Friday features a seven-game main slate starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
You can also use our SimLabs Lineup Generator, a tool that creates the most user-friendly lineup generation process.
Note: Projections and Leverage Scores/Ratings may change throughout the day after this article is posted. The NBA DFS landscape changes quickly.
Consult the NBA Player Models directly for any updates as we get closer to lock.
NBA DFS Point Guard Picks
Stud
The Nuggets are still trying to survive without Nikola Jokic. The team has gone 3-2 since losing the star big man to injury, and they did get some reinforcements back recently. Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon have suited up in two of the team’s past three games, and both players are listed as probable for Friday’s matchup vs. the Hawks.
Still, Jamal Murray is the force driving the Nuggets’ offense at the moment. He’s posted a positive Plus/Minus in four of his past five games, and he’s scored at least 56.5 DraftKings points in three straight. Overall, he’s increased his production to 1.36 DraftKings points per minute in his four games with Jokic sidelined.
Murray should be able to keep the production rolling on Friday. He leads all point guards with 12 Pro Trends, and the Hawks stand out as an above-average matchup. The Nuggets are implied for 117.75 points, which is the third-best mark on the main slate.
Value
After picking up a much-needed win on Wednesday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been ruled out for Friday’s contest vs. the Grizzlies. He’ll be joined on the sidelines by Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Cason Wallace, while Alex Caruso is listed as questionable. That’s going to open up plenty of minutes and shot attempts for the rest of the roster.
Ajay Mitchell figures to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. He’s produced at an elite level recently, averaging 1.11 DraftKings points per minute over the past month, but finding consistent playing time isn’t easy in Oklahoma City. Mitchell has still managed to post an average Plus/Minus of +4.98 across his past 10 outings despite playing 28.6 minutes or fewer in nine of them.
Mitchell got to 33 minutes in his last contest, and he responded with 34.5 DraftKings points. He’s projected for another 33 minutes on Friday, and he can do a lot of damage with that much playing time. He’s averaged 1.09 DraftKings points per minute with Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren off the floor this season.
Fast Break
The Wizards made a big move recently, sending C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert to the Hawks in exchange for Trae Young. However, there have been reports that Young might not play much in his first season in Washington as the team looks to protect its first-round draft pick. The Knicks would secure the Wizards’ pick in 2026, but only if it falls outside the top eight. It should mean plenty of minutes for Bub Carrington on Friday. He’s currently projected for 32 minutes at $4,900, and he’s averaged just under a fantasy point per minute over the past month. Players with comparable salaries and minute projections have historically averaged a Plus/Minus of +2.05, and Carrington has personally averaged a Plus/Minus of +3.54 in that split (per the Trends tool).
Miles McBride is another solid value target at $4,400. He’s played a bunch for the Knicks recently, including 33.5 minutes in their last outing. He responded with 29.25 DraftKings points in that contest, and he’s averaged 0.97 DraftKings points per minute over the past month. McBride is projected for another 31 minutes on Friday, so he’s simply too cheap.
Don’t forget to check out our NBA SimLabs Lineup Generator to create advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation:
NBA DFS Shooting Guard Picks
Stud
Devin Booker hasn’t been at his best recently. He’s averaged a Plus/Minus of -4.03 over his past 10 games, and he’s coming off back-to-back contests with fewer than 31 DraftKings points.
That creates a bit of buy-low appeal for Friday’s matchup vs. the Knicks. Booker’s price tag has dipped from $9,100 earlier this week to $8,400, and he’s still one of the best producers at his position. He leads all shooting guards in ceiling projection for Friday’s slate, and he ranks fifth in projected Plus/Minus. The Knicks are a solid opponent, ranking as a below-average defensive team this season.
Value
Tre Johnson should also get more opportunities to shine for the Wizards moving forward. The No. 6 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft hasn’t had issues scoring the ball at this level. He’s averaged 12.3 points in just 23.9 minutes per game while shooting 45.6% from the field and 39.7% from 3-point range.
Johnson has been on a nice tear recently, posting an average Plus/Minus of +5.27 over his past 10 games. He got up to 28.1 minutes in his last outing, and he responded with 32.25 DraftKings points vs. the 76ers. Johnson is projected for 28 minutes Friday vs. the Pelicans, and he’s averaged 0.96 DraftKings points per minute over the past month.
Johnson has the potential to improve upon his per-minute production with McCollum sidelined, and this stands out as one of the best games of the day for fantasy purposes. It leads the main slate with a 242.0-point total, while the Pelicans are just 2.5-point road favorites.
Fast Break
Isaiah Joe should also see a bump in responsibilities for the Thunder on Friday. Joe doesn’t get the opportunity to play much on a regular basis, but he’s capable of taking advantage when he does. He’s currently projected for 23.5 minutes in our NBA Models, and Joe has historically averaged a Plus/Minus of +2.88 with a comparable salary and minute projection. He leads all shooting guards in projected Plus/Minus.
The Celtics had their winning streak snapped in their last game, but they’ve still won eight of their past 10 outings. Derrick White has been a big reason for their recent success. He’s averaged 1.17 DraftKings points per minute over the past month, and he’s had three games with more than 50 DraftKings points in his past 10. He’s another potential pay-up option at the position on a slate with plenty of value targets.
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NBA DFS Small Forward Picks
Stud
It’s hard to look past Jalen Williams at the top of the small forward position. With Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Hartenstein sidelined, Williams is going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting for the Thunder offense. He hasn’t been asked to do that very often this season, but it’s something he’s definitely capable of. He was a third-team All-NBA selection last season, averaging 21.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Williams hasn’t seen a ton of court time without SGA this season, but he’s been dominant when he has. He’s logged 48 minutes with Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren on the sidelines, and his usage rate has spiked to greater than 42% in that split. His fantasy production increases to 1.40 DraftKings points per minute, and while that’s on the high side of what you can expect on Friday, it’s within the realm of possibility.
Williams leads all small forward in projected Plus/Minus, and he’s No. 2 in ceiling and median projection. He’s just slightly behind Kawhi Leonard in those areas, despite Leonard costing an additional $2,300. He should be the highest-owned player on the slate, but he’s a very tough fade.
Value
Bilal Coulibaly has been slightly forgotten about for the Wizards this season. That said, he still might be their most appealing long-term prospect. Coulibaly is still just 21 years old, and he’s shown nice flashes across his first three seasons.
He’s started to put his upside on display in recent games. He’s scored at least 36.5 DraftKings points in four of his past eight games, and he reached 34.1 minutes two games ago. That was his second-highest output of the season.
Coulibaly has averaged 1.03 DraftKings points per minute over the past month, so the prospect of him playing 30+ minutes is pretty exciting. That’s especially true in a juicy matchup vs. the Pelicans.
Fast Break
If Caruso suits up, he’s another potential value option for OKC. He’s priced at just $3,700, so he wouldn’t need a ton of minutes to have some appeal. He’s averaged 0.94 DraftKings points per minute over the past month, and he’s currently projected for 22 minutes in our NBA Models.
R.J. Barrett has been playing well for the Rockets since returning from injury. He’s scored at least 35.5 DraftKings points in three straight games, including 40.75 in his last outing. He hit 35.1 minutes in that contest, and he’s averaged 1.18 DraftKings points per minute over the past month. He ranks second at the position with nine Pro Trends, and he’s underpriced if he’s going to continue to play that much moving forward.
NBA DFS Power Forward Picks
Stud
Power forward stands out as one of the weaker positions to spend up at on Friday. Each of the eight priciest options has a negative Plus/Minus projection on DraftKings.
It makes Derik Queen an interesting pivot. He was a pretty significant disappointment in his last game, finishing with 29.0 DraftKings points in 18.6 minutes. He was still fantastic on a per-minute basis, but his playing time simply fell off a cliff. Queen had logged 31.7 and 29.6 minutes in his two previous outings, so slipping to less than 20 minutes was a massive reduction.
Hopefully, Queen’s workload returns to normal on Friday. That’s what we’re expecting, with Queen currently projected for 28.5 minutes in our NBA Models. If that happens, he has massive potential at just $6,200 vs. the Wizards. His price tag comes with a 96% Bargain Rating, while the Pelicans have the top implied team total on the slate.
Value
The top projected Plus/Minus at power forward belongs to Aaron Wiggins. Wiggins hasn’t had the best start to his season, averaging fewer points, rebounds, and assists per game than he did last year. Still, Wiggins is an extremely talented player. He’s capable of starting for a handful of teams across the league, but the Thunder’s depth makes his role a bit more volatile on a night-to-night basis.
Given the team’s current injury situation, that shouldn’t be an issue on Friday. Wiggins has seen a slight bump in production with Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren off the floor this season (0.84 DraftKings points per minute), and he’s currently projected for 28 minutes in our NBA Models. Wiggins has historically averaged a Plus/Minus of +6.83 with a comparable salary and minute projection, so he’s another elite value target for the Thunder on this slate.
Fast Break
Khris Middleton is another phenomenal value option. He’s not expected to see a huge spike in playing time with McCollum and Kispert out of the picture, but he should see more usage when he is on the floor. Middleton is coming off 25.75 DraftKings points across 22.5 minutes in his last outing, and he’s averaged 0.91 DraftKings points per minute over the past month.
Jalen Johnson has cooled off just a smidge recently. He’s posted a negative Plus/Minus in back-to-back games, but he had at least 50.0 DraftKings points in 10 of his previous 11 outings. He leads the position in ceiling projection, and he could get back on track Friday vs. the Nuggets.
NBA DFS Center Picks
Stud
Karl-Anthony Towns is down to just $8,100, which stands out as a bit of an outlier. He was priced as high as $9,200 within the past two weeks, and his current salary comes with a 98% Bargain Rating. Towns has historically averaged a Plus/Minus of +2.12 with a comparable price tag, so he’s an interesting buy-low candidate.
Towns ranks second at the position in ceiling projection, and he’s just slightly behind Joel Embiid for the top spot. Embiid is a bit more expensive, making Towns the best pure value among the high-priced options.
Value
In addition to all their other absences, the Thunder will also be down Jaylin Williams on Friday. That leaves them without their top three centers.
Branden Carlson should see a nice uptick in playing time in their absence. He’s currently projected for 26 minutes vs. the Grizzlies at a very affordable $3,500. Carlson has averaged 0.97 DraftKings points per minute over the past month, and he finished with 37.25 DraftKings points in his last game with more than 20 minutes. He also had 24.25 DraftKings points in 19.7 minutes vs. the Blazers five games ago, so he can certainly pay off his current salary.
Fast Break
If you’re not going with Queen in the frontcourt, pivoting to Vyes Missi makes a lot of sense. The two players have a correlation of -0.36, so one tends to succeed at the expense of the other. Missi ultimately saw more minutes than Queen in their last outing, and while Missi didn’t take advantage, he has averaged 1.02 DraftKings points per minute over the past month.Neemias Queta is another potential value target. He’s turned in back-to-back solid performances, finishing with 31.0 DraftKings points vs. the Nuggets and 35.75 DraftKings points vs. the Bulls. The Raptors aren’t nearly as friendly a matchup, but Queta arguably has a bit more upside than the other value centers on this slate.
Pictured: Jalen Williams
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
