NBA $25,000 Thursday Lineup Tips

The NBA season is in full swing as we approach the Christmas period and the good teams are really starting to click. The Rockets have welcomed back star guard Chris Paul back and are playing some scintillating basketball. They have won their last ten matches with James Harden the clear favourite for the MVP award. The Warriors are cruising with Steph Curry out injured. The Bucks have turned the corner winning their last three. And one team I definitely did not expect to be in the playoff hunt, the Indiana Pacers are sitting fifth in the East. There are nine matches to choose your teams from, with the highlight including the Pelicans hosting the Bucks and the red hot Pacers hosting the ice cold Thunder.

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Here is a team you may consider for the NBA $25k+ Thursday competition

Point Guard

Victor Oladipo ($18,000)

The man who was widely considered ‘spare change’ in the Paul George trade at the start of the season faces off against his old team in career best form. Oladipo was recently named the Eastern Conference’s player of the week for the second time this season and backed it up by dropping a career high 47 points in his last match against the Nuggets. Oladipo now comes up against his old team and will look to keep his hot form rolling.

Milos Teodosic ($6,500)

The crafty point guard has finally returned from injury and looked good in his return. Teodosic returned with 12 points and 7 rebounds on his way to 20.25 DS points, but had very limited time on court. As he steps up his minutes in the next few weeks, looking for his production to increase dramatically. He is a great value pick for today.

Shooting Guard

Gary Harris ($11,300)

The normally inconsistent Harris has put together a good run of games averaging over 30 DS points across his last seven matches. Harris is a great outside, shooter who is still developing his game, but has found a good rhythm in Denver’s backcourt alongside Jamal Murray and Will Barton. The Nuggets take on the Celtics who are decimated by injuries at the moment, it looks like a good match up for Harris.

Evan Turner ($6,800)

With regular starter Moe Harkless out injured, Turner has been promoted to the starting lineup. In his last game as starter, turner finished with 20.5 DS points against the Warriors. The Trail Blazers get a much easier match up against the Heat, so Turner should be able to build on that. As we often say in this article, the more important stat for Draftstars is minutes and Tuner should get plenty of them.

Small Forward

DeMar DeRozan ($15,200)

DeRozan has been in his usual consistent form recently as the Raptors sit third in the East. The backcourt duo of DeRozan and Lowry are the heartbeat of this team and they should be able to continue on their winning ways against the Suns. DeRozan gets a great matchup as usual Suns guard Devin Booker is out injured. The only concern is if the Raptors blow out the Suns and DeRozan is rested.

Khris Middleton ($13,500)

It is no coincidence that when Middleton is in form, so are the Bucks. Whilst he is a definite second fiddle to Giannis, Middleton provides a much needed second avenue to the basket which allows the Bucks to score better. Middleton and the Bucks takes on the Pelicans in what looks like a high scoring affair. The minimal defense should suit Middleton and hopefully he can put up a big score.

Power Forward

T.J. Warren ($12,500)

With Booker out for the next couple of games, Warren is the main man for the Suns. Warren is a good scorer, but can be streaky at times. In his last seven matches, he has scored over 20 points in four of them, but has also scored under twelve in two others. This means that there is some element of risk in picking Warren, but he should be able to score well enough against the Raptors.

Aron Baynes ($5,800)

The big Aussie is in the starting lineup for this match due to the injury to Al Horford. Baynes should be able to dominate the boards and rack up a lot of rebounds against the Nuggets who are also missing their star big man, Nikola Jokic. Baynes should see a big jump in his minutes and that should translate to him scoring well.

Centre

Jonas Valanciunas ($9,550)

Valanciunas was huge in the Raptors loss against the lowly Clippers in his last match, scoring 23 and grabbing 15 rebounds on his way to 44.25 DS points. Valanciunas is a quality big man who gets a great matchup against the Suns. The Suns have struggle all year against big and this should be no different. Expect another good showing from Valanciunas.

The Line Up

PG: Victor Oladipo ($18,000)

PG: Milos Teodosic ($6,500)

SG: Gary Harris ($11,300)

SG: Evan Turner ($6,800)

SF: DeMar DeRozan ($15,200)

SF: Khris Middleton ($13,500)

PF: T.J. Warren ($12,500)

PF: Aron Baynes ($5,800)

C: Jonas Valanciunas ($9,550)

Salary Remaining: $850