This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are six games on Thursday night, making his a relatively sparse schedule but still with enough options to differentiate your team. The position holding the most weight on Thursday is point guard, by a long shot. Russell Westbrook is in play as Goliath, but there are a lot of others with big upside for their price point, from Steph Curry and Elfrid Payton to Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Derrick Rose…even Linsanity is back in play.
Power forward is another position with value from most expensive down to the lower price points. Shooting guard and center are sparser at the top, but have more depth below. The distribution of talent, and which positions you decide to make your foundation, will give the personality for your team and ultimately decide how your Thursday will go. Let's look into it.
Russell Westbrook, OKC at TOR ($13,500): In his last 11 games, Westbrook has scored under 59 fantasy points only once (48.7, against the Mavericks), while he has scored more than 68 fantasy points five times with a max of 83.9. His expected value is somewhere in the upper 60s/low 70s, which means that, despite having by-far the highest price point in the game, he is usually actually worth the money. On Thursday he faces a Raptors defense that has allowed the seventh-fewest fantasy points to point guards in the last 10 games.
Klay Thompson, GS vs ORL ($7,000): The Warriors have been struggling to get wins, having to rely more heavily on their primary players to produce with Kevin Durant out. Thompson has scored at least 25 points in three straight games, and on Thursday faces a Magic defense that has allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to shooting guards in the last 10 games.
Will Barton, DEN vs LAC ($5,300): Barton should have a big opportunity to produce on Thursday, as three - four of the Nuggets top forwards are out with injury. With Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and Darrell Arthur out (Kenneth Faried is questionable after missing the last few games), Barton is in line to be a primary scoring option from the wing. The last four times that he has played at least 37 minutes, Barton has produced 33.8, 46.5, 44.9 and 49.1 fantasy points which bodes well for his chances on Thursday.
Nikola Jokic, DEN vs LAC ($10,600): Jokic continues the Nuggets theme, which will be repeated throughout this article. Jokic is always a primary scoring option with a double-double expected value and very legitimate triple-double potential. On Thursday, he faces a Clippers defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to centers in the last 10 games.
Gordon Hayward, UTA at CLE ($7,800): Based on preference, Draymond Green would have been in this slot. But since the premium forward is listed in FanDuel as a power forward, this slot needed to go to a small forward. Hayward is a good prospect on his own (scored between 33.6 and 42.8 fantasy points in five of his last six games), but also the small forward position is fairly thin due to the injuries to Kevin Durant and the Nuggets frontcourt. This also helps Hayward stand out, even on a night where he has a tough match-up against LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Juancho Hernangomez, DEN vs LAC ($3,600): Hernangomez is the third Nugget listed here, and the riskiest. He has the chance to get solid minutes due to three injuries in the frontcourt, but his ultimate disposition may be decided by the availability of Kenneth Faried. If Faried (questionable, back) sits again, Hernangomez will be in a good place to build on Monday's 13 points/six rebounds in only 19 minutes effort. He turned in a 27 points, 10 rebounds effort in a similar "everybody is injured" type game against the Warriors last month. However, again, he is a risk. Consider him a punt play with upside.
Nikola Vucevic, ORL at GS ($7,700): Vucevic missed four games recently due to injury, but in the three games surrounding his absence he scored 45.3 fantasy points against the Heat, 39.2 against the Cavs, and 45.8 against the Kings. On Thursday, he faces a Warriors defense that has allowed the 13th-most fantasy points to centers over the last five games.
Guillermo Hernangomez, NY vs BKN ($6,000): Hernangomez dropped 13 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block on Myles Turner and the Pacers on Tuesday. He could be in for a larger role than usual if Kristaps Porzingis (questionable, thigh) has to sit, and he is facing a Nets defense that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to centers on the season.
Mason Plumlee, DEN vs LAC ($5,800): Plumlee is another Nugget with upside on Thursday, with the ability to outplay his price tag in increased opportunity. In his last outing, he turned in 15 points, 10 boards, two blocks, two assists and a steal in 36 minutes. In fact, he has produced between 34 and 37 fantasy points in three of his last four games, even when the injured forwards were playing which indicates that his level is high at this moment when the opportunity to produce should be there.
