While all eight scheduled contests do appear on tonight’s DraftKings NBA featured slate, there’s also a three-game slate that tips-off at 10:00 p.m. ET with a $20,000 first place prize. Who doesn’t love a lil’ more DFS on a Friday, right?
Let’s dive in and find some studs and values for you night owls.
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Guard
Stud
James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers vs. New York Knicks, $9,800 – I’m not expecting another 50-piece from Harden, as Kawhi Leonard ($7,800) will be back in action on Friday, but Harden should carry a pretty hefty offensive load with Norman Powell (hamstring) still sidelined. Since February 13, Harden is in possession of a 31.3% usage rate and he’s averaging 1.31 FPTS per minute logged. It’s a nine-game stretch where Harden has also managed to exceed 55 FPTS four times, including 67.0 FPTS on Wednesday against Detroit. Meanwhile, the Knicks are allowing 118.1 opponent points per 100 possessions across their last 15 matchups. Look for Harden to thrive once again.
Value
Miles McBride, New York Knicks at Los Angeles Clippers, $4,200 – We don’t have a large sample of McBride starting games in 2024-25. In fact, he’s done it just once: February 20 against the Bulls. Still, McBride was amazing that night, going off for 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 42.3 minutes of action — it’s nice to see Tom Thibodeau treats all this starters the same, right? All in all, McBride wound up with 49.5 FPTS that evening. Fast forward to tonight. While nothing is yet official, it seems like Jalen Brunson (ankle) is going to miss at least a couple games after sustaining an injury in Thursday’s OT loss to the Lakers. That should open the door for McBride’s second start of the season. If that’s the case, he’s simply too cheap.
Forward
Stud
DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs, $7,500 – The Kings remain in a tough spot on Friday, as both Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Malik Monk (toe) continue to be ruled out. That was also the case in Wednesday’s loss to the Nuggets. A night where Doug Christie essentially used a seven-man rotation while asking DeRozan and Zach LaVine ($8,200) to each play well over 40 minutes. DeRozan responded with 35 points on 32 field goal attempts. That translated into an eye-popping 36.4% usage rate. The former All-Star added six rebounds and five assists, as well. If DeRozan sees a similar role this evening, he should do some serious damage against an uptempo Spurs team that sits 24th in defensive rating over its last 10 games (117.8).
Value
Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings, $4,600 – Johnson is never going to be the most consistent asset in the world coming off the bench for the Spurs, but he has been one of the key pieces to step-up in the wake of Victor Wembanyama’s absence. Since the All-Star break, Johnson’s managed at least 24 FPTS in six of his eight contests, maximizing a 21.7% usage rate and an impressive .697 true shooting percentage. It’s a span where Johnson is also averaging a respectable 1.05 FPTS per minute. So long as his price tag stays under $5,000, he’s viable on any slate.
Center
Stud
Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks at Los Angeles Clippers, $9,900 – With the aforementioned Brunson unlikely to suit up on Friday, the Knicks will need a huge performance from Towns if they have any hope of leaving Los Angeles with a win. This season, Towns has seen his usage rate balloon from 24.3% when sharing the floor with Brunson to 33.2% with him off it. As you can imagine, that isn’t empty volume, either. Towns averages a gargantuan 1.63 FPTS per minute in such scenarios. All of New York’s starters did play a lot of minutes on Thursday, so there’s a chance the injury report gets a little funky on the second night of a back-to-back. However, if Towns is available, he’s one of this slate’s top options.
Value
Nick Richards, Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets, $4,900 – There isn’t a lot of true value at the center position on this small slate, though Richards does provide a decent mix of floor and ceiling. Despite starting, Richards is only averaging 23.3 minutes per game since being traded to the Suns, yet he’s recently tended to make good on his limited opportunities. In his last four starts, Richards is producing 1.06 FPTS per minute and he’s registered two double-doubles. His best performance in this stretch came last Friday versus the Pelicans, with Richards collecting 19 points, 12 rebounds and 39.5 FPTS. Denver is a much tougher matchup, but Richards still needs consideration.
