This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Friday's NBA slate begins at 7:00 PM Eastern time and features 10 games. Read on to see which players stand out as the best guys to target among the plentiful available options. FanDuel's format only counts the eight highest scores in your nine-player lineup, so keep that in mind when making your selections.
POINT GUARD
Mike Conley, MEM at NO ($9,200): Conley has acknowledged that his goal is to finally make the All-Star team this season, and he's certainly making a terrific case for himself over the past five games. In that span, Conley's exceeded his season average playing time of 34:07 four times while averaging 24.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks. The veteran point guard should keep rolling against a leaky New Orleans defense that's surrendering 116.3 points per game.
Jamal Murray, DEN at CHA ($7,400): If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Owners who have rolled with Murray in the past two games with teammate Gary Harris battling a hip injury have reaped the benefits of the point guard's 26.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 8.0 APG in a whopping 44 minutes per contest. Harris has already been ruled out for this one, providing yet another opportunity for Murray to thrive in an extended role.
SHOOTING GUARD
Dwyane Wade, MIA at PHO ($5,600): Wade has stepped his game up recently, delivering 19.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 5.4 APG over the past five contests. With Wayne Ellington (personal) and likely Goran Dragic (knee) out, the Heat will continue to count on Wade to lead their backcourt in production. Expect the veteran to oblige against a defensively challenged Suns team that's playing its second game in as many nights.
Jeremy Lamb, CHA vs. DEN ($6,600): While Lamb's scoring prowess is no secret, he's also quietly made major strides in the rebounding department. The 26-year-old UConn product has never averaged more than 4.3 RPG in a previous season, but he's grabbed at least five in each of the past 12 games, raising his season mark to 5.7 RPG after nabbing a season-high 11 boards Wednesday. Throw in Lamb's six performances of 20-plus points and seven multi-steal efforts over that 12-game stretch, and it becomes apparent that he's morphed from a one-dimensional scorer into a multi-category stud.
SMALL FORWARD
Paul George, OKC at CHI ($9,300): George continued the best all-around season of his career Wednesday with season highs with 47 points and 15 rebounds in a narrow win over the Nets. While he probably won't match either total in this one, George should continue to outperform his $9,300 valuation. He's likely to meet minimal resistance from a Bulls team that's allowing the eighth-most points at 112.3 and seventh-most made 3-pointers per game at 12.0.
Bojan Bogdanovic, IND at ORL ($5,100): Bogdanovic has filled some of the scoring void left by Victor Oladipo's knee injury, racking up at least 20 points in five of nine games since Oladipo went down. While he doesn't move the needle as much as you'd like in other categories, Bogdanovic has established a nice scoring floor for himself by pouring in no fewer than 14 points in each of his past 12 games. His offensive game is strong enough to warrant a look at $5,100.
POWER FORWARD
Pascal Siakam, TOR at BKN ($6,300): Siakam continues to round out his game, having unlocked a new level of passing ability with at least five assists in each of the past three games. He's averaging 11.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 6.0 APG over the most recent three games, having preceded that stretch with a season-high, 26-point offensive outburst. Siakam's ability to stuff the stat sheet allows him to provide fantasy value in a variety of ways, and that should once again be the case against a reeling Nets team that's lost eight games in a row overall and eight straight at home.
Lauri Markkanen, CHI vs. OKC ($6,700): Markkanen had to shake off the rust in his season debut Saturday, but he looked to be back to his old self Tuesday with 21 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block in 32 minutes. It wouldn't be surprising to see the sharpshooting big man's price climb as he gets more games under his belt, so pounce on Markkanen while the buy-low window created by his injury is still open.
CENTER
Jonas Valanciunas, TOR at BKN ($5,100): Valanciunas needed just 18 minutes to record 26 points and eight rebounds in Toronto's last game, and the Lithuanian giant could easily have earned himself more playing time with that performance. While Valanciunas has trouble carving out a meaningful role against teams that like to downsize at the center position, this matchup with a Nets team that employs traditional big man Jarrett Allen at the five spot offers a nice opportunity to earn more minutes. Given his per-minute proficiency, extended time for Valanciunas could lead to another outing similar to Wednesday's.
