This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are 10 games Friday and finding those that figure to be both competitive and actually matter goes a long way. It looks like Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has begun reloading his chamber for playoff time, and his starters look unlikely to get out of the 20s in terms of minutes for the rest of the regular season (especially against a team they are vastly superior to and favored by double-digits). The Toronto-Brooklyn game may be perfect, as Toronto looks to secure the third spot in the East (and play the Bucks rather than the Wizards) while Brooklyn is in the midst of the playoff battle, sitting a half-game on the good side. Then there's Orlando and Minnesota, which means next to nothing besides offering some decent value options under current circumstances. It's always the case, but deserves rehashing, to check the injury reports late to see if any key players sit, which would allow a deeply discounted backup to get huge boosts in minutes and production.Friday Value Plays
Point Guard
Deron Williams, BKN ($6,600)
Williams has triple-double upside and appears to have his allotment of minutes finally secured over 30 per game. His production has been on the steady incline, especially in close games, and the matchup with Toronto figures to be just that. Toronto, even if Kyle Lowry (back) returns, isn't the best on point guards and Brooklyn has looked superb lately, so Williams' hot hand shooting, and teammates to share the wealth with, offer the potential for another big day at a very reasonable price.
Damian Lillard, POR ($8,400)
Lillard has the pleasure of facing the worst defensive backcourt in the NBA. He's averaging well over 40 FPTs per game against the Lakers this year, and if L.A. can a keep it just close enough for Lillard to get on the higher end of his minute allotment, he has the potential to go for 50+.
Jeremy Lin, LAL ($5,700)
Lin got his underachieving first time back performance out of the way, and appears poised to get back to the 30 FPTs he was regularly putting up before missing some time for an illness. His price on FD, and though not as poor as his own team, the Trail Blazers have their fair amount of trouble guarding backcourts.
Shooting Guard
Markel Brown, BKN ($4,100)
Brown's place in Brooklyn isn't going anywhere. He's really beginning to solidify his spot in the starting lineup, and as the playoff hunt continues, he figures to get a heavy set of 30+ minutes, double-digit points and a complement of rebounds, assists and steals.
Will Barton, DEN ($5,600)
Barton comes off the bench, which usually isn't a good thing for fantasy purposes, but this game could easily turn into a blowout and Barton puts up starter-type production from the bench, especially if he can get some garbage time touches. His upside is limited coming off the bench, but he has a decent upside ability to reach around 30 FPTs.
Small Forward
Omri Casspi, SAC ($4,000)
Casspi appears to be the starting at small forward until (and maybe even after) Rudy Gay (concussion) comes back. It may be unfair to expect another 33+ FPT performance, but at his price anything over 20 FPTs makes value and that should be well within his normal target range.
Otto Porter, WAS ($3,700)
Paul Pierce's status for Friday night is up in the air, but it's safe to lean toward him not being forced back in against a terrible Knicks team. Porter is the fill-in for Pierce and has the interesting dynamic that he's his own backup, so even in the event of a blowout when some of the regular starters get benched for the fourth quarter; Porter should continue to see a full complement of minutes. If he starts, he's well worth his price tag.
Power Forward
Marvin Williams, CHA ($4,800)
Williams has made value in four straight games. He has the versatility to be effective from long range and in the paint getting rebounds, blocks and steals. The price on FanDuel is $300 below the DK price, which is a rare sight, and makes for a good discount option.
Zach Randolph, MEM ($7,300)
If he goes, which is a slight concern, Randolph has a very good setup against the up-tempo Thunder. He's averaging nearly 40 FPTs in the three games these two teams have played this season. That would be a very welcome point total Friday.
Center
Brook Lopez, BKN ($8,400)
Lopez has been the most integral cog of Brooklyn's recent success. This game figures to be competitive and fairly high scoring, all-together pointing towards big minutes and production for Lopez. He rarely shoots below 60 percent from the field and has at least two blocks in all but one of his last nine outings.
Jonas Valanciunas, TOR ($6,100)
Valanciunas disappointingly only got 19 minutes last time out due to some unfortunate first half foul trouble. He ended up getting hot in the third quarter and becoming a little bit better than complete bust. He's averaging around 30 FPTs against Brooklyn this season, and should be able to get close to that number again Friday with decent minutes.
Nikola Vucevic, ORL ($8,200)
Vucevic gets to faceoff against Justin Hamilton, as the Timberwolves are without both Gorgui Dieng (concussion) and Nikola Pekovic (Achilles). Minnesota wasn't all that good against big men with those two centers, but now that they are on the third-string, Vucevic is poised for a very big night. His numbers are rising steadily with a four game FPT line of 28.6-34.4-39.3-41.7 and seem almost probable to continue the rise against the Western conference's worst team.
