The NBA has a four-game schedule on Thursday, a pretty average number for Thursdays. The Bucks vs. the Pelicans shapes up as the most fantasy-friendly game of the night to me, as both teams should be able to score. The Lakers at the Kings also looks fantasy-friendly, while there is a revenge game of sorts in Miami as Dwyane Wade returns home. Should be a fun night.
Guards
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL vs. NO ($9,600): Antetokounmpo is coming off of his worst game of the year, an inexplicable klunker against a beatable Mavericks defense. Look for him to bounce back in a big way against a terrible Pelicans defense that has no one that could hope to guard him outside of Anthony Davis.
Emmanuel Mudiay, DEN vs. GS ($5,900): Mudiay is coming off back-to-back big games in which he has averaged 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. He's had a whopping seven turnovers in each of those games, but on the whole his production has been pretty consistently positive on the season. The biggest risk is a Warriors blowout, but with Golden State coming in on the second night of a back-to-back and playing in the Mile High City the Nuggets have a reasonable chance to keep the game competitive.
Lou Williams, LAL at SAC ($4,900): Williams has been quietly productive all season, consistently scoring in the mid-upper teens with a handful of assists and rebounds and a couple of steals to boot. He has scored between 26.3 and 34.4 fantasy points in each of his last four games, and has a positive matchup against a beatable Kings defense.
Forwards
Anthony Davis, NO at MIL ($10,900): Davis has only two "human" games all season, both on the back-end of back-to-backs on the road. But he seems to have even conquered that hitch, as his last such outing resulted in 34 points, eight boards, four blocks and two steals. He should be able to have his way with the Bucks.
Jabari Parker, MIL vs. NO ($6,100): Parker seems to have found his level playing off of Giannis Antetokounmpo as the second option for the Bucks. In his last three games he has averaged 20.7 points, 7.0 boards and 2.0 assists. And again, the Pelicans aren't very good on defense.
Justise Winslow, MIA vs. CHI ($4,800): Winslow struggled in his last outing on the road against the Thunder, but before that had averaged 13 points, 5.0 boards and 4.4 assists per game to generally outproduce his price tag.
Centers
Hassan Whiteside, MIA vs. CHI ($8,200): While DeMarcus Cousins is the best center on the board Thursday night, Whiteside is right behind him in production but costs $1,300 less. Plus, the Bulls are a team full of perimeter players who penetrate, which should give Whiteside plenty of opportunity to block shots.
Greg Monroe, MIL vs. NO ($5,800): Against all odds, Monroe is the third Bucks player to make this list. He has double-digit rebounds in three of his last four games, six assists in two of those games, and has averaged 10.5 points per over that entire stretch. Like his teammates, Monroe is likely to produce against a weak Pelicans defense.
