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Thursday's NBA action was highlighted by a scoring battle between Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. The two stars both finished toward the top of the fantasy leaderboard, and there were plenty of other notable performances in the four-game slate. It appears that James Harden will be bumped from the top spot soon. We'll go over the best and worst from Thursday before highlighting a quality DFS play that stands out for Friday here.

Who's hot

Luka Doncic
DAL • PG • #77
PPG36.3
APG9.3
SPG2
3P/G2.5
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A 41-point triple-double will always garner a ton of attention. Doncic did just that in a Thursday win over the Brooklyn Nets. He totaled 11 rebounds and 14 assists in 40 minutes to take down the opposition on the road and leads all players in Fantasy points per game. The MVP front runner appears to be on his way to a historic season and will end Week 2 with ideal matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic.

Kyrie Irving
DAL • PG • #11
PPG29.6
APG4.4
SPG1.6
3P/G2.4
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Doncic was the only player with more Fantasy points than Irving on Thursday. The Nets guard scored 39 points on 14-of-31 shooting and racked up key defensive stats to boost his ceiling. Irving notched three steals and blocked shots in the contest. He's scored at least 30 points in four of his first five games. All that's missing from his game right now is the long ball. 

Desmond Bane
MEM • SG • #22
PPG22.6
APG5.6
SPG.8
3P/G4.4
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Is this the year Bane makes an All-Star leap? The Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard benefitted from an injury to Dillon Brooks last year and proved that he could be a legitimate second option. Few players have had a better Week 2 than the sharpshooter. Bane put up 31 points, six rebounds, and four assists against the Kings on Thursday. He's averaging 34.5 points per contest through two games this week while shooting 64.1 percent from the field and 73.7 percent from deep. His improved playmaking could help him finish 2022-23 as a top-10 Fantasy shooting guard for a second consecutive season.

Who's not

Tyler Herro
MIA • PG • #14
PPG17.5
APG3.3
SPG.5
3P/G2.167
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Herro posted his second disappointing stats line of Week 2 in the Miami Heat's matchup against the Golden State Warriors. He scored just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting. He's converted just 32 percent of his field goal tries this week. Kyle Lowry's been more productive ahead of the weekend, but maybe a tune-up game against the Sacramento Kings can get Herro back on track.

Friday DFS Target

Anfernee Simons
POR • SG • #1
PPG18.6
APG2.4
SPG1
3P/G3
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Damian Lillard is out with an ankle injury, so Simons will get to face the worst point guard defense in the NBA on Friday. Shaedon Sharpe will provide support, but Simons will need to do most of the heavy lifting while Gary Payton II is still on the mend. The Portland Trail Blazers combo guard has started against a Kevin Porter Jr.-Jalen Green backcourt once in his career, and his favorable results make me confident that history will repeat itself this time around. 

Still deciding who to lock in for your DFS roster? We've identified a player worth locking in and one to avoid ahead of tip-off below, but you can get my full selection of stud and value plays at each position by heading over to SportsLine.