The NBA has a solid six-game main DFS fantasy basketball slate on Friday night to start the weekend out with some fun matchups. The first game two games tips at 7:00 p.m. ET, which is when the NBA DFS contests on DraftKings lock. Even with a slightly smaller slate, a few of the dozen teams in action stand out as strong options for NBA DFS stacks for this Friday. “Stacking” is the strategy of including multiple players from the same NBA team on the roster of your fantasy team to take advantage of a favorable matchup or game environment.
The Mavs, Nuggets, Rockets, Heat, Pelicans, Suns and Spurs are each playing for the second day in a row, so be sure to closely monitor the daily injury report throughout the day, since key players could be unavailable. Especially at this point in the season, be sure to check the latest injury news before tip-off and adjust your lineup if needed.
Set your DraftKings NBA DFS lineups here: NBA $200K Friday 8’s [$50K to 1st]
Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat
The Hornets are not playing for the second night in a row, and they are in a good pace-up spot against the Miami Heat, who play efficient defense but also give up points by giving up more possessions. The Heat have the highest Pace in the NBA for the season as well as over the last 15 games.
The Hornets have scored the third-most points per game in their last seven contests while going 7-1 and producing 121.4 points per game. With a rest advantage and plenty of possessions, they’ll be a strong stack in one of the early games, especially if Miami ops to rest any starters.
Core Plays: The Hornets are mostly healthy coming into this matchup, making the top of their rotation strong plays. LaMelo Ball ($8,700) is a little pricey but has an extremely high ceiling against the Heat, who have been beatable by point guards. Brandon Miller ($7,700) and Kon Knueppel ($7,200) both have nice upside as well, with Miller a slightly stronger play but Knueppel saving salary and still bringing nice upside. You could build around Miller and Knueppel if you find another option instead of Ball at point guard. Miller has 33+ FPTS in six straight games, including a high point of 50.75 FPTS against the Pacers. Moussa Diabate ($6,200) has also been a solid option with 33+ FPTS in four of his last five games, doing good work on the boards and on the defensive end.
Value Options: Coby White ($5,200) is finding his role with his new team and had 17 points and 30 FPTS in just 20 minutes against Boston on Wednesday. Josh Green ($3,500) and Sion James ($3,200) don’t typically get a ton of usage but do play meaningful minutes on the wing and can chip in solid bargain production to finish out the stack.
Phoenix Suns vs. New Orleans Pelicans
While the Pelicans aren’t the pushovers they were earlier in the season, they’re still a favorable spot to target the Suns as one of your NBA DFS stacks for Friday. The Suns are playing for a second day in a row, but both games have been at home, which should minimize the wear-and-tear on the roster. With Mark Williams back on the shelf for a few weeks and Dillon Brooks and Jordan Goodwin also out, plenty of usage should be available for some of the less expensive plays, while the top of the roster also gets a chance to step up.
The Pelicans rank in the top 10 in the NBA in fantasy points allowed per game to point guards, shooting guards, power forwards and centers, so there are plenty of places to attack in Friday night’s matchup.
Core Plays: Devin Booker ($8,300) had 31.5 and 42.5 FPTS in his two games since returning from injury and played 31 and 32 minutes. He has the potential to go off and post a huge numer a long as he’s ready to play both halves of this back-to-back. Collin Gillespie ($6,700) continues to help fill in with good production, and he’ll be looking to bounce back from a dismal 15 FPTS against the Bulls on Thursday. He shot only 1-for-6 from the field, but he was on a nice roll before that and should bounce back. Grayson Allen ($7,300) has battled injuries this season but has averaged 17.7 points and 31.8 FPTS when available, posting at least 37 FPTS in four of his last five games.
Value Options: With Williams out, Oso Ighodaro ($5,200) is a great play in the middle. He played 26 minutes against the Kings and had a double-double and 38.5 FPTS on Tuesday, and he followed that up with 10 points, nine rebounds, and 30.75 FPTS in an increased 36 minutes against the Bulls on Thursday. Ryan Dunn ($4,200) has 27.2 FPTS against the Bulls, while Amir Coffey ($3,300) and Khaman Maluach ($3,000) have also been getting more work in the second unit.
San Antonio Spurs vs. LA Clippers
The Spurs got a huge home win on Thursday against the Pistons, 121-106. They’ll finish their home back-to-back by hosting the Clippers on Friday night, and they’ll look to continue their momentum after winning 13 of their last 14. In those 14 games, they’ve averaged 122.4 points per game. Double-check the injury report when it comes out, since they sometimes get players some rest on the second game of back-to-backs, but whoever gets time should have upside.
Core Plays: The Spurs got a huge game from Victor Wembanyama ($10,500) on Friday, as he went off for 38 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks and 76 FPTS. He has over 42 FPTS in three straight and six of his last seven since the All-Star break. In the backcourt, De’Aaron Fox ($6,800) had a big game on Thursday with 29 points and 47.2 FPTS in 32 minutes, while Stephon Castle ($7,000) had his second straight double-double, posting 36.75 FPTS on Thursday in 35 minutes.
Value Options: The Spurs have some solid value plays under $5,000 as well, including Julian Champagnie ($4,700), who has over 27 FPTS in four of his last six and could get more work if anyone sits. Dylan Harper ($4,500) had a quieter game against the Pistons with Fox and Castle doing most of hte work, but he had over 27 FPTS in three of his previous four games, including a 22-point performance against the Sixers on Tuesday. With Harrison Barnes (ankle) out on Thursday, Keldon Johnson ($4,300) got more work and would be a good value once again if Barnes remains out. Carter Bryant ($3,400) has also been playing more meaningful minutes lately, playing 26 minutes and producing 27.75 FPTS against the Sixers and following that up with 20 minutes and 15 FPTS against the Clippers.
