After a fun Thursday night in the Association, we have a small five-game NBA DFS main slate on Friday night, including an NBATV doubleheader. It starts with Ja Morant and the Grizzlies heading to the Twin Cities to play Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Raptors continuing their seven-game road trip to play Stephen Curry and the Warriors at 10 p.m. ET. Our DraftKings lineup has a good mix of veterans with favorable matchups and a few value sleepers under $6K who are the type of low-risk, high-reward options that are key in daily fantasy basketball tournaments.
Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Made three-point shot (+0.5 points), rebound (+1.25 points), assists (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points -- max one per player) and triple-double (+3 points -- max one player).
Friday night's NBA DraftKings Picks: NBA DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Friday night main slate, $50,000 budget
PG Fred VanVleet, Raptors @ Warriors ($8,000). VanVleet has been on a ridiculous pace over the past five games, averaging 51.2 DraftKings points per game. The veteran point guard is coming off a solid performance against the Kings on Wednesday night, where he had 17 points, five assists, four rebounds, and four assists. The 28-year-old point guard didn't do much in the scoring department but produced 41.5 DraftKings points. VanVleet will look to carry this momentum over into tonight's game against the Warriors, who allow the fifth-most DraftKings points to the PGs this season. Golden State has also given up the second-most three-pointers made to PGs, which is good news for FVV, who is shooting 43.8 percent from three-point range on 4.2 three-pointers made in his past five games. This is a good spot for DFS players to find some value at the point guard position.
SG Gary Trent Jr., Raptors @ Warriors ($6,300). To round out our backcourt for tonight's main slate, we will have a Raptors' stack with VanVleet and Trent Jr. The veteran two-guard has scored in double figures in six-straight games and made at least four or more three-pointers in three of those games. In Toronto's last game against the Kings, Trent Jr. recorded 16 points (7-15 FG, 2-6 3pt), five rebounds, and three assists (29.3 DK points). The 24-year-old shooting guard should be able to have some success against the Warriors, who allow the fourth-most DraftKings points to SGs this season. Anytime you have Trent in your DFS lineup, you need to prepare yourself for a clunker, but we think he plays well tonight.
SF Jalen Williams, Thunder vs. Cavaliers ($5,400). With Luguentz Dort (hamstring) out for tonight's game against the Cavaliers, Oklahoma City will be looking for another standout performance from rookie wing Jalen Williams. The first-round pick balled out on Wednesday night against the Hawks, recording 24 points (11-16 FG), five rebounds, four steals, and two assists (41.3 DraftKings points). It was the third time this month that Williams scored 20-plus points and 40 or more DK points. Williams has a tough matchup tonight against the Cavs, who are on the second night of a back-to-back and allowing the third-fewest DraftKings points to SFs this season. It's not an appealing matchup for the 21-year-old wing, but he could provide some value under $6K.
PF Evan Mobley, Cavaliers @ Thunder ($6,800). For the second-straight night, we will get Mobley into our DFS lineup, whose salary is $400 cheaper after recording 21 points and 10 rebounds against the Rockets on Thursday night. If you had the second-year power forward in your lineup, he was one of the top scorers at the position with 44 DraftKings points. Unlike Williams, Mobley has a favorable matchup against Thunder, who allow the seventh-most DraftKings points per game to PFs this season (48.33). Meanwhile, the 21-year-old power forward is averaging 40.4 DK points per game over his past five games and should dominate whoever is starting for OKC.
C Bam Adebayo, Heat vs. Magic ($8,400). Adebayo is quietly having a fantastic season for Miami, averaging 21.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 42.2 DK points per game. The 25-year-old center has also posted 24 double-doubles in 44 games, which shows how dominant he's been this season. Adebayo had an excellent showing earlier this week against the Celtics, producing 30 points and 15 rebounds (56.3) points in a three-point win at home. It was the second time in the past five games that he's gone over the 50-point threshold. Adebayo may not hit 50 DK points tonight against the Magic as they allow the 13th-fewest DraftKings points to centers and can throw multiple bodies at him. However, at an $8400 salary, we still like Adebayo in this matchup to score at least 35 DK points.
G Dillon Brooks, Grizzlies @ Timberwolves ($4,600). Brooks is a risky option to start in DFS tonight due to his inconsistent scoring, but he has a favorable matchup against the Timberwolves, who ranked 12th against SG/SFs in OPRK. The defensive-minded wing has scored 20 or more points in four-straight games, including a 27.8 DK point performance against the Kings on Monday night. When it comes to Brooks, you aren't looking for him to be a scorer. Instead, you want him to stuff the stat sheet. In two games against the Timberwolves this season, he's averaging 16.5 points and five rebounds per game.
F Caris LeVert, Cavaliers @ Thunder ($5,200). The 28-year-old LeVert was back in the starting lineup for the Cavaliers on Thursday night as Donovan Mitchell (groin) was ruled out once again. LeVert had 12 points (4-10 FG, 2-6 3pt), five assists, and two steals (25.3 DK points) in 32 minutes against Houston. If Mitchell is ruled out for tonight's game, LeVert could be a steal at $5200. The last time LeVert went against the Thunder, he had 22 points (9-22 FG, 4-9 3pt), four rebounds, and four assists.
UTIL Victor Oladipo, Heat vs. Magic ($5,300). Oladipo has played well off the bench this season for Miami, averaging 11.9 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. He's also averaging 25.5 DK points per game, which is impressive, with Oladipo playing 28.6 minutes per game. The 30-year-old guard has scored 10-plus points in three-straight games and averaging 24.9 DraftKings points per game over that span. He will try to have another solid performance tonight against the Magic, who allow the 13th-most DK points to PGs and the 13th-fewest DK points to SGs this season.