This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
The NBA has 10 games on tap for Friday night, several of which shape up to be fantasy friendly. The Jazz appear to have a plum matchup against the Nets at home, the Celtics face their historic rivals and the Lakers tend to give up a lot of fantasy points, and the Thunder are coming off a bitter loss to the Trail Blazers on Thursday and get to send Russell Westbrook out to face a Suns defense that is terrible against point guards. Plus, there are still a lot of value plays among guys whose values changed with trades or injuries.
GUARDS
Jordan Clarkson, LAL vs BOS ($12): Clarkson has benefitted from the trade that sent Lou Williams to the Rockets, scoring at least 14 points in all three games with an average of 26.7 fantasy points in almost 30 minutes per game. On Friday, he faces a Celtics defense that has allowed the 16th-most fantasy points to the position this season.
Malcolm Brogdon, MIL vs LAC ($14): Brogdon has been on the rise, moving into the starting lineup over Matthew Dellavedova and averaging 30.2 fantasy points per game in his last three. He'll now match up against a tough but beatable Clippers defense that will be focused much more on stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo than they will Brogdon.
Guard to Avoid
Jrue Holiday, NO vs SA ($34): Holiday seems to be having the most difficulty with the addition of DeMarcus Cousins. In the four games before the trade, Holiday averaged 42.1 fantasy points per game. In the four games since the trade, he has averaged only 25.8 fantasy points, and a paltry 23.6 fantasy points in the three games that he's played with Cousins. The Pelicans will likely figure it out, and Holiday will find his level, but the odds aren't great that it happens against a strong Spurs defense.
FORWARDS
T.J. Warren, PHO vs OKC ($17): This spot almost went to Gordon Hayward ($35), who is worth strong consideration against the worst defense in the NBA. Ultimately, Warren earned the spot because in the four games since the trade that sent P.J. Tucker to Toronto, Warren has averaged almost as many fantasy points (30.6 average, min 27.7 fantasy points) as Hayward in his last four outings (36.2 average, min 27.3 fantasy points) but at less than half the cost.
Dario Saric, PHI vs NY ($26): Even including his poor game in his last outing against the Heat, Saric is still averaging a robust 36.1 fantasy points per game over his last eight. He has 40-fantasy-point potential on Friday at home against a Knicks team that he burned for 19 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and a trey (41 fantasy points) last week in New York.
Forward to Avoid
LaMarcus Aldridge, SA at NO ($29): Aldridge is averaging 31.3 fantasy points per game this season, but he has only topped 30 fantasy points three times in his last 10 games. In his last outing he scored only six points with seven rebounds in almost 32 minutes against the Pacers. He has bigger numbers in him, and the Pelicans have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to power forwards this season, but they've tightened up to allow the 13th-fewest fantasy points to the position over the last five games, which coincides with the addition of Cousins.
CENTERS
Rudy Gobert, UTA vs BKN ($30): Gobert had a poor outing Wednesday against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves, but had scored at least 30 fantasy points in each of the 13 games before that. It makes him a good bounce-back candidate on Friday against a Nets defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to centers this season.
Alan Williams, PHO vs OKC ($10): Williams had 16 points, 12 rebounds and two combined blocks/steals on the Hornets on Thursday, two games after he dropped 17 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and four combined blocks/steals on the Bucks. Overall, he is averaging 32.8 fantasy points in about 27 minutes over the three games since the Suns made him a big part of their rotation.
Center to Avoid
Brook Lopez, BKN at UTA ($29): Lopez is averaging 33.5 fantasy points per game on the season, but in his last five outings he has only reached that mark once. He did so in explosive fashion with 63.3 fantasy points against the Bucks right before the All-Star break, but his general level has been lower than his average. Add in that his Friday opponents, the Jazz, are one of the best defenses in the league and have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to centers, and the odds don't favor a great performance for Lopez on Friday.
