will be decided between the Celtics, Nets, Pacers and Heat.
Friday Value Plays
Point Guard
Tyreke Evans, NO, $8,000: Evans has been playing a big allotment of minutes as New Orleans tries to win the last playoff spot in the West. He has really come into his own at the point, and it helps to have somebody like Davis to lob up to for easy assists.
Michael Carter-Williams, MIL, $7,000: Carter-Williams has some consistency issues, but he gets the Knicks after going off for 44.4 fantasy points against the Cavaliers. Now, Antetokounmpo sat out that night, so Carter-Williams did see added possessions that he won't likely get Friday night. But, against the collegiate-level backcourt of the Knicks, he should still be able to post a healthy stat line.
Kyrie Irving, CLE, $8,300: If King James flips the script and sits out, which he has hinted at, Irving has shown he can put the team on his back in the scoring department. There is a slight concern in playing Cleveland as the have already synced the two seed and will not see any movement up or down in the standings.
Shooting Guard
Randy Foye, DEN, $4,500: Foye looks like he may have finally carved out a consistent role in Denver, posting consecutive lines of 28+ fantasy points. He starts and has proved he can provide production in several categories.
Kevin Martin, MIN, $6,800: Martin has way too much upside to ignore. He put 56 fantasy points two games ago against Sacramento. His bookend performances weren't flattering, but the upside is simply too high to ignore. Martin is the prototypical high-risk GPP only type.
Small Forward
Omri Casspi, SAC, $4,500: Casspi is a solid play regardless of the status of Gay, but he and the trio of Kings covered below would all see their ceiling rise substantially if Gay is unable to go. Casspi has scored somewhere between 20 and 40.5 fantasy points in each of his last five games, he should be good for another such performance Friday. He figures to get his 30+ minutes regardless of whether this game ends up as a complete blowout or not, though it definitely points to the former.
Andrew Wiggins, MIN, $7,500: Minnesota is still testing out exactly what they have in Wiggins, giving him huge minutes nightly. His scoring is great, but his best nights for daily games is when he's rebounding well and dropping dimes. Wiggins scorched his way to a 46.2 fantasy point performance against the Lakers last month.
Power Forward
Tyler Hansbrough, TOR, $3,800: Hansbrough has seen all the court time he can handle with Amir Johnson (ankle) sitting out the last two games. Johnson will be out again Friday night, so Hansbrough should be in line for another 35+ minute night and is close to being a must-use option as he has a very real possibility of going for 8x the value of his salary.
Boris Diaw, SA, $4,700: Diaw is a sneaky beneficiary of Splitter's absence, and he matches up superbly with the Rockets due to the fact that Dwight Howard will likely remain on a minutes restriction and Terrence Jones hasn't been playing lots of minutes. Diaw was able to abuse their smaller frontcourt Wednesday to the tune of 30.8 fantasy points.
Kevin Love, CLE, $7,400: Love has his flaws, but when James sits out, Love sees a great deal of added production. His rebound numbers have been solid, but the added shots he is likely to see Friday night are where his production has the potential to really increase. Love stands as a good play without James but not so good if James actually suits up, as James has said he will.
Jason Thompson/Derrick Williams/Carl Landry, SAC, $4,700/$4,000/$3,600: With Cousins out, this trio will get minutes. If Gay is out, too, they'll get even more minutes. I'm listing all three, but the best thing to do will be to check who is starting before the game. Thompson figures to be prominent with or without Gay, but Reggie Evans has also seen decent minutes minutes with Cousins out.
Center
Zaza Pachulia, MIL, $6,600: Pachulia loves the Knicks. He destroys their poor interior defense every time he gets the opportunity. Pachulia is averaging over 35 fantasy points in his three games against the Knicks this season, and put up 44 fantasy points in his last game against the Cavaliers. The Bucks haven't technically clinched yet, so they do certainly have something still to play for – even if they seem almost a sure thing for the sixth seed.
