This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Friday's 10-game slate is full of value from not only based on matchups, but also from the perspective that it feels like half the league is tanking or dealing with significant injuries. That opens up value plays at every price point with players Devin Harris ($4,300), Jabari Parker ($5,700) and LeBron James ($13,100).
Point Guard
Eric Bledsoe, MIL at CHI ($7,800)
A matchup against the tanking Bulls, who are without Kris Dunn (toe), would have already put Bledsoe in a prime position to succeed, but the likely absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle) only furthers to cement Bledsoe's case. Overall, Bledsoe has stepped up his game since the All-Star break, averaging 35.3 fantasy points per night. However, that production jumps up to 45.0 fantasy points per 36 minutes (22.1 points, 6.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals) when The Greek Freak is off the court.
The sample size is reasonably robust, as Bledsoe has spent 265.5 minutes on the court this season while Antetokounmpo is off. Understandably, Bledsoe's price has been climbing as of late, but it's hard not to pay up for him in this situation, especially since he has a 50-plus fantasy point ceiling -- a mark he's reached twice this season by posting an average of 25.5 points, 9.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 1.5 blocks. Those numbers aren't entirely out of the question Friday.
Shooting Guard
Devin Harris, DEN at WAS ($4,300)
With Gary Harris (knee) out over the past three games, coach Mike Malone has opted to deploy Devin Harris for significant minutes. That's resulted in Harris averaging 24.1 fantasy points (12.3 points, 5.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds) in 26.0 minutes over that three-game span. Overall, in the 234.2 minutes Devin has played without Gary, he's averaging 0.93 fantasy points per minute -- equalling out to 24.2 fantasy points, when multiplied by the aforementioned 26.0 minutes per game.
In short, what we've seen out of Harris over this past three-game stretch isn't a fluke -- it's exactly what we'd expect to see. His pricetag isn't amazing relative to his production, but it's hard to find another player in that range who has a safer floor.
Small Forward
LeBron James, CLE vs. PHO ($13,100)
James is boasting an absurd $13,100 pricetag for Friday's tilt against the Suns. But considering his recent production, it's not as outlandish as it may seem. Over the past five games, The King has averaged 70.5 fantasy points, by way of 34.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks across 38.6 minutes per game. The first game in this stretch actually came against Phoenix, when he dropped 28 points, 12 boards, 11 assists, three swipes and two blocks (68.9 fantasy points) in 33 minutes.
Power Forward
Jabari Parker, MIL at CHI ($5,700)
Parker has surprisingly already spent 197.2 minutes on the floor with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench, giving us a good sample size from which to work. He also cracked the 30-minute mark for the first time Wednesday against the Clippers, posting a season-high 37.7 fantasy points in the process.
The situation at hand could lead to coach Joe Prunty inserting Parker into the starting five and trusting him with a larger portion of the offensive workload. On the season, with Giannis off the court, Parker is averaging 41.5 fantasy points per 36 minutes on the back of 23.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a combined 1.6 steals/blocks while sporting a 25.6 percent usage rate. He'll also be going up against his hometown Chicago Bulls, for those who put stock into that.
Center
Nikola Jokic, DEN at WAS ($9,500)
This pick is a relatively straightforward one for me, as Gary Harris' (knee) absence and Paul Millsap's (illness) potential absence don't matter too much. Jokic is posting almost identical numbers with both players on and off the court this season.
So what this comes down to for me is that Jokic has played well recently, and played well against Washington in the teams' prior matchup. Over the past eight games, The Joker is averaging 49.0 fantasy points via 23.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and a combined 2.3 steals/blocks. And, during the teams' prior matchup, Jokic posted 29 points, nine boards, five dimes and a steal for 43.3 fantasy points, despite committing seven turnovers. Overall, he's just a nice building block from the center slot on Friday's slate.
