NBA

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Friday 2/26/21

With nine games choose from on Friday's slate -- which locks at 7:30 p.m. EST -- let's look at the top options across all five positions for NBA DFS.

Be sure to check out our projections, which are updated throughout the day as news breaks, and our other DFS tools such as advanced stats and a matchup heat map.

Here are some of the top plays on today's DraftKings slate. As always, good luck.

Point Guard

Stephen Curry ($9,700) - If you're allocating a large portion of your salary anywhere tonight, it should be at point guard. LeBron James is at the tippy top, but it's Curry who is $1,000 less despite averaging only 0.8 fewer DraftKings points per game. His five three-point makes a game are first in the league, per usual, and according to NBA.com, his 30.9% usage is tied for ninth among those seeing 25-plus minutes a night. He should also benefit from a clash with rookie LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets, as they rank 12th-worst against point guards. Curry is the -- salary considered -- best play of the night.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($8,800) - As alluded to with Curry, the point guard position is full of great options on Friday evening. Of those likely to flirt with 50 or more DK points, SGA comes at the lowest salary. He recently came back from a knee injury and hit the ground running, putting up 27.6 points and 43.6 DK points on more than 50% shooting overall and from deep. He's increased that to 51.0 DK points in his most recent trio of matchups. This one features SGA against Trae Young, whose Hawks have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to the position. Don't write off rostering two high-salary point guards this evening.

Shooting Guard

Paul George ($8,600) - In case you aren't sold on SGA, George happens to be in the same range in both salary and average output. He's also on a tear in recent days, averaging nearly 47 DK points a game even in the face of a couple of limited workloads. In a second straight game with the Memphis Grizzlies, this should remain close and warrant the usual 35 or so minutes from the star shooting guard. George should continue to pile up fantasy points as a product of an opposing defense that's struggled to the eighth-worst defensive rating in the last 10 games. He's a monster play across the board.

Luguentz Dort ($4,800) - While SGA is an appealing play on his own, Dort's intrigue is a product of the circumstances for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hamidou Diallo will be sidelined for this contest due to groin tightness, and Al Horford will be rested, opening up usage and a total of 12.4 shots between. Expect some of those to trickle down to Dort, who is averaging a solid 29.9 minutes a game on the year and 32.3 in the last seven. His 25 DK points per game in that span would be enough to return value at his current salary, too. But it's worth noting that if you have George or another two-guard locked in, you could opt for another point guard -- Dennis Smith -- at your guard spot given his starter's role in Detroit.

Small Forward

Jerami Grant ($7,300) - Speaking of Detroit, Grant has been one of the lone bright spots in what is looking like another rebuilding year for the franchise. Using 26.1% of his team's offensive possessions, he has converted 17.7 shots into a team-high 23.3 points a game, to go along with 5.2 boards, 3.1 assists and 2.0 blocks-plus-steals. He's doing it all and averaging 38.7 DK points in the process -- oh, and his matchup is very fantasy-friendly. The visiting Sacramento Kings are 10th in the league in pace and dead last in defensive rating, allowing 118.2 points per 100 possessions.

Kelly Oubre ($6,800) - The midrange looks like the sweet spot for good small forward plays on this rather loaded slate. It allows you to use most of your fake funds at point guard, but the floor is nice to have along with any value plays you decide to roll with. Oubre and his high minutes provide that and a whole lot more. Up until recently, he's had a tough time finding his shot with the Warriors, but he's since come on line, knocking down 50% of his shots from the floor over the last six. He has averaged 20.7 points and 36.4 fantasy points during this sample, and the workload remains high (35.5 minutes a game). Feel good about stacking him and Curry on their home floor.

Power Forward

Marvin Bagley III ($5,900) - On Friday (and maybe going forward), the Kings are expected to be without Hassan Whiteside, who has landed on the health and safety protocols list. That could lead to more minutes for Richaun Holmes, but it was Bagley who benefited more from Whiteside's absence on Thursday. He played 30 minutes for the second time in three games, and over those two he averaged a double-double and 36.8 DK points. More likely than not, he should draw more minutes at the backup center spot, and against a Detroit team ranked 21st in rebounding, he should have no problem repeating Thursday's performance.

Nemanja Bjelica ($4,800) - In a similar vein, Bjelica should also reap the fantasy rewards that come with a larger injury-caused workload. If Bagley is sliding more to the five, that should lead to more time at the four for Bjelica, who has played 83% of his minutes there. And the veteran has proved he can produce recently, too, going for 25 points and 43.5 DK points two games ago.

Center

Clint Capela ($7,800) - Again, the Thunder are not going to have Horford to anchor their defense versus Atlanta, which means good things for Capela down low. According to NBAWowy, the Thunder's 107.3 defensive rating with Horford climbs to 111.4 in his absence. Capela, averaging north of 40 DK points in his last six, should find his way to a double-double with relative ease, all the while he could be under-rostered. His last performance saw him limited to single-digit points and boards in only 21 minutes.

Tristan Thompson ($4,700) - With both Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner playing significant minutes -- oftentimes beside one another -- the Pacers are a unique matchup for most teams. However, the Boston Celtics might be able to do so comfortably, given the likes of Thompson and Daniel Theis down low. Both players are in the high-20s in minutes, and while Robert Williams has had some exposure of late, it's been Thompson with the consistent role. Over the last half-dozen contests, Thompson has put up 28.1 DK points over 26.7 minutes, once going for a double-double and often exceeding this salary-implied total of 23.5 points. Expect him to be very involved and serve as a nice last player in your Friday lineups.



Brett Oswalt i
s not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.