Friday night on the NBA hardwood bring us a smaller slate than usual with just five games on the docket. However, the slate is not lacking for star power with James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Nikola Jokic. The slate also has some intrigue after the blockbuster trade between the Knicks and Mavericks blew up Thursday’s slate, the aftermath will also affect Friday’s slate with the Knicks likely playing without their new acquisitions yet.

Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.

Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

One Stud

Nikola Jokic (C – DEN): $10,800 vs. HOU
I’m a little bit down on Russell Westbrook and James Harden on this slate due to their matchups and the return of Chris Paul in Houston. So, instead, I’m going to plug in Nikola Jokic as my top play in a favorable matchup against the Rockets who have given up the eighth most points and third most rebounds to opposing centers over the last five games. Jokic should be the centerpiece of the Nuggets offense in a close, high-scoring game environment.

Core Plays

Paul George (SF/PF – OKC): $9,900 @ MIA
With the expected value on the slate and solid mid-range options, you should have enough salary space to get a second higher priced option. Paul George is my preferred choice to fill this role. George has been crushing it lately scoring at least 31 points in five of his last six games. He has also topped 53 DraftKings points in six of his last seven outings. The Thunder should be in for a close game in Miami on Friday night which should see George playing close to 40 minutes giving him a high floor with some upside.

Ricky Rubio (PG – UTH): $6,100 vs. ATL
Rubio has played five games since returning from injury and has seen his minutes creep back up to about 30 per night. He gets a plus matchup on Friday at home against the Hawks who have allowed increased production across the board to PGs this season giving up more points (+6.4%), rebounds (+8.8%), assists (+5.2%), and steals (+26.6%). Rubio can fill the box score up in all of those categories which could catapult him on his way to flirting with a triple-double on Friday night.

Jayson Tatum (SF/PF – BOS): $5,800 @ NY
The Celtics are big favorites against the Knicks following their trade of Kristaps Porzingis among others on Thursday. With blowout potential, it makes rostering any Celtics a little risky, so I’ll opt to use one of the lower priced options like Jayson Tatum or Marcus Morris ($5,300) in a favorable matchup. In three previous meetings this season, Tatum has averaged 18.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game for 34.3 DK points.

Kevin Knox (SF/PF – NYK): $5,700 vs. BOS
I don’t expect the newly acquired Knicks to play on Friday night which should open up plenty of big minutes for the few that remain with the club. Kevin Knox has already been performing well the last two games averaging 18.0 points and 4.0 rebounds and could see an additional boost in his usage rate on Friday with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke out of the mix. The matchup against the Celtics isn’t ideal but somebody has to shoot the rock for the Knicks and I don’t expect the rookie to be shy.

Value Plays

Monte Morris (PG – DEN): $5,100 vs. HOU
With Jamal Murray expected to miss his fourth straight game on Friday, Monte Morris should get his second straight start for the Nuggets in a great game environment against the Rockets. In his last game, Morris put up 20 points with seven rebounds and seven assists against the Pelicans in 40 minutes of action. The individual matchup on Friday isn’t quite as good assuming Chris Paul plays but if Morris can approach that many minutes again then he should have no problem paying off value on his very reasonable salary.

Tyler Johnson (PG/SG – MIA): $4,200 vs. OKC
Except for one game where he sat out due to injury, Tyler Johnson has played at least 25 minutes in eight straight games for the Heat. During that stretch, Johnson has averaged 12.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. He draws a decent matchup on Friday against the Thunder who have allowed increased production in points (+4.4%), rebounds (+4.8%), and assists (+8.4%) to SGs this season.

Mario Hezonja (SF/PF – NYK): $4,200 vs. BOS
The last two value plays on my list for Friday come from the Knicks who I expect to be short-handed on Friday night. Mario Hezonja has already played about 30 minutes per game over the last three outings, but he could see those minutes push into the upper 30s on Friday with Tim Hardaway Jr. out of town. Over his last three games, Hezonja has averaged a respectable 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals per game. Look for his numbers to go up along with his minutes at a low price tag.

Kadeem Allen (PG/SG – NYK): $3,300 vs. BOS
With Emmanuel Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina hurt and Trey Burke traded away, it seems like Kadeem Allen is going to have to play big minutes running the point for the Knicks on Friday assuming the newly acquired Dennis Smith Jr. doesn’t play for his new club yet. Allen has averaged close to a DK point per minute in his last two games while averaging 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in just 18 minutes per game. Allen also played with the Celtics last season, so he might have a little extra juice in a matchup against his former team.

Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

Brad Richter is a Featured Writer and Correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.