DraftKings’ main slate for Thursday includes all six games on tonight’s NBA schedule. Below, I dive into three of my favorite DFS options to consider for this slate.
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PF LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors, $10,800
With Anthony Davis now with the Mavericks and Luka Doncic (calf) unavailable to make his Lakers debut, James should put on a show tonight vs. the Warriors. With Davis absent for the last two, James has looked like his former MVP self, scoring 68.25 FPTS vs. the Knicks and 55.25 FPTS vs. the Clippers. Neither of these were easy matchups and the Lakers won both of these contests with James being the focal point. With a 34.5% usage rate, which is a 4.9 percentage point lift from his season average, James is leading Los Angeles with 56.6 FPTS per game with Davis inactive or off the roster this season (six games).
The Warriors rank ninth in defensive efficiency in 2024-25, but they are going to be very shorthanded for the second game in a row. Golden State traded away Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder and Kyle Anderson last night in a multi-team deal that landed them Jimmy Butler, who will not be available to make his Warriors debut tonight. Following this blockbuster trade, the depleted Warriors faced the Jazz on Wednesday and allowed this tanking Utah team to score 131 points. Led by James, the Lakers should flourish in this spot and the superstar is a building block for all formats at his sub $11K salary.
PG/SG Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers, $4,400
Opposite of James, Podziesmski is an elite value play from the shorthanded Warriors. With Golden State missing three key players following the Butler trade last night, Podziemski started and posted 45.5 FPTS in a team-high 39 minutes. Furthermore, the guard saw a 26.2% usage rate, which ranked second only to Stephen Curry ($8,200).
Jonathan Kuminga (ankle) also remains out and in the 145 minutes that Podziemski has played without Kuminga, Wiggins, Schroder and Anderson this season, Podizemski is averaging 1.2 FPTS per minute. As one of their youngest players, Podizemski is guaranteed to see 35-40 minutes again tonight and he should destroy his cheap salary with this heavy volume.
PG James Harden, Los Angles Clippers vs. Indiana Pacers, $9,000
Coming off a quiet 27.75 FPTS showing vs. the Lakers, Harden shouldn’t be popular tonight and this is an awesome bounce-back spot for the former MVP with the Pacers in town. Indiana ranks 18th in defensive efficiency and ninth in possessions per 48 minutes, which is a huge pace upgrade for this Clippers team that ranks 21st in the metric. Playing at a faster tempo bodes extremely well for a versatile guard like Harden and Los Angeles carries the second-highest implied team total on the slate at 116.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Harden is generating 1.3 FPTS per minute with a 30.5% usage rate and 36.5% assist percentage this season. On the three occasions he has played behind an implied team total of at least 115 points this season, Harden has been a stud with 58.3 FPTS per game.
