This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are five games on tap for Thursday, a bit above average for this night of the week. Few enough options that there will be lots of overlap, but enough that three will be multiple avenues to success. This week there are three games featuring awful defenses, but two of them could result in blowouts which make them harder to predict. But there's still some good match-ups and value out there, so let's find it.
Point Guard
Stephen Curry, GS vs LAL ($10,700):Draymond Green was scheduled to sit out Wednesday and Thursday to rest. On Wednesday the Warriors lost to the lowly Denver Nuggets, indicating that the team struggles without Green the same way they struggle without Curry. Thus, if Green sits again on Thursday, the Warriors could find themselves in relatively competitive game against the Lakers. Curry, then, would get a full game against one of the worst point guard defenses in the NBA in a game that he was motivated to win as they are coming off of a rare loss. Seems like a recipe for big production.
Ish Smith, PHI vs CHI ($6600):Ish Smith has three games with more than 38 fantasy points scored in his last four outings, including two in a row. He even produced 18 points, 10 assists and seven boards in his last outing against the Cavaliers, a very good defense against opposing point guards. On Thursday he'll be facing a fairly average Bulls defense (12th against opposing point guards) in what could be a competitive game with Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose likely to sit out injured.
Shooting Guard
Rodney Hood, UTA vs SAC ($5300): Hood struggled with an ankle injury last week that stalled his run of excellent play, but he seems to be back at full speed again. He averaged more than 37 fantasy points in three games between December 31 and January 4th, then struggled through that down week. But he bounced back with a 29.2 fantasy point effort on Monday, and has a good match-up on Thursday against a Kings defense that is dead last in the NBA in production allowed to opposing shooting guards.
Lou Williams, LAL at GS ($6000): Williams has been the man of late for the Lakers, averaging 41.1 fantasy points over his last three outings. On Thursday he faces a Warriors defense that is 24th in the NBA in production allowed to opposing shooting guards, in a game that could be more competitive than expected if Draymond Green sits as expected.
Small Forward
Nikola Mirotic, CHI at PHI ($5600): Over his last seven games, Mirotic has been stone-consistent in scoring between 23.1 and 26.5 fantasy points pretty much every game. In the two games that he hasn't been in that range, he has exploded for 41.5 and 42.5 fantasy points. On Thursday, with Pau Gasol sitting dur to injury, Mirotic has a good chance of producing a bit more than his standard.
Power Forward
Taj Gibson ($4700), or Bobby Portis ($3500), CHI at PHI: The 76ers rank dead last in the NBA at defending opposing power forwards, 19th at defending opposing centers. With Pau Gasol expected to miss Thursday's game injured, Gibson and/or Portis could help pick up the offensive slack from the big man slot. Either or both could really out-produce their price tag.
Center
Jahlil Okafor, PHI vs CHI ($6400): Okafor has been solid of late, averaging 18.8 points, 5.4 boards and 1.6 combined steals and blocks over his last five games. On Thursday he faces a Bulls defense that is dead last in the NBA at defending opposing centers, and that is likely to be missing Pau Gasol and thus playing more undersized bigs on Thursday.
