With only five games on the NBA schedule for Thursday, the pickings are a bit slim for FanDuel participants. The good news for those looking to pick up a win is that there are still some quality players to choose from, even if there isn't anyone with a cap number at or above the $10,000 mark. Golden State forward Kevin Durant ($9,600) is the most expensive player in action Thursday, with Miami center Hassan Whiteside ($9,300) and L.A. Clippers guard Chris Paul ($9,200) being the others with cap numbers above $9,000. In the case of Paul, FanDuel players will have to weigh the impact that not having Blake Griffin (right knee) in the lineup has on the point guard's numbers.
Last season the Clippers went 30-15 without their starting power forward, who was sidelined for many of those games with a quadriceps injury. This season the Clippers have played two games without Griffin, a loss to the Nets on November 29 and a win over the Pelicans on December 10. In both of those games Paul's posted high FanDuel point totals, racking up 59.5 points against the Nets and 62.0 points against the Pelicans. No Griffin usually means that Paul's job as the point guard becomes of even greater importance than it already is, as the Clippers have to find quality shots without their best scoring option. Complicating matters Thursday is that the opponent is San Antonio, which limited Paul to 36.6 points on November 5. But given how good of a point guard Paul is, there's a better chance of him producing a big night than faltering.
Here are our lineup picks for Thursday's games, working with a nine-players roster and a $60,000 salary cap. (Getty)
PG: Derrick Rose, New York
Opponent: vs. Orlando
Price: $6,400
Averaging 28 FanDuel points per game on the season, Rose tallied 37.8 points in New York's win over Indiana Tuesday night. After missing two straight games due to back spasms, Rose finished with 24 points (9-for-18 FG), six assists, four rebounds and two blocks. When Rose is playing efficiently alongside Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks become a tougher team for opponents to stop. Thursday night the Knicks take on an Orlando team that's ranked 13th in points allowed per game (102.8) and 18th in defensive rating (107.5), meaning that this could be another good night for Rose and company. (Getty)
PG: D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Opponent: at Miami
Price: $5,900
Russell has played in 27 and 26 minutes in his last two games, with head coach Luke Walton slowly working him back into the rotation following his return from a knee injury. In those contests, with a night off for the Lakers' game against Cleveland sandwiched in between, Russell's accounted for 28.4 (at Philadelphia) and 30.5 (at Charlotte) FanDuel points. Russell is also no longer under a minutes restriction, with that being lifted in advance of the game against the Hornets Tuesday night, so he should at the very least meet his season average of 25.6 minutes per contest. Goran Dragic is a tough matchup defensively, but that shouldn't impact Russell negatively on the other end of the floor. (Getty)
SG: Klay Thompson, Golden State
Opponent: vs. Detroit
Price: $6,400
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made the decision to rest Thompson for Tuesday's game against the Heat, taking advantage of the fact that Golden State was up against a team hit hard by injury. Under the assumption that the rest will be beneficial, Thompson becomes an even better option than he already was with his price tag. The concern with Thompson from a fantasy standpoint has been what can he provide outside of scoring, and in four of his last six outings he's grabbed at least five rebounds. If he can continue to do that, Thompson is an even greater bargain. (Getty)
SG: Sean Kilpatrick, Brooklyn
Opponent: vs. Golden State
Price: $5,000
Speaking of the aforementioned matchup between the Warriors and Nets, Kilpatrick may be worth the risk despite Golden State being ranked second in the NBA in defensive rating (103.2). The Warriors are 15th in points allowed per game, which has more to do with the tempo at which they play (third in pace) than any "failings" on the defensive end of the floor. Averaging 15.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game on the season, Kilpatrick does enter tonight's game having scored a total of 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field over the last two games. But with this matchup comes the opportunity to get up a lot of shots, and frankly the Nets are going to need a big night from Kilpatrick if they're to entertain any thoughts of winning this game. (Getty)
SF: Kevin Durant, Golden State
Opponent: at Brooklyn
Price: $9,600
All in on the Warriors tonight. As noted in the Thompson slide the Nets are a bad defensive team, which should bode well for Durant not only because of his skill level but for how efficient he's been this season. Averaging 25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, Durant's player efficiency rating (PER) of 28.0 is third in the NBA behind Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis. He's also been impactful on the defensive end, leading the Warriors in blocks and ranking third in steals (1.2 spg). (Getty)
SF: Jae Crowder, Dallas
Opponent: at Indiana
Price: $5,500
Averaging 24.8 FanDuel points per game, Crowder will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the defensive end of the floor Thursday night. Why? Because the matchup with the Pacers means that he'll be seeing a lot of Indiana's star wing Paul George. Crowder didn't play in the first meeting between the two teams, a 105-99 Celtics victory on November 12 as he was sidelined with a high ankle sprain (George was out as well with a sprained ankle). Crowder isn't an "elite" defender but he's solid on that end of the floor, and with George in the middle of a stretch in which he's scored 22 points or more in seven of the last nine games this will be an important matchup. As a result, taking Crowder with the hope that he'll have a significant impact isn't a bad idea given the salary cap number. (Getty)
PF: Kristaps Porzingis, New York
Opponent: at Indiana
Price: $7,000
The time missed with a sore Achilles tendon has done Porzingis no favors, and he's in the midst of a run of five straight games in which he's scored below his FanDuel season average of 33.6 points per game. Porzingis is averaging 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game against the Pacers this season, with FanDuel point totals of 35.1 and 30.3 in those matchups. This game could be just what Porzingis needs to get back on the right track. (Getty)
San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Myles Turner, Indiana
Opponent: vs. Brooklyn
Price: $6,700
After a stretch of four consecutive games in which he failed to score at least 30 FanDuel points, Turner has surpassed that mark in each of the last two games. In his most recent outing, a five-point win over Detroit, Turner accounted for 17 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Turner has been solid in Indiana's two prior meetings with the Nets this season, averaging 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for December 22