The NBA wraps up another work week with a nice, five-game main DFS fantasy basketball slate on Friday night, including the four games that tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET and the 8:00 p.m. ET start time in Houston. From the 10 teams in the player pool, a few options stand out as great places to start your roster build for Friday. These matchups to attack are strong options to consider for your 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 maximum advantage of a favorable matchup or game environment.
At this point in the season, it’s critical to watch the daily injury report throughout the day, since key players could be unavailable. The Mavs, Pistons, Pacers, Grizzlies and Suns are each playing for the second day in a row, so their injury reports will be especially important to monitor. Based on what we know coming into the day, let’s find a few smash spots to build some NBA DFS stacks this Friday.
Set your DraftKings NBA DFS lineups here: NBA $200K Friday 8’s [$50K to 1st]
Detroit Pistons vs. Memphis Grizzlies
The Pistons rolled past the 76ers on Thursday and get a favorable home matchup against the Grizzlies on Friday. They have the second-highest implied team total on the main slate behind only the Cavaliers, and they should be a great option for NBA DFS stacks on Friday, even if it isn’t the usual core plays that make sense to build around.
The Pistons haven’t issued an injury report yet and could try to get some key players a night off. They have been without Ausar Thompson (ankle) for the last four games and Caris LeVert (wrist) for the last three games, and if both of those options remain out, it will open up nice value on the wing lower on the depth chart.
Core Plays: Cade Cunningham ($10,900) and Jalen Duren ($7,900) both have extremely high ceilings and played very few minutes in last night’s romp over the Sixers. Duren only needed 15 minutes to post a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards for 33 FPTS. He was limited my foul trouble, but if he gets his full workload Friday, he is my favorite Piston to build around, since he brings elite upside at a much more affordable salary than Cunningham, who may not need to be as aggressive in this matchup.
Value Options: Along with Duren, there are some strong value plays to consider from Detroit. Duncan Robinson ($4,300) has 15 points and 21+ FPTS in three of his last four games. Marcus Sasser ($3,900) has been getting more playing time with at least 19 minutes in the four games that Thompson has missed. He has averaged 17.8 FPTS per game during that run and brings upside in this great matchup. Ronald Holland II ($3,800) also has a high ceiling after scoring 16 and 15 points in his last two games with 22.75 and 18.75 FPTS. If Cunningham rests or plays a lighter load, Daniss Jenkins ($3,600) also makes sense and can go off for big games, as he showed with 28.2 and 35.75 FPTS in two of his last four games.
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have been another great team to attack with NBA DFS stacks this season, allowing 120.0 points per game on the season and 128.4 points per game over their last 10 games (all losses). The Pacers have played at the second-fastest Pace in the NBA over those 10 games, behind only the Heat. As a result, they’re giving up plenty of possessions for opposing teams to pile up points, setting up the Knicks for a big game in Indianapolis on Friday.
The Knicks listed Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,000) and Josh Hart ($6,100) as questionable for this contest, and if either or both are out, it would open up great value across the rest of the rotation with so much usage available.
Core Plays: If KAT is out, Jalen Brunson ($9,100) will carry the load. He has posted back-to-back games with exactly 28 points, four rebounds and eight assists, posting 46.5 FPTS against the Clippers and 51.5 FPTS against the Jazz. He could go wild with high usage against the Pacers, but if the game turns into a rout, he could have a lighter load. OG Anunoby ($6,800) went off for 63.2 FPTS against the Nuggets a week ago and has posted 26, 36, and 33 FPTS in his three games since then. He brings a lot of upside and gets a big boost if KAT sits.
Value Options: Without Josh Hart, Landry Shamet ($4,100) played 31 minutes on Wednesday, posting 19.2 FPTS. He has at least 14 FPTS in seven of his last eight games, bringing a high floor with a good ceiling if he gets more usage. Mitchell Robinson ($4,000) could start in place of Towns and had 28.8 FPTS against the Jazz on Wednesday. Jose Alvarado ($3,200) only needed 15 minutes to hand out seven dimes and 20 FPTS. Mohamed Diawara ($3,300) had 10 points in 15 minutes against the Jazz and is another bargain play who could go off if more minutes and usage come his way.
Toronto Raptors vs. Phoenix Suns
The Raptors catch the Suns on the second night of a back-to-back as they welcome them to Scotiabank Arena. Toronto has had multiple players dealing with illness recently, which could open up more usage and value for those available. Coming into the day, Scottie Barnes is questionable, along with Collin Murray-Boyles, who is questionable with a thumb sprain.
The Suns have won four games in a row, but they have allowed 109.25 points per game during that stretch. The Raptors have lost four of their last five, but they did post 122 points in their last home game, which was against the Mavs.
Core Plays: If Barnes sits or is less than 100%, Brandon Ingram ($8,100) will be a great core play to build a stack around. Ingram had 44 FPTS on Wednesday in a loss to his former team in New Orleans. He has reached 39+ FPTS in four of his last seven games, and if Barnes is out, his extra usage will give him a very high ceiling. Immanuel Quickley ($7,100) has 40+ FPTS in three of his last six as well, and is a little cheaper to build around, although his matchup is a tougher one since the Suns defend point guards better than wings.
Value Options: If Murray-Boyles is out, Jakob Poeltl ($5,700) and Sandro Mamukelashvili ($4,300) will have more usage and a higher ceiling. Poeltl had 41.5 FPTS against the Mavs on Sunday, and has delivered 29+ FPTS in four of the last six. If Barnes is out along with Murray-Boyles, Jonathan Mogbo ($3,000) and Jamison Battle ($3,000) are bargains who have upside at forward. Ja’Kobe Walter ($3,200) could also get a little more work and has shown boom-or-bust potential when given more minutes.
