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I hope everyone isn’t still in a food coma from Thanksgiving and can crawl to their computers to punch in some lineups for Friday night’s 12-game NBA slate on DraftKings. It’s another massive slate similar to Wednesday’s 14-gamer, so there will be plenty of options to choose from and variance to consider. Here are a few players to consider as core plays overall on DK.
Point Guard
Chris Paul, OKC vs. NOP, $7,200 — People forget that this is sort of a revenge spot for Paul, who did play for the New Orleans Hornets at one point way back. CP3’s price is down and the matchup is ideal since the Pelicans have one of the worst defensive ratings in the NBA. Point God mode in play.
Other options: Ben Simmons, PHI at NYK, $8,100; Jrue Holiday, NOP at OKC, $7,800; Alec Burks, GSW at MIA, $5,600
Shooting Guard
Jeremy Lamb, IND vs. ATL, $6,300 — Lamb has been hot since returning from injury, scoring at least 14 points in three straight games. He was producing big fantasy numbers prior to getting hurt, so his price hasn’t really adjusted yet. The Hawks have the second-worst defensive rating and are 12th in terms of pace. This seems like a smash spot for Lamb and the Pacers.
Other options: Bradley Beal, WAS at LAL, $9,400; DeMar DeRozan, SAS vs. LAC, $7,300; Evan Fournier, ORL vs. TOR, $6,100
Small Forward
Kawhi Leonard, LAC at SAS, $9,300 — Kawhi is coming off two days of rest and will head to San Antonio to take on his former team, the Spurs. You know I love a good revenge narrative, but the Spurs are also an ideal matchup. Leonard dropped a season-high 38 points on San Antonio earlier in the season. The Spurs are another team in the bottom five in terms of defensive rating.
Other options: Luka Doncic, DAL at PHX, $11,800; Brandon Ingram, NOP at OKC, $8,300; Tobias Harris, PHI at NYK, $6,400
Power Forward
Domantas Sabonis, IND vs. ATL, $7,900 — I’m going to pick on the Hawks again with Sabonis. I think even if this game gets out of hand, it’ll mean because Sabonis had a double-double in the first quarter or something. Atlanta doesn’t have the size down low to deal with Sabonis, plus this price is low for a guy who has a double-double in 10 of 11 games.
Other options: Anthony Davis, LAL vs. WAS, $10,000; Pascal Siakam, TOR at ORL, $8,500; Blake Griffin, DET vs. CHA, $7,500
Center
Joel Embiid, PHI at NYK, $9,000 — This is more of an “Embiid at The Garden” type of narrative play. Biid is the type of player who thrives on the big stage in most cases and I think he’s over the goose egg he laid a few nights ago. He had 33 points and 19 rebounds vs. the Kings prior to Thanksgiving and his price went down. Plus, Al Horford and Josh Richardson aren’t expected to play tonight.
Other options: Andre Drummond, DET vs. CHA, $9,400; Rudy Gobert, UTA at MEM, $8,200; Myles Turner, IND vs. ATL, $6,300