This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are seven games in the NBA on Friday night, incorporating the usual mix of storylines and value plays. We get a rematch of the new-look Thunder against the new-look Timberwolves, a matchup that led to a buzzer beater earlier this week. We've got John Wall and Bradley Beal trying to outscore Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in Oakland. And we've got a lot more, so let's take a look for some value.
GUARDS
Russell Westbrook, OKC at MIN ($11,500): Westbrook and James Harden have the same price tag, but Westbrook has been producing more and is coming off a 28/16/10 triple-double in his last outing. Westbrook scored 53 fantasy points against this same Timberwolves team earlier this week, in a loss, so he will have the motivation to produce more to try to get a win.
Bradley Beal, WAS at GS ($7,800): Beal is the only guard playing on Friday night with an average over 40 fantasy points, having played in all of his team's games, with a price tag under $8,000. He is playing some of the best ball of his career right now, which makes sense because age-wise he should be starting to approach his peak. And, on Friday he'll be facing a high-scoring Warriors team that will likely require him to produce for his team to stay competitive.
Spencer Dinwiddie, BKN at NY ($5,000): Dinwiddie got an uptick in opportunity when Jeremy Lin went down, then became the man in the backcourt when D'Angelo Russell went down as well. In his last game, Dinwiddie produced 22 points, six assists, five boards and a steal in 31 minutes. Russell has been upgraded from 'doubtful' to 'questionable' to play on Friday, and if he plays then Dinwiddie would be less valuable, but if Russell sits then Dinwiddie is set up to produce again against a weak Knicks unit.
FORWARDS
LaMarcus Aldridge, SA at ORL ($9,000): Aldridge, Kevin Durant and Aaron Gordon all have similar fantasy scoring averages. However, Durant costs more than $1000 more than either, and Gordon has only played in two games so his average could be more flukey. On top of those advantages, Aldridge also has a great match-up against a Magic frontline that is strong on offense but relatively weak defensively.
DeMarre Carroll, BKN at NY ($6,500):Otto Porter actually has a higher fantasy scoring average at a similar price point, and also makes a good candidate for this spot. However, Carroll has played consistently well all season then stepped up with 38.9 fantasy points in his last game, with D'Angelo Russell (questionable) out. He also has a good match-up against a weak Knicks unit.
Julius Randle, LAL vs TOR ($4,600): This is purely speculative, as Randle's production to date doesn't warrant this spot. Brandon Ingram ($5,600) was initially slated for this slot, and he's worthy. But, Randle was anticipated to be an impact player coming into the season, and was initially disgruntled that he lost his starting job to Larry Nance. However, he has played better in each of his last two games, and in his most recent game he took over down the stretch to help lead the team to a victory over the Wizards with 11 points, nine boards, three blocks and a steal. This recommendation is speculating that Randle springboards off this recent success to claim a larger slice of the pie on Friday, but it is risky.
CENTERS
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN vs OKC ($9,500): Towns has been very consistently near his averages all season, including earlier this week on the road in Oklahoma City in which he turned in 27 points, 12 boards and a blocked shot.
Dwight Howard, CHA vs HOU ($7,900): Howard and Clint Capela ($7,700) will be facing each other on Friday, and both are worthy of this spot. Howard gets the slight edge based upon how dominant he's been on the glass this season between, 15 and 22 rebounds in all four games. Both players could have extra motivation, as Howard is facing his former team and Capela is the former understudy with the chance to outshine his former mentor.
Jakob Poeltl, TOR at LAL ($5,400): This is another rec based upon the assumption of a starter remaining out. Jonas Valanciunas has missed the last few games with an ankle injury, but he practiced on Thursday and is a game-time decision for Friday. If he sits, Poeltl has shown what he can do to the tune of three straight games of 30 or more fantasy points. In his last game, against the Warriors, Poeltl scored 12 points with 14 boards, two assists, a steal and a block in 26 minutes of action. And the Lakers stink in the middle, allowing 20.2 rebounds per game to the opposing center position.
