This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The NBA has a five-game schedule this Thursday, a slightly above-average number. The Spurs at the Clippers is the best real-life game of the night, with two Western Conference powers squaring off featuring some fantasy friendly plays on both sides. The Warriors at the Nets shapes up as the biggest blowout on paper, which makes it interesting to decide whether to play any high-powered Warriors against one of the worst defenses in the NBA or to instead sit them because of blowout risk. And all three other games feature at least one poor defense, so there could be some big numbers put on the board tonight.
Chris Paul, LAC vs SA ($9,200): Paul will be in game two since Blake Griffin's knee surgery, the fourth game that Blake has missed this season. In Griffin's absence a few weeks ago against the Nets, Paul notched a triple-double. In his absence against the Pelicans two weeks ago, Paul notched his first ever 20-points/20-assists/0-turnovers game. And on Tuesday, Griffin's surgery day, Paul came two rebounds shy of another triple-double. He'll be relied upon heavily Thursday night in a battle against the Spurs.
Evan Fournier, ORL at NY ($6,000): Fournier has been in a scoring zone for the past two weeks, averaging 22.2 points with 4.7 assists, 2.8 boards and 0.9 combined steals/blocks over his last six games. On Thursday, he faces a Knicks defense that has struggled against opposing shooting guards, ranking 23rd in the NBA over the past 10 games.
Nick Young, LAL at MIA ($4,600): Young has been on fire from behind the arc since returning from injury. In his last four games he has averaged 21.3 points (with a whopping 4.5 made treys per game), 2.3 boards, 1.3 assists and 1.3 combined steals/block in 29 minutes per game.
Paul George, IND vs BOS ($7,900): George has been better at home (40.3 fantasy points/game) than on the road (32.9 fantasy points/game) over his last six outings (three each). On Thursday he is at home against a Celtics defense that ranks 22nd in the NBA in production allowed to opposing small forwards.
LaMarcus Aldridge, SA at LAC ($6,500): Aldridge is coming off of a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double with five assists in 36 minutes against the Rockets. It was his first double-double since November 12, the assists marked a season-high, and he played his highest minutes total since December 2. Two elements seemed to contribute to help his strong game: the Spurs were playing a conference rival, and that rival had an undersized/perimeter-based power forward defending him. In a related note, on Thursday Aldridge faces the conference rival Clippers, who on Tuesday started (extremely) undersized Paul Pierce at power forward.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, BKN vs GS ($4,100): Hollis-Jefferson is one of the best young talents on a lottery-bound Nets team, but he's coming off the bench because the team wasn't happy with his play to start the season. On Sunday I was watching the Nets play the 76ers, and the Nets' announcer said that the team had been really happy with Hollis-Jefferson's play over the past few games. On the strength of that, he was recommended as a sleeper on Tuesday, and he responded with 19 points, six boards, three assists, a block and a steal in 20 minutes of action. He gets the rec again for Thursday, and in addition to his normal opportunity he may get extra minutes if the Warriors do as expected and blow the Nets off the court.
Hassan Whiteside, MIA vs LAL ($9,300): Whiteside has produced a double-double in five straight games, in which he has averaged 21.8 points, 17.4 boards and 2.6 blocks per game. On Thursday, he faces a Lakers defense that is 26th in the NBA in production allowed to opposing centers this season.
Nikola Vucevic, ORL at NY ($7,000): Vucevic has monster double-doubles in two of his last three outings and came only a rebound short of another double-double in the middle game. On Thursday, he faces a Knicks defense that is 28th in the NBA in production allowed to opposing centers.
JaVale McGee, GS at BKN ($3,700): McGee has been productive in a small role of late, averaging 12 point, 4.7 boards and 1.3 combined blocks/steals in only 14 minutes per game over his last three outings. On Thursday, he has a great match-up against an undersized andr under-athletic Nets frontline, and the game has a distinct possibility of becoming a blowout, which would give him more opportunity.
