This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Eight games are on tap in the NBA, but there is only one marquee matchup that everyone playing DFS on FanDuel will be focused on: Oklahoma City at home against Golden State in primetime. Pinpointing which players within this matchup to choose can make the difference between cashing and not cashing today.
Point Guard
Stephen Curry, GSW at OKC ($11,100): Normally this decision is a lot closer than it is today, but Curry has made things a bit easier of late by morphing into NBA Jam mode and setting hoops on fire. He's averaging a ridiculous 62.5 fantasy points per game over the past three games on the road, firmly planting himself into "can't fade" territory. Here's another interesting stat: Curry averages five more points per game on the road than at home this season. He has also cracked the 50-point mark on FanDuel in seven of his past nine games. Russell Westbrook has only reached 50 points in four of his last nine.
Shelvin Mack, UTA vs. BKN ($3,700): Here we find a rare case of FanDuel being slow to trigger a price adjustment on a newly minted starter. Part of the reason that Mack still sits at just $200 above minimum salary is that the Jazz faced off against the best defensive team in the league (San Antonio) on Thursday. Keep in mind that Mack has played at least 28 minutes in each of the past two games, has no competition for playing time and faces a Brooklyn squad that allows the fourth-most fantasy points per game to point guards this season.
Shooting Guard
Klay Thompson, GSW at OKC ($7,200): As you can see, we are stacking the Splash Brothers. This accomplishes a few thing: for starters, the best place to attack the Thunder is at the shooting guard position. Andre Roberson and Dion Waiters are poor defenders and they have equally contributed to the Thunder allowing the eighth-most fantasy points per game to shooting guards. This also buys you some insurance on Curry. If he happens to have an off performance, the chances are Thompson will look to pick up the slack. Thompson is also coming off a measly nine-point effort against Orlando, which will help hold down his ownership numbers a bit.
Rodney Hood, UTA vs BKN ($6,000): After a hot start to the month, Hood's production has cooled a bit. However, he's in a good spot to bounce back Saturday at home against the Nets, who recently bought out starting shooting guard Joe Johnson. The Nets' defense should see a downturn in production from new starter Bojan Bogdanovic, who has scoring and outside shooting ability but lacks the athleticism to stay in front of quicker two guards like Hood.
Small Forward
Tobias Harris, DET at MIL ($5,900): Harris has wasted no time making an impact in Detroit, averaging over 30 fantasy points per game in his last three. Harris also benefits from being listed as a small forward on FanDuel while actually playing the four. This means he should avoid Milwaukee's best defender in Giannis Antetokounmpo and draws their weakest defender in Jabari Parker. Harris has paid off over 5x his price in each of the last three games and is a good bet to make it four in a row.
Power Forward
Jabari Parker, MIL vs. DET ($5,700): Now that we've sufficiently trash-talked Parker's defensive game, let's talk about what he provides on offense. He is yet another player out of position, being asked to man the four-spot while his game is actually more suited for small forward. Parker is currently in the best stretch of his career, scoring a career-high 29 points last Saturday against Atlanta and scoring at least 31 fantasy points in each of the past six games.
Center
Hassan Whiteside, MIA at LAC ($8,200): It isn't often that I mention a center being a solid value with a price above $8,000, but in this case, it is true. Whiteside has been the hottest center in the NBA over the past week (with apologies to DeMarcus Cousins), having scored at least 40 fantasy points in each of the past three games, including back-to-back 50+ scoring performances against Indiana and Washington. The Heat find themselves in a great matchup for their center versus Jared Sullinger, who is a power forward being asked to play center for Boston despite lacking any real shot-blocking ability. Look for Whiteside to take advantage of a Boston squad that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points pe rgame to opposing centers this season.
