Thursday's main NBA slate was a light one. Kawhi Leonard was dominant for the Paul George-less Los Angeles Clippers, but it was Brandon Ingram who surprisingly took top billing on the fantasy leaderboard by the time all four games of the night concluded. A 10-game slate will take Week 23 into the weekend, and we'll discuss who's hot, who's not and share a DFS play for Friday here.
Who's hot
Ingram recorded his first career triple-double on Thursday. The New Orleans Pelicans wing scored 30 points with 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Charlotte Hornets. He's averaged 28.2 points, 7.6 assists, and 5.4 rebounds on 50 percent shooting over his previous five games. Ingram's thrived during Zion Williamson's extended absence and he's produced like a top-10 Fantasy small forward if you look at his production per game.
Valanciunas kicked off 2022-23 in a reduced role but has turned it on lately. He notched his fourth straight double-double on Thursday with 20 points and 19 rebounds against the Hornets. Valanciunas has been especially efficient during his recent hot streak, shooting 63 percent from the field. Williamson is set to miss at least two more weeks, so the big man will need to remain very active on the boards for the rest of the regular season.
SGA scored at least 30 points for the seventh time in eight games this month on Thursday. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard tallied 30 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three blocks against the Los Angeles Clippers. He's appeared in five straight games, but his status for the Thunder's final back-to-back of the year on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers could be up in the air because of his injury management. Fantasy managers shouldn't have to worry about him contributing as OKC chases a spot in the play-in tournament.
Who's not
Washington has played a ton for the shorthanded Hornets lately but has fallen short of his season-long averages across the board. While the forward has logged 34.2 minutes per contest over his previous four outings, he's averaged 12.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 37 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from deep on 5.8 attempts per game. Kelly Oubre and Dennis Smith Jr. suffered injuries on Thursday, so Washington could have more pressure to produce in the near future.
DFS play
Sabonis appears to be in for a monstrous night ahead of the weekend. The Sacramento Kings center is nearly averaging a triple-double this month and will face the Deandre Ayton-less Phoenix Suns on Friday. Bismack Biyombo and Jock Landale will take turns trying to contain the All-Star big man, who's averaging 19.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists through three meetings against the Suns with Ayton this season.
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.
