Half of the games in Thursday's four-game slate were blowouts. The Memphis Grizzlies manhandled the Milwaukee Bucks before the Phoenix Suns trampled the undermanned Los Angeles Clippers to wrap up the night. There were major Fantasy performances in both drubbings, though. We'll go over the best and the worst from that action in a recap before locking in on a strong value DFS play for Friday here.
Who's hot
Injuries have caused Morant to miss a pair of games in December, but he recorded his second triple-double on the month on Thursday with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in just 26 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Memphis Grizzlies point guard has averaged 25.4 points, 9.2 assists, and 8.4 rebounds over his previous five games. Desmond Bane's absence has only helped his Fantasy value ahead of the new year. He's played fewer games (23) than any other top 10 Fantasy point guard this season.
Herro followed up his 35-point performance from earlier this week by dropping a career-high 41 points on the Houston Rockets on Thursday. The Miami Heat guard took advantage of Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo sitting out and was extremely aggressive on offense. He sank 13 of his 20 shots and made 10 of his 15 3-point attempts. Herro's now averaging 26.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in December.
Williamson was a triple-double threat on Thursday. The New Orleans Pelicans big man scored 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out eight assists in a loss to the Utah Jazz. He's now scored at least 30 points in five of his past 10 games. Williamson's now averaging 31.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game on 62.4 percent shooting this month. His numbers could be affected by Brandon Ingram's return next week, but he should stay hot for the remainder of Week 9
Who's not
Conley made some big plays down the stretch on Thursday to help the Jazz sweep the Pelicans in their two-game series against a Western Conference rival, but his stat line wasn't all that great. The crafty guard totaled a mere four points on 1-of-8 shooting to go along with six assists. He's averaged 5.5 points on 18.8 percent shooting in his previous two games while the Jazz's other guards have carried the scoring load. He could just need time to work his way back from injury, but he's not creating much offense right now.
Friday DFS play
Clint Capela is set to miss a week or two with a calf sprain, so Okongwu will step in as the Atlanta Hawks' starting center for the time being. The USC product has only played without Capela and John Collins once this season, and he tallied six points with 10 rebounds in a blowout loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Trae Young's return to the lineup against the Charlotte Hornets and his playmaking should help Okongwu use his speed as an advantage against Mason Plumlee. Frank Kaminsky will play sparingly, and I think there's a good chance Okongwu will top his season high in minutes (34) ahead of the weekend.
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.