After a night in which only four games were on the NBA schedule, there will be ten games for FanDuel participants to pick their rosters from on Friday. Among the teams in action is Cleveland, which has lost four of its last five games entering Friday's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. With Cleveland there are three clear options from a fantasy standpoint: LeBron James ($10,800), Kyrie Irving ($8,400) and Kevin Love ($7,900). And given Brooklyn's defensive struggles, as they're last in the NBA in scoring defense and 28th in defensive rating, Friday sets up as a night when it may be wise to add at least one of the three aforementioned Cavaliers to your roster.
In the most recent meeting between the two teams, a 116-108 Cleveland victory on January 6, all three enjoyed productive nights. James scored a game-high 36 points with Irving adding 32, and Love posted a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Both James and Irving exceeded their respective FanDuel averages on that night, with Love falling nearly five points below his average of 36.8 FanDuel points per game. While James has the FanDuel price tag that would result in a team being built around him, both Irving and Love have cap numbers that can provide a little more flexibility when it comes to how the $60,000 is cap room is used.
Here are our FanDuel picks for Friday's games, using the rules of a $60,000 salary cap and a nine-player roster. Stats from Basketball Reference and Rotowire were used in putting this roster together. (Getty)
PG: Damian Lillard, Portland
Opponent: vs. Memphis
Price: $8,200
Not making an All-Star team can have an impact on players. While some may allow the situation to become a negative, others use it as fuel to make the rest of the league recognize that a mistake was made. In the case of Lillard, he's used slights as motivation throughout his career and to good effect. Memphis is one of the NBA's best defensive teams, and in both Mike Conley (who also had a good argument for being an All-Star) and Tony Allen they have the individual defenders capable of making life difficult for Lillard and C.J. McCollum. That being said, look for Lillard to put forth a quality performance at home. (Getty)
PG: Jrue Holiday, New Orleans
Opponent: vs. San Antonio
Price: $6,800
Averaging 30.7 FanDuel points per game this season, Holiday has exceeded that number in three of his last four games. Included in that run is the 62.2 FanDuel points he tallied in New Orleans' win over Cleveland Monday night. With Anthony Davis' status for tonight's game uncertain, Holiday could have even more to do offensively as the Pelicans' starting point guard. The Spurs will be a tough matchup, and Holiday did struggle in the last meeting between the two teams. But more weight should be given to how Holiday has played recently than what happened in mid-December. (Getty)
SG: Dion Waiters, Miami
Opponent: at Chicago
Price: $6,200
While Waiters was unable to score 33 points for a third consecutive game in his last outing, he did make it three straight games in which he's scored 40 FanDuel points or more. Against the Nets on Wednesday, Waiters accounted for 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds, and over the last three games he's shot 61.4 percent from the field while averaging 30.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. (Getty)
SG: Norman Powell, Toronto
Opponent: vs. Milwaukee
Price: $4,200
Averaging only 11.2 FanDuel points per game this season, Powell tallied 29.8 and 31.0 points in the Raptors' last two games as the team was without starting shooting guard DeMar DeRozan (ankle). And with DeRozan declared out for tonight's game against the Bucks, Powell will once again see an increase in minutes. In games against San Antonio and Memphis, Powell played an average of 36 minutes per game and accounted for 18.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. (Getty)
SF: LeBron James, Cleveland
Opponent: vs. Brooklyn
Price: $10,800
Given James' recent airing of grievances regarding the Cavaliers' roster makeup and what the front office was (or was not) doing, this sets up as a game where he explodes offensively. Not just because of those back and forth between he and the front office, but also because of the fact that tonight's opponent is one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. In Cleveland's win over the Nets on January 6, James racked up 36 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. (Getty)
SF: Robert Covington, Philadelphia
Opponent: vs. Houston
Price: $5,600
Covington's 25 FanDuel point night against Milwaukee on Wednesday ended a streak of three straight games in which he scored 31 FanDuel points or more. Averaging just over 23 FanDuel points per game on the season, Covington's been a productive supplementary option for the 76ers whether or not starting center Joel Embiid is one the court to draw attention from opposing defenses. And with Houston coming to town, this is a matchup where Covington could enjoy some success because of the Rockets' desire for a more free-flowing game. (Getty)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Markieff Morris
PF: Taj Gibson, Chicago
Opponent: vs. Miami
Price: $4,600
Things aren't going too well in the Windy City these days, with Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade calling out their teammates following Wednesday's loss to the Hawks and Rajon Rondo returning the favor on Thursday via his Instagram account. So who knows what's going to happen Friday night against the Heat. Gibson will start, and the hope is that he'll continue to work his way out of a slump that began in Atlanta last Friday. Gibson's scored no more than seven points in any of the last four games, with his highest FanDuel point total being 21.5. (Getty)
C: Nikola Vucevic, Orlando
Opponent: at Boston
Price: $6,600
In his lone game against the Celtics this season, Vucevic accounted for 12 points, ten rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 30-point loss. While the Magic are 2-9 over the last 11 games Vucevic has been productive, averaging 15.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest. Boston's struggled defensively this season, which could open things up for Vucevic tonight. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for January 27