In our DraftKings value posts, we will highlight players with salaries of $6,500 or less. The average salary of their $50,000 cap is $6,250 so the vast majority of the players referenced below are priced below the average salary.
With that said, here are some DraftKings values for Thursday's NBA games:
PG - Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs (at CHI), $5,800: Against the Nuggets on Tuesday, Parker had 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds to score 33.5 fantasy points. He now has 33 fantasy points in two of his past three games. The Spurs are projected to score the third-most points tonight behind the Clippers and Blazers, but their matchup has the lowest point spread (-5) of the night so hopefully the game stays close and Parker sees a full allotment of minutes.
PG - Jarrett Jack, Brooklyn Nets (at LAC), $6,200: The matchup against Chris Paul is far from favorable as the Clippers allow the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing point guards. In his past three games, Jack has scored 49.5, 38.5 and 35.5 fantasy points, respectively, and he's averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals during that span. In addition, Jack has averaged more than 37 minutes per game over his past nine games and Deron Williams (ribs) will miss tonight's game.
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SG - Wesley Matthews, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. BOS), $5,700: With LaMarcus Aldridge (and Robin Lopez) out, Matthews will continue to shoulder more of the offensive load. Matthews now has 17-plus shot attempts in each of his past three games and has averaged 33.42 fantasy points per game during that stretch. That said, Avery Bradley is one of the league's best on-ball defenders, but it's possible he guards Damian Lillard instead of Matthews.
SG - Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets (at LAC), $6,000: Averaging more than 38 points per game over his past 12 games, Johnson broke out of a six-game slump (23.75 FPPG) with 31.75 and 34.5 fantasy points in his two most recent games. In his past 21 games, Johnson has as many games (two) with 40-plus fantasy points as he has with less than 20 fantasy points (two) and has averaged slightly more than 30 fantasy points during that span.
SG - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. UTA), $5,200: The Alphabet has played 32 minutes in back-to-back games with 25 fantasy points in each game. Given Jason Kidd's rotations and allotment of minutes, it's hard to trust any Buck not named Brandon Knight to get consistent minutes. But he should be able to reach 5x value if he gets 32 minutes once again and he has 40-point upside considering his stat-stuffing nature of his game. If you play The Greek Freak, however, I'd stick with GPPs over cash games.
SF - Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. BOS), $5,300: Breaking out of his slump, Batum scored a season-most 52.5 fantasy points last night after scoring no more than 38.5 in his first 36 games this season. In fact, he had just 67.25 fantasy points in his past four games combined. Knocking down six of eight three-pointers last night, Batum scored 27 points and added 10 rebounds, five assists and a block. It would be unrealistic to expect a repeat performance, but the injury to LMA should continue to lead to increased offensive opportunities for Batum, who does a lot more than just score.
SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. UTA), $5,100: Over his past nine games, Middleton has scored a minimum of 21 fantasy points and averaged 27.42 per game. Before that, however, he had a couple of games with seven or less fantasy points in a six-game stretch. That said, Middleton has averaged 11.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals over that nine-game stretch. Until Kidd pulls the rug from under us, Middleton appears safe.
SF - Dorell Wright, Portland Trail Blazers (vs. BOS), $3,000: Getting the start in place of Aldridge at power forward, Wright is a minimum-salary option at SF. Wright played (and fouled out in) nearly 35 minutes and finished with 30.75 fantasy points. Wright scored 15 points and added five assists, three rebounds and two steals and was three-of-six from behind the arc. Like with Batum, I wouldn't expect a repeat of last night's production, but he's certainly a viable punt option.
PF - Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls (vs. SA), $6,100: With Joakim Noah listed as doubtful for tonight's game, Gibson should once again get a heavy dose of minutes as is typical when Noah or Pau Gasol is out. Averaging close to 40 minutes in his past three games, Gibson has averaged 10.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during that span.
PF - Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. UTA), $3,700: After playing 12 and 22 minutes in his first two games of the month, Ilyasova is expected to move into the starting lineup for tonight's game. In the past eight games that the oft-injured Ilyasova has played 20-plus minutes, he has scored a minimum of 21.75 fantasy points and averaged 26.78 fantasy points. At his price point, he should easily reach value given starter's minutes.
C - Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets (at LAC), $6,400: Over his past three games, Lopez has averaged 35.5 fantasy points as well as 21.0 (real) points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.0 steal per game. In addition, Lopez has been getting to the line with 7.0 made free throws per game over that stretch. Meanwhile, the Clippers have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season.
C - Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (at MIL), $5,900: Starting and playing 33 minutes, Kanter had a monster 24/17 double-double last night and finished a fraction shy of 50 fantasy points. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert played less than 20 minutes. With starter's minutes, Kanter should be able to reach value tonight.
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