We have nine games on tonight’s DFS NBA slate and the Hornets are still dealing with major COVID issues opening up value for them in a strong matchup tonight against Sacramento. The total on sports-books for that game is 231. Brooklyn/Atlanta’s total is at 228 and then Milwaukee/Houston is right behind them at 227. Devin Booker and Jaylen Brown remain sidelined with Hamstring injuries. Other impact players sitting on Friday are OG Anunoby, Richaun Holmes and Kevin Porter Jr. Let’s play some basketball!

Here’s tonight’s Starting-5.

PG: James Harden: Attacking Trae Young is just too easy and with the Nets needing all of the help they can get offensively, Harden is worth the hefty price tag. Remember, Joe Harris being out keeps the ball in Harden’s hands a bit more. Earlier in the season, we questioned Harden’s scoring being down, but lately, he’s exceeded his 20.9 scoring average in three of his last five battles. He’s recorded three straight double-doubles and Harden swipes 1.4 balls per game. He has a very safe floor when it comes to minutes playing no fewer than 39 minutes in five of his last six contests. Harden continues to dish a lot of dimes despite different players being in and out of the lineup for the Nets. He’s contributed 9.6 assists per outing this season. It’s an incredible matchup with a very high sports-book total and Harden has a 28.6 usage percentage heading into tonight.

SG: Cade Cunningham: His shot has been falling a lot more lately and it has resulted in him hitting the 20-point mark in scoring in three of his last four games. Cunningham has taken 15 or more shots in three games in a row and he’s shot at least 40 percent from the floor in four straight contests. The Pistons give Cunningham a long leash (meaning that if he turns the ball over, he’ll likely be left out there), plays mid-30s minutes and he has the awareness to know that if his shot isn’t falling, he’ll use his strong drive in which he can switch direction mid-air when going to a basket and a tall defender approaches him. He was the first overall pick for a reason. Cunningham has grabbed seven or more rebounds and blocked shots in three of his last five games. He picks off 1.3 balls per game and has even dished over four dimes per outing as well. I don’t believe in the Pelicans defense as they give up over 110 points per game resulting in them being at the bottom of the Western Conference.

SF: Kelly Oubre Jr.: We have to take advantage of the value presented to us in Charlotte as once again LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier (among others) will be sidelined. Oubre has received at least 39 minutes of action in three straight contests. He’s scored 22-plus actual points in his last four games and he took 22 shots or more in his last two outings. The Hornets have no choice with five rotation players in the league’s COVID protocols. Oubre has also shot over 54 percent from the floor in three of his last four battles. The Hornets and Kings are both top-10 in pace. He’s also compiled steals in six straight games. The minutes and shots have been there. When Miles Bridges starts drawing doubles, Oubre is often left open as a bailout option from downtown, but sometimes, he’ll have the presence of mind to fake the three-pointer and attack the lane. There’s going to be a lot of scoring tonight and the Kings are middle of the road at defending mid-courts. 

PF: Evan Mobley: Minnesota’s frontcourt isn’t anything to write home about! The Cavs skyline lineup is and Mobley is once again in a great spot to play 33-35 minutes and he continues taking double-digit shots from the field. He swats away two shots per game and blocked five shots alone the other night. Mobley and Jarrett Allen do a good job of staying clear of each other in the paint, as both have been able to be productive. Mobley grabs over eight boards per game. Tonight serves as a major pace-up spot for Cleveland and the Timberwolves rank 26th in the league at defending power forwards. He scores 14 points per game and shoots over 47 percent from the floor. When Lauri Markkanen is off the floor, Mobley will step back and help stretch the floor by launching three’s. The Cavs continue to be a matchup nightmare because of their size. 

C: Jonas Valanciunas: The Pistons are a bottom-10 team in the league at defending opposing centers and Valanciunas should have an easy time having his way under the basket. After being in a couple of blowout situations against Dallas, Valanciunas has since bounced back nicely and he’s notched three straight double-doubles and he’s coming off of back-to-back three-block games. He pulls down 12 boards per contest and has posted steals in four of his last five games. It’s a minor pace boost for the Pelicans tonight. Valanciunas takes the second most shots on the team at 14 per game and he shoots 51.5 percent from the field while seeing over 31 minutes of playing time per outing. Until Zion Williamson comes back, the world is Valanciunas’ oyster inside the arc and he’ll continue to get heavily utilized and at this point, we don’t know when we’ll see Williamson take the floor.