It's time to pick up Elfrid Payton in all leagues. Jrue Holiday has been ruled out ahead of tonight's matchup with the Raptors with an abdominal strain and will miss at least a week due to the injury.
Now that former teammate Nikola Mirotic is with the Bucks and with Anthony Davis limited to part-time duty, Julius Randle should assume a rewarding role as a leading playmaker for the Pelicans tonight, making him a fun play in DFS formats and a must-start option in redraft leagues.
Payton, however, is still a free agent in 35 percent of ESPN leagues and enjoys the highest usage bump on the team with Holiday off the floor this season, netting an increase in usage rate of 5.5 percent in such scenarios and nearly five more fantasy points per 36 minutes. With the Pelicans seemingly happy to run at a high pace and push up the score, it's helpful to consider tonight's opening total of 233.5 points in New Orleans as an indicator of fantasy upside.
Thursday recap
Highlights
Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder: 32 points (7-23 FG), 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 TO
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: 51 points (15-28 FG), 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks, 3 TO
Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers: 22 points (8-19 FG), 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 2 TO
Lowlights
Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee Bucks: 7 points (3-9 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO
Maurice Harkless, Portland Trail Blazers: 2 points (0-3 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 TO
Wesley Matthews, Indiana Pacers: 10 points (3-9 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO
Thursday takeaways
Even on a night that saw Lillard and CJ McCollum combine for 76 points, their most in a game as teammates, the Blazers fell to the Thunder for the fourth time this season, with Oklahoma City completing the season sweep in overtime on Thursday night. The performance marked Lillard's fifth career 50-point game, more than twice as many as any other player in team history (former Kings GM Geoff Petrie had two with the Blazers in his playing days).
Russell Westbrook and George combined for 69 points, the fourth-most points they've combined for as teammates, while three of their four highest totals have come in the past three weeks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo somehow produced six dunks in the second half against the Pacers last night, tied for his most in a single half in his career. Antetokounmpo also netted his 24th performance with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 dimes this season, tying David Robinson for the third-most such lines in a season over the past 30 seasons (only Russell Westbrook in 2016-17 and LeBron James in 2017-18 had more).
Checking in on Mirotic's transition to Milwaukee, it seems he can still provide some 3-point pop for fantasy managers, given he's averaged 6.7 attempts from 3-point range during his past six games. With just 10.5 PPG in 23.5 MPG during this sample, it seems Mirotic is limited to merely being a low-ceiling specialist at this point. I wouldn't blame you for moving on from Niko to go after a more dynamic fantasy source such as Jonathan Isaac of Orlando, a player John Cregan identifies as a critical acquisition for the stretch run.
The Lakers appear prepared to scale back LeBron James' minutes to around 30 per game now that the team is all but eliminated from postseason contention, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. We'll likely see James rest some games, as well, adding a bit of upside to the likes of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma (once his ankle heals), and even Rajon Rondo for the final weeks of the season.
Injuries of note
Joel Embiid did not travel with the Sixers to Houston for tonight's tilt on ESPN. I discuss the statistical ramifications of Embiid's absence below.
Klay Thompson is listed as probable for tonight's marquee matchup with Denver on ESPN.
Analytics advantage for Friday
I adore the spot Andre Drummond is in tonight against the Bulls. Found at relatively affordable pricing on DraftKings and with a realistic projection for 50 fantasy points, thanks to leading the league in both rebounding chances and actual rebounds, he should feast against a Bulls team that ranks 27th in rebounding percentage this season. If you need a streaming option and some 3-point production, it's worth noting Detroit's Luke Kennard has turned it on of late and can help managers in need of shooting production.
Top players to watch tonight
Jimmy Butler gets the most significant bump in usage rate on the 76ers with Embiid off the floor, but Ben Simmons isn't far behind and hasn't dipped below 49 fantasy points on DraftKings' scoring key in the past four games. As the do-everything point forward for Philly, I'm banking on Simmons topping 50 fantasy points again and building daily fantasy lineups around him in a game that should host an encouraging total above 230 points in Houston tonight.
