The NBA thrills on Thursday night with five games on the docket, and we can help you get your DFS lineups set up to win.
The NBA has five games on tap on Thursday night, and several of them look like they will be fantasy friendly. The action tips off thirty minutes later than usual, with the Nets at the Pistons at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Lakers at the Timberwolves and the Cavaliers at the Bulls both tip a half hour later. At 10 p.m. ET, the Clippers are at the Suns. Finally, at 10:30 p.m. ET the late game pits the Rockets against the Trail Blazers in Portland.
Some storylines that I’ll be paying attention to include the Cavaliers trying to prove that they aren’t staggering to the playoffs in a matchup with a Bulls team that is actively fighting to get into the playoffs. LeBron James and Jimmy Butler are playing some of the best basketball in the NBA, and both point guards (Kyrie Irving and Rajon Rondo) are capable of fireworks as well.
The Rockets and the Trail Blazers also seem destined for a shootout, with similar storylines in reverse. Damian Lillard has been playing like an All-NBA player for the last couple of weeks, and James Harden has been in MVP mode all season. There could be a lot of 3-pointers and points in that game.
The Clippers woke up from some lethargic play of late with a monstrous effort on Wednesday against the Wizards, but will that tire them when they travel to face the youngsters in Phoenix? The Timberwolves should have plenty of opportunity against the Lakers, but the Lakers backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson can get it going against anyone. As always, there’ll be lots to see.
My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following slides in FanSided’s DraftKings daily picks. Each day in order to offer a variety of price points at each position, you can find two slides for each position–one for high-salary options and one for high-value options. Each pick is ranked on a scale of 1-5 stars to indicate the confidence in the pick. The final slide of this post has more detail on what each level means, but in short, more stars means more confidence in the selection on a points-per-dollar basis.
Important note: the goal of this post is not to give you a copy-and-paste lineup. Instead, each selection is given while highlighting the factors you need to consider when building a customized lineup for yourself. If you want to see an example lineup, you can find it on the final slide of the post, but I suggest you adjust your lineup to fit your personal taste.
To keep up with all of FanSided’s DFS NBA coverage head over to the fantasy basketball hub where each day you can find a post like this tailored for DraftKings as well as one specifically designed for usage on FanDuel. In this post, all salary and “fantasy points” references are to DraftKings scoring system and salaries. If you have any additional questions or thoughts or are looking for updates as we approach tipoff, follow @FanSidedFantasy on Twitter or you can follow my account @ProfessorDrz or find me on my home turf of The Hoops Lab.
Let’s take a look at your best options for both studs and value players at each position.