Four of the top-10 players tonight are game-time decisions. You cautiously stay away after making your lineups too early, and then player X goes off. You forgot to check back before 7:30 p.m. to switch him in, and it was discovered that he’s actually playing. And your significant other wonders why you’re left staring at the ceiling at 1:08 a.m. after setting $10 on fire. Don’t let that happen to you. Make good decisions tonight. It’s Friday, after all.
Yahoo: $51 DraftKings: $10,800 FanDuel: $11,300
Power forward has been a difficult position to find nightly reliability, making The Nigerian Nightmare a justifiable splurge. Anthony Davis has picked it up, but is mostly a step-behind what we expected. Julius Randle’s been great but did have one hiccup recently against the Charlotte Hornets, and Zion Williamson is back on track after an inconsistent start. None of them are quite Giannis, though. Even on a ‘meh’ evening (by his standards), he walked away from a win over the Detroit Pistons with a triple-double (22-10-10) that accounted for nearly 60 fantasy points. Even as the Dallas Mavericks reign as a top-four defense so far this season, Giannis is still Giannis, and along with Luka Doncic, who he’ll face tonight, he’s the safest bet among Friday’s elites. The difference with Doncic is, you can find other reliable point guards, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jrue Holiday, and lately, D’Angelo Russell, all while creating room to use elsewhere. (Won’t blame you for playing both, though.)
Yahoo: $40 DraftKings: $8,700 FanDuel: $8,800
And because of that, Trae Young is still a no from me, dawg. The controversial Atlanta Hawk broke out for 26 points, eight assists and produced his highest fantasy output in a week. Still, the inconsistencies need to be shaken before feeling great about playing Young over Doncic, as well as opting for cheaper point guard options, who may account for similar production. He’s facing Mike Conley and the Utah Jazz, and he hasn’t strung together back-to-back worthwhile fantasy performances since the turn of the calendar. Perhaps he has Steve Nash to blame.
Yahoo: $24 DraftKings: $6,800 FanDuel: $7,200
Holmes is a basketball player who’d be shown much more love if the Sacramento Kings were national TV regulars, and we know that hasn’t been the case in nearly 20 years. He’s putting forth impressive numbers (13.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game) but he’s better than his numbers even indicate. That doesn’t serve us in fantasy, I know, but the numbers have been there throughout the season, especially over his last four games. Since January 6, Holmes has averaged 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.5 blocks. During that span, he’s also shot 77 percent from the floor. His most remarkable contribution are the improved numbers while averaging 4.3 fouls (!!) in just over 28 minutes. If he could just stop fouling, he’d be even better, but because of that risk, his price is lower than it should be (and so are his minutes). If the fouling scares you off, other sleeper options to consider are Brandon Clarke, De’Andre Hunter, and Tyrese Haliburton.
Yahoo: $10 DraftKings: $3,900 FanDuel: $4,000
We’re all just trying to find those guys near the very end of tonight’s playables to decide who we think will rise up in the face of COVID knocking out part of their roster. Isaac Okoro has gotten the minutes for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the rookie forward hasn’t had back-to-back worthwhile showings until his most recent two, albeit he’s still not an attractive play on most nights. He’s still a minutes eater, incredibly cheap, and worth a flyer against the struggling New York Knicks, as the Cavs will deal with the loss of both “Sexland” members, Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, among others, on Friday night. Cavs teammate and former Knick Dameyan Dotson is a good bet tonight as well, as he’s started (and performed well) in place of Sex.