This article is part of our FantasyDraft NBA series.
Friday night is typically a busy one in the NBA, and tonight's 10-game slate is no exception. With plenty of high-end options in action, FantasyDraft's unique roster flexibility comes in particularly handy. Let's dive in and take a look at where best to allocate your resources:
GUARDS
Jimmy Butler, CHI vs. PHI ($17,000): The top trio of James Harden ($21,800), Giannis Antetokounmpo (17,800) and John Wall ($17,700) are all in fine spots, so they make for great pivots if you have the cash. However, I like Butler's combination of price and upside despite a matchup against a considerably improved Sixers squad. He's been outstanding since Dwyane Wade went down with his season-ending elbow injury, scoring between 45.75 and 67.50 fantasy points over the last four and posting a team-high 24.4 percent usage rate over that span. Butler has also thrived in this matchup this season, averaging 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals in 34.5 minutes per game in two starts against Philadelphia.
Tim Hardaway, Jr., ATL at MIL ($11,900): To be clear, there's a lot to like in the mid-tier at guard on such a large slate, with Isaiah Thomas ($15,100), Ricky Rubio ($14,600), Bradley Beal ($14,300), Andrew Wiggins ($13,300) and Avery Bradley ($12,300) particularly standing out. However, Hardaway is cheaper than all of them and offers excellent potential value for his price. He's scored between 29.00 and 43.50 fantasy points in four of the last five, with at least 10 points in each outing. Most importantly, he's slated to draw another start at shooting guard and will face off against a Bucks defense that's tied with several other teams for the fourth-most three-pointers (3.0) and fifth-highest field-goal percentage (44.4) allowed per game to two-guards.
Tyreke Evans, SAC at GS ($8,800): Other viable GPP-only options at this level include Cameron Payne, Archie Goodwin, Arron Afflalo and Jodie Meeks at minimum price, along with Marco Belinelli ($7,400), Jordan Crawford ($7,800), Nik Stauskas ($8,300) and Garrett Temple ($8,400). Meanwhile, outside of a 14-minute outlier against the Suns in which he was held scoreless, Evans has scored between 24 and 39 fantasy points in eight games over his last 10. He's capable of contributing across the stat sheet and is sporting a team-high 28.1 percent usage rage since joining the Kings.
FORWARDS/CENTERS
Anthony Davis, NO at HOU ($18,200):Karl-Anthony Towns ($19,600) is in an outstanding matchup but there's a certain amount of blowout risk involved in his game, casting at least a bit of doubt as to whether he can return sufficient value on his elevated price. Meanwhile, Davis is a relative discount despite having scored between 45.25 and 82.25 fantasy points in five of his last six games. A modest (by his standards) 35.75 fantasy points in his last game appears to be part of the reason for the slight price drop, and teammate DeMarcus Cousins' outstanding performance in that game could well make him the more popular choice of the two Friday. However, Davis draws a Rockets defense that he just punished for 54.75 fantasy points last Friday and that surrenders the third-most fantasy points (53.5) to centers on the season.
Dwight Howard, ATL at MIL ($13,700):Nikola Vucevic ($14,300), Andre Drummond ($13,900) and Kevin Love ($13,800) also look appealing at this level, but Howard is in the midst of an excellent stretch of play, scoring at least 31.75 fantasy points and as many as 44.00 in 12 of his last 13 games. Meanwhile, the Bucks have given up the seventh-most fantasy points (52.20) on the season to centers, as well as the eighth-most (56.00) over the last five games. They also give up the seventh-most rebounds (15.3) per game this season, which is particularly relevant in Howard's case.
Robin Lopez, CHI vs. PHI ($8,400): Lopez was in the midst of another solid outing against the Raptors on Wednesday (24 fantasy points in 24 minutes) before getting ejected for punching Serge Ibaka. He got his one-game suspension out of the way the following night, making him available for an outstanding matchup against a Sixers squad that surrenders the most fantasy points (57.2) to centers on the season and most (65.6) over the last 10. They also surrender the most points (23.8), second-most rebounds (16.0), second-most steals (1.6), third-most blocks (2.5) and fourth-highest field-goal percentage (56.5) to the position, and Lopez is sporting a 22.3 percent usage rate and averaging 30.9 fantasy points per game over the last three.
UTILITY
LeBron James, CLE at CHA ($18,900): LeBron called out the Cavs again after a Wednesday loss to the Nuggets, and he should come out with plenty of urgency against a Hornets squad that surrendering the fifth-most fantasy points (51.7) to small forwards over the last five games. He averaged 31.7 points, 9.0 assists, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 39.0 minutes per game in three starts against Charlotte this season, and outside of his somewhat modest 31.00 fantasy points against Denver, he'd scored between 48.25 and 69.75 fantasy points in the previous nine games.
Kemba Walker, CHA vs. CLE ($14,200): Walker has averaged 27.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 32 minutes per game in three starts against Cleveland this season, and the Cavs are surrendering the sixth-most fantasy points (53.8) to point guards on the season. They've also yielded the third-most three-pointers (2.5) and seventh-highest field-goal percentage (44.4) to the position, while Walker has scored between 28.50 and 54.50 fantasy points in five of the last six contests.
