Thursday night’s NBA schedule will feature a matchup of legitimate NBA title contenders in the Western Conference as the San Antonio Spurs visit the Memphis Grizzlies. While that should be a great game to watch, it isn’t a game basketball fans should target from a fantasy perspective for obvious reasons. San Antonio owns the top-ranked scoring defense in the association while the Grizzlies are tied for 12th despite their obvious potential to be better in that department. There are better matchups that are worth keeping an eye on when it comes to building an optimal lineup in NBA Daily Fantasy Leagues across the board, so make sure to look elsewhere. Here is some more important fantasy advice to keep in mind for Thursday’s action.
Weak Defense To Target: Sacramento Kings
Sacramento has managed to post a .500 record over its past 10 games but is still tied for 28th in scoring defense. They don’t have their defense to thank for their recent success either. They have still allowed 108.4 points per game over their last 10. That’s why they are worth targeting on Thursday with the Boston Celtics providing some decent fantasy options matched up against them. Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley have both been very good of late while Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson could be worth considering as decent value plays for the Celtics in Thursday’s game against the Kings. Thomas should be especially fired up going up against his former team.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Anybody waiting for George to slow down can absolutely forget about it as the Pacers’ small forward is coming off another dominant performance in which he scored 39 points, including five three-point shots with four rebounds, two steals and an assist in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers. George had scored at least 33 points in three straight games for Indiana entering Wednesday’s game against the Clippers and has averaged 36.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 threes and 1.5 assists per game over the past week of action. He is an excellent option to build your lineup around with the Pacers visiting the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.
Injuries & Rest Create Opportunities For…. Isaiah Thomas, Kenneth Faried
Marcus Smart’s leg injury is expected to keep him out until the Celtics return home and that means more opportunity for Thomas to continue to put up big numbers while playing even more minutes for Boston. Thomas has averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 threes and 1.5 steals per game over the past seven days and should be in line for another big performance against the Kings, one of his former teams.
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Meanwhile, Kenneth Faried has worked his way back from injury and with Jusuf Nurkic sidelined, there is even more reason to lean on him this week including in Thursday’s game against the Toronto Raptors. Faried has averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist over the past week and should be a decent option at a pretty good price for Thursday’s Daily Fantasy League action – especially now that he is getting healthy again.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: OKC @ MIA
Oklahoma City ranks second in the NBA to only the Golden State Warriors in scoring this season and will get the opportunity to put on a show at South Beach on Thursday. This is a game that could be a lot higher scoring than it is projected to be. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook can score points in bunches and they will force the Heat to take more risks in order to keep up. Miami has mostly been a good defensive team this season but they’ve still allowed 104 points or more twice in their last four games (both losses).
Look for Durant and Westbrook to lead the way for Oklahoma City while Chris Bosh, Gerald Green and Goran Dragic all produce decent fantasy stat lines for Miami on Thursday night.
