Washington Wizards' Russell Westbrook dribbles during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 67.14 DK - 70.98
Let’s start with the easiest one ever first. Westbrook is going to be nearly-100% owned on this slate and really they probably couldn’t have made his price high enough based on how this slate is shaking out. Sure, he’s pushing up to around $13K but does it really even matter? There is going to be so much savings elsewhere that it won’t be any issue at all to fit his salary in. The Wizards still have a chance to move up to the 8th seed so they will be going for it here and Westbrook has been other-worldly all season, but especially with Bradley Beal out of the mix. Over his last seven games, he’s averaging 27 points, 17 assists, and 15 rebounds per game. You read those stats right. This is unreal and he’ll be a total lock on Friday.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 53.3 DK - 56.07
With so many of the big money guys likely to sit on Friday, we are probably looking at paying up for both Westbrook and Doncic here. The Mavericks are still in win-now mode with the team fighting to keep the 5th or 6th seed and stay out of the play-in game. That should keep Doncic in the starting lineup and playing a lot of minutes if the game remains close. That could be a stretch with Toronto putting out a skeleton crew once again, but we have to take the risk. Doncic’s minutes have been lower of late but that’s because the Mavs have played in an inordinate number of blowouts. It could be the case again, but we know Doncic has triple-double upside if the run is there.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 41.54 DK - 38.09
Welcome to the part of the NBA season in which you are playing guys at non-punt prices who you had never even heard of two weeks ago. But that’s the case with Thomas who joined the Rockets not too long ago and then joined the starting lineup last game. He should stick there for the time being with the team running without most of its core group. Thomas has played 34 or more minutes in two of his last three games and taken 12+ shots in all three. Last time he couldn’t get a shot to go down, but the usage was there. He’s been able to chip in rebounds and assists as well so he isn’t 100% tied to putting the ball in the basket. I think we can stomach these prices on the shot attempts and the minutes’ upside.
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 37.9 DK - 40.27
The Kings have nothing to play for but that’s mostly been the case for a while now and they’ve had little issue running some of the starters key minutes. That could change now that they’ve been officially eliminated from the playoff chase, but we might have to take our chances. He’s taken 14 or more shots in six of the last seven games and it averaging 19 points six rebounds, and six assists in that stretch. He’s also been good from behind the arc at over 40% from three in that stretch. I’d like to see the usage a little higher for these prices, but he’s still something of a bargain on FanDuel if he’s going to run upper-30s minutes.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 28.03 DK - 27.48
It’s hard to know what the Raptors’ plan is on a night-to-night basis in their lost season. But they are, for sure, sitting out almost all of the key guys once again and we should get big minutes from the B-team one more time. Johnson played 43 minutes on Thursday, took a team-high 22 shots, and finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. It was a slate-breaking performance and he’s sure to be a chalk option if in the starting lineup again on Friday.
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 34.6 DK - 36.18
The Pistons stink and are once again going to sit a lot of the guys they brought in to be “key” players when the season started. That’s left a lot of minutes for the projects and young guys on the roster, Bey included who was their first-round draft pick. He’s played 36 or more minutes in four of the last five games, taking 16 and 17 shots respectively in the last two. He chucked up 18 threes in the last two games, knocking them down at a 55% clip. That’s run hot for sure, but he’s still going to shoot at volume in this current iteration of the Pistons. The minutes and usage should be there against what could be a skeleton crew of Denver guys.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 43.42 DK - 43.94
Martin has been another beneficiary of late-season shenanigans with teams resting players and sitting out some stars. That’s been the case with the Rockets who will, once again, run a skeleton crew out there on Friday. They are playing the Clippers but the latter will likely be without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. That’s going to keep this game wide open. Over the last seven games, whether starting or coming off the bench, Martin has averaged 38 minutes per game with the number actually higher in the short term. In that stretch, he’s averaging 20 points and nine rebounds while also adding some assists and defensive stats as well. The price has gone way up, but the opportunity is more than there.
After Martin, there are potentially a lot of question marks around this position on Friday. We could see Aaron Gordon (FD 3900 DK 5400) get a lot of usage and run, or he could sit completely.
Isaiah Stewart (FD 6100 DK 6400) has been able to fill it up in the past and will likely face a completely undermanned Denver squad on Friday. There’s upside at these prices.
If both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are out there’s some chance Marcus Morris Sr. (FD 4300 DK 5600) gets an extended run.
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 29.89 DK - 29.42
Remember what I was saying about guys you’d never consider a few months ago being insanely relevant now? That’s the case with a lot of dudes on Friday and Metu is one of them. He’s one of the last remaining big men for the Kings and is playing a lot of minutes in the short term. On Wednesday, he ran 37 minutes and finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and a steal. Not overwhelming numbers, but solid at these prices, and the run should be there again on Friday with Bagley and Barnes out once again for Sacramento.
if JaVale McGee (FD 3500 DK 3000) starts again for Denver then he is an easy plug-and-play. He actually got the start next to Jokic on Thursday and put up 12 points and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes. There’s some chance we see that pairing again OR Jokic sits and McGee just gets all the starting center minutes.
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