Friday's eight-game main slate will follow up Thursday's light four-game selection to carry Week 4 into the weekend. Jimmy Butler put together his best performance of the year with a couple season-highs, and some other unexpected players joined him on the list of top Fantasy performers from the night. We'll review who stood out and fell short before looking ahead at a Friday DFS target.
Who's hot
Butler scored a season-high 35 points in a near triple-double performance against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday. The Miami Heat forward also snared a season-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight assists and a pair of steals. He hasn't been on an especially hot streak yet this season, but maybe he can gain some momentum now that he's gotten over the hip injury that caused him to miss a pair of games in early November.
Grant led the Portland Trail Blazers with 27 points in their matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans and has been on a roll this month. He's averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists over his previous five games while shooting 50 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from long range. Damian Lillard (rest) sat out on Thursday and his return in the back half of Week 4 could make it tough for Grant to match the production from his last outing moving forward.
The Dallas Mavericks are all about the Luka Doncic show, but his backcourt partner actually totaled more Fantasy points on Thursday. Dinwiddie scored a season-high 33 points and dished out six assists in a win over the Washington Wizards. He has averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds over his last two games while shooting at least 50 percent from the field and 3-point range. He's scored at least 20 points in four of the five games he's played this month.
Who's not
Maxey excelled in his first game without James Harden this year but has regressed since then. The Philadelphia 76ers point guard has averaged just 13.0 points while shooting under 30 percent from the field on 36.8 minutes a night over his past two games. Fantasy managers should expect a lot more from him as his team's temporary primary initiator. He might have a tough time getting back on track in Saturday's rematch against the Atlanta Hawks, though.
Friday DFS Play
The Milwaukee Bucks won't have Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jrue Holiday available for a second straight game, so people will likely swarm to roster the cheap players who benefit from their absences on Friday. While Jevon Carter will likely garner a ton of attention after finishing as the main slate's second-highest scorer on Wednesday, I'll provide a less obvious option. Beauchamp tallied 19 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes on Wednesday and seems likely to start again ahead of the weekend. He's the cheapest of the Bucks' starters and has jumped Jordan Nwora on the depth chart. I think you can expect 5X value from him regardless of the platform.
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.
