This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are eight games Sunday, but three of them are early (DAL at BKN 12:00 PM ET, BOS at PHI 1:00, PHO at DET 4:30) and FanDuel's "main" contests are for the later five games. The article below will focus on those five games, which feature two very fantasy-friendly matchups, two tough but competitive games, and one battle of superstar big men from the University of Kentucky. If the veterans play, the Cavaliers and Spurs should have friendly matchups against poor Lakers and Kings defenses. The Pacers at the Raptors feels like a tough matchup, and the Trail Blazers have excellent guard play but the Heat have a tough perimeter defense. But the matchup of the night happens in New Orleans, where Karl-Anthony Towns gets to try his hand against both of his superstar UK big brother big men in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. Hopefully Cousins is healthy enough to play Sunday so the UK bigs summit can occur.
DeMar DeRozan, TOR vs IND ($8800): DeRozan has averaged 25 points, 5.8 boards, 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals in the 12 games since the All-Star break. In his last game he had a down outing against the Pistons, but still scored 14 points with eight rebounds and six assists. On Sunday, he'll face a Pacers defense that has allowed the 13th most fantasy points to shooting guards this season.
Goran Dragic, MIA vs POR ($7800): Dragic has come back from his eye injury with two straight big games, averaging 26 points with six assists, five rebounds and two steals. On Sunday, he'll face a Trail Blazers defense that has allowed the fourth most fantasy points to point guards in the last 10 games.
Josh Richardson, MIA vs POR ($4100): Richardson has gotten 30-plus minutes in two of his last three games due to injuries. Dion Waiters is out again Sunday, which means that Richardson should get big minutes against a Trail Blazers defense that has allowed the ninth most fantasy points to guards in the last 10 games.
Anthony Davis, NO vs MIN ($11,400): Davis played without DeMarcus Cousins on Friday, and responded with 24 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in a 16-point win over the Rockets. On Sunday, he'll face a Timberwolves defense that he torched for 42 points, 13 rebounds and two assists when he last faced them just over a month ago.
Paul George, IND at TOR ($8400): George is on a seven-game tear, averaging 28.3 points with 8.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals in those outings. On Sunday, he'll face a tough but beatable Raptors defense that has allowed the 10th fewest fantasy points to small forwards in the last 10 games.
Brandon Ingram, LAL vs CLE ($4400): Ingram has scored in double-figures in seven straight games, averaging 14 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks over that span. On Sunday, he'll potentially have a tough physical matchup that pits his thin frame against the human tank that is LeBron James. But Ingram has shown that he can physically play big minutes, which allows him to produce enough to be worthy of his price tag.
Hassan Whiteside, MIA vs POR ($8800): Whiteside has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 15 straight games, over which he has averaged 16.3 points, 15.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. On Sunday, he'll face big Jusuf Nurkic and a Trail Blazers defense that has allowed the 13th fewest fantasy points to centers but doesn't have anyone both big and athletic enough to prevent Whiteside from producing.
Jusuf Nurkic, POR at MIA ($6300): Nurkic has bounced back strong from a demoralizing performance against DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis on Tuesday, posting back-to-back strong outings against strong fronlines in San Antonio and Atlanta. He'll get another big frontline Sunday, his fourth in a row, in Hassan Whiteside and a Heat defense that has allowed the 14th most fantasy points to centers on the season, but the third fewest in the last 10 games.
Ivica Zubac, LAL vs CLE ($4300): Zubac has only had one poor game in his last five outings, and bounced back from that with 18 points and eight rebounds Friday. On the whole, he has averaged 15 points with seven rebounds in his last three games during which period he was named the starter. On Sunday, he'll face a Cavaliers defense that has allowed the eighth most fantasy points to centers in the last 10 games.
