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Nine games are on the NBA schedule for Friday, including the Houston Rockets continuing their road trip with a game against the Denver Nuggets. From a FanDuel point of view it's clear why this game would generate such interest: the presence of James Harden, who in Thursday's double overtime win over Golden State posted his fourth triple-double of the season. Harden ($11,500) finished the game with 29 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, one blocked shot and seven turnovers, good for a total of 65.5 FanDuel points. While the turnover count is higher than one would want from their primary decision-maker, Harden more than makes up for it with his contributions in other areas.
With that kind of performance coming against the star-studded Warriors, tonight's game against the 7-11 Nuggets sets up as one where Harden could do even better, right? While there is the factor of playing at altitude to be considered, especially in the second game of a back-to-back, Harden's performed well in the two prior back-to-back setups this season. After putting up 41 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds against Cleveland on November 1, Harden followed that up with 30 points, 15 assists and six rebounds in a win over the Knicks. And in the second back-to-back for the Rockets, Harden accounted for 26 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds against Portland on November 17 after struggling the day prior at Oklahoma City (13 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds).
That's just something to consider when putting together your roster for tonight's games. Here are our FanDuel picks for Friday, working within the rules of a nine-player roster with a $60,000 salary cap. Some statistics on these slides are from Basketball Reference. (Getty)