Fantasy basketball advice: NBA FanDuel sleepers/busts for Friday, Feb. 20

As for what we're going to be doing in this space: The goal here will be to direct your attention toward some players who you might not otherwise consider. If you're here and reading this, then you already know that LeBron James is really good. But when filling out a roster you can't just pick out stars. You'll blow your cap that way and get stuck praying to the basketball gods that a guy like Kosta Koufos gets into the game. No, if you want to win, you have to take advantage of certain matchups -- and in order to do that you have to know where to look. That's what we're here for. Today we'll be handing out advice for the games on Friday, Feb. 20. So with that, let's get started.

Isaiah Canaan, G, Sixers: Sixers and Knicks. That's going to be the theme here. Both teams stink. Both teams are full of player who belong in the D-League. And yet, someone has to get some numbers for them. Stepping up for the Sixers is point guard Isaiah Canaan, who they acquired from the Rockets before Thursday's trade deadline. Canaan hasn't played much this year (14.8 minutes per game, 6.2 points, 1.2 assists), but his per-36 minute numbers are good (15.0 points, 2.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds) and, well, Philadelphia has no one else at the point. Literally. Michael Carter-Williams was the only point guard on the roster and he got shipped to Milwaukee. Canaan isn't going to put up huge numbers, but he's a good cheap option to go with.

Robert Covington, G, Sixers: The other Sixers player to target. Covington is averaging 18.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.6 blocks over his last five games. And that was when Carter-Williams was still around. Now that Philadelphia's got no real point guard, don't expect Covington to be efficient. But efficiency is meaningless in this format. All you're looking for is totals, and Covington is going to put up some nice ones the rest of the season.

Goran Dragic, G, Heat: Think of it this way: the Heat pretty much have a scrimmage Friday night. They're playing the Knicks. What better way to begin integrating a new point guard that letting him play 35 minutes in a glorified practice against a hapless defense. Not only do the Knicks stink on D, but they're also allowing opposing point guards to register 40.0 FanDuel points per game, according to Rotoworld.

Ty Lawson, G, Nuggets: A few things here. Lawson and Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw have been beefing recently. Lawson missed a practice this week and was also reportedly close to being traded Thursday. Not good signs for his production going forward. Also, his matchup is awful Friday night. Denver will play the Bucks, one of the better defensive teams in the league. They're also only allowing opposing point guards to register 35.4 FanDuel points per game, the lowest number in the league, per Rotoworld. There are also a ton of good point guard options available to go with Friday. Lawson is not one of them.

Tim Duncan, F, Spurs: This is all about the Spurs and how they handle back-to-backs. Duncan was great Thursday against the Clippers (30 points, 11 rebounds), but also played 33 minutes. On Friday San Antonio will play Golden State, one of the faster teams in the league. Don't be surprised if Gregg Popovich holds Duncan to around 25 minutes of playing time, which is obviously something you don't want from an expensive player in a daily fantasy league.

Dirk Nowitzki, F, Mavericks: Another older player playing for the second night in a row. On Friday the Mavericks will be going up against the Rockets who, surprisingly, have been awesome against opposing power forwards from a FanDuel standpoint, holding them to 36.7 total FanDuel points per game, the fourth lowest number in the league. The Mavericks have the types of players who can defend Nowitzki, long and quick forwards like Trevor Ariza and Josh Smith. Between that and the back-to-back, Nowitzki is a stay-away.

Jason Smith is one of the few legitimate professional basketball players left on the Knicks. He could be a decent cheap option at power forward... Isaiah Thomas in Boston is going to be a great fit. The ball is going to be in his hands the entire time, and the Celtics like to play fast. Also, the Celtics are playing the Kings Friday night, who, according to Rotoworld, are allowing opposing point guards to register 41.4 FanDuel points per game, the the fifth highest number in the league... Speaking of teams that struggle with opposing point guards, the Timberwolves, who are surrendering 41.7 FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards, are playing the Suns Friday night. It could take Brandon Knight a few games to get comfortable there, so Eric Bledsoe could be a good play.