This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The NBA has a six-game schedule this Thursday, a slightly above-average number. The Thunder at the Grizzlies may be the most interesting game of the night, as we get to see a solid defense built around former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol try its hand at slowing down Russell Westbrook. The Celtics at the Cavs could also be interesting, pitting a well-rested LeBron James against a likely playoff team from his conference. The Mavericks and the Lakers also catches my eye, as both teams have had several value players of late and the game could end up a high-scoring affair.
Kyle Lowry, TOR at PHO ($8,700): Russell Westbrook is playing on Thursday, so the disclaimer has to be given that if you can afford him he's the obvious big scorer for the night. That said, Lowry could be queued up for a big one as well. Over his last four games he's averaging 28.3 points, 7.0 assists, 5.3 boards and 2.0 steals and on Thursday, even though it's the second half of a back-to-back, he faces a terrible Suns guard defense that ranks 29th in production allowed to opposing point guards over the last 10 games and last in the NBA over the last five.
Nicolas Batum, CHA vs MIA ($7,600): Batum has in the midst of a mega stretch, averaging 21.8 points, 8.3 assists, 7.5 boards and 1.5 steals over his last four games. He is facing a Heat defense that is 20th in the NBA in production allowed to opposing shooting guards over the last 10 games.
Josh Richardson, MIA at CHA ($4,400): This spot could have very easily gone to Nick Young, and in fact would revert to Young if Goran Dragic is able to play. However, if Dragic sits, this opens things up for Richardson to have the kind of night that he had on Tuesday when he scored 22 points with five boards, three assists and a steal. Richardson is also facing a Hornets defense that is 25th in the NBA in production allowed to opposing shooting guards over the last 10 games.
LeBron James, CLE vs BOS ($10,300): James sat on Monday, so he is coming off of several days rest since his last outing against the Warriors on Christmas. Kyrie Irving is also sick and, even if he plays as expected, may not be up to full speed. He is facing a Celtics defense that is 25th in the NBA in production allowed to opposing forwards this season.
Julius Randle, LAL vs DAL ($6,600): Randle returned from the birth of his child with a vengeance, averaging 19 points, 9.5 boards, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals with only 1.0 turnovers in the two games since. He even exploded against a Jazz defense that is the most intimidating front line in basketball these days. He does face another tough defensive frontline in the Mavericks on Thursday, but they aren't equipped to handle the type of outside-in pseudo point-power-forward that Randle has shown himself to be.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, CHA vs MIA ($4,700): Kidd-Gilchrist is always a strong defensive wing, but he has been adding more offense and crashing the boards even harder of late. In his last three outings he is averaging 12 points, 8.3 boards, 2.7 assists and 3.0 combined steals and blocks to outperform his price.
Hassan Whiteside, MIA at CHA ($8,900): Whiteside is coming off of arguably his worst performance of the season in a foul-plagued klunker against the Thunder. However, Whiteside has shown the ability to bounce back immediately after previous bad games this season. He has only grabbed as few as eight rebounds two other times this season, and in the two subsequent games he grabbed a total of 28 boards. Similarly, he only failed to block a shot two other times this season, and in the two following games he blocked a total of eight shots. He seems poised to bounce back again against a Hornets defense that ranks 23rd in the NBA in production allowed to opposing centers.
Rudy Gobert, UTA vs PHI ($7,500): Gobert is a defensive monster. He hasn't failed to grab double-digit rebounds since November 20, and he has blocked at least two shots in four of his last five and six of his last eight outings overall. On Thursday, he faces a 76ers team that will sit phenom Joel Embiid, which means that Gobert should get to feast on the more paint-bound Jahlil Okafor and the defensive-minded Nerlens Noel.
Steven Adams, OKC at MEM ($5,400): Adams actually has a tough matchup against Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies. But the other day he dominated against Hassan Whiteside, another strong defensive center, and he did so in large part because Russell Westbrook is impossible to stop right now. Westbrook runs a pick-and-dive action with Adams in which defenses have to either collapse on Westbrook or leave Adams open for the dunk. Since Westbrook tends to draw the D, this opens things up for Adams to score at a level he's rarely shown in the past. He's scored 37 points over his last two games against Whiteside and Karl-Anthony Towns and makes a solid play on Thursday, as well.
