The Pelicans face the Suns for the second night in a row on Friday after picking up a 124-116 win on Thursday night in Phoenix. While Zion Williamson led the way with a triple-double on Thursday, he won’t be available Friday due to conditioning, and he’ll be joined by CJ McCollum (rest) on the sidelines. While Trey Murphy III ($7,900) and Jose Alvarado ($5,900) will carry a huge portion of the offense, Karlo Matkovic ($4,500) will also have a chance to continue his recent emergence as a strong fantasy contributor. Matkovic is a solid fantasy value play on Friday’s eight game slate.
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PF/C Karlo Matkovic, New Orleans Pelicans at Phoenix Suns, $4,500
Matkovic played 36 minutes on Thursday while filling in for Kelly Olynyk (rest), who was out. Matkovic stepped up with 17 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, and 34 fantasy points. That was his third game in his last five with over 30 fantasy points.
In 10 games in February, he averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 assists in 24.2 minutes per game. He made three starts and finished with 28.75, 27.75 and 34 fantasy points.
With Zion out on Friday, he should get plenty of work even if Olynyk is back in the mix. In the one game that Zion missed this month, Matkovic played 27 minutes and finished with 31.25 fantasy points against the Kings.
The 23-year-old from Bosnia was a second-round pick in 2022, but is still in his first season in the NBA. He has shown some good upside when given extra work this month, and should help carry the load without Zion on Friday.
