Fantasy basketball advice: NBA FanDuel sleepers/busts for Friday, March 27

First off, a quick introduction. If you don't know what FanDuel is, well, you're missing out. FanDuel is a site that offers daily fantasy sports games. Participants get a chance every day to select new players, fill out a lineup and, most importantly, win some cash. If you choose poorly Monday, you can come back Tuesday and try again. Easy as that. Click here to enter a $2 FanDuel contest that offers a $10,000 prize today.

As for what we're 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 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. Also, this space is going to be used to give you advice for the games on Friday, March 27. Thursday night is generally a slower one in the NBA, while Fridays are always packed. So with that, let's get started.

Brook Lopez, C, Nets: Lopez, quietly, has been a beast over the past week or so. He's averaging 26.6 points (!), 8.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks over his last five games. The Nets are still battling for a playoff spot, which means they're going to continue to ride Lopez's hot hand. The Cavaliers, who the Nets play on Friday, are allowing opposing centers to score 49.5 FanDuel points per game over their last 10, the tenth highest number in the league, per Rotoworld. It's been a rough season for Lopez and the Nets. Now, however, the big man out of Stanford is finally playing at the level many have always assumed he could.

Zach Lavine, G, Timberwolves: The rookie guard and reigning Slam Dunk champion has been filling in admirably for the injured Ricky Rubio. Lavine is averaging 18.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game over his last three. There's a reason he was taken 13th overall by the Timberwolves in last year's Draft, despite only averaging 9.8 points per game in his final year at UCLA, and now we're seeing it. On Friday Lavine will play the Rockets, who suddenly are missing their best perimeter defender in Patrick Beverley. Of course, be sure to monitor Rubio's status to make sure he's still out, but if he is Lavine is a great low-cost option.

Greivis Vasquez, G, Raptors: Another player filling in for an injured star. Again, be sure to monitor the status of the injured player -- in this case, Kyle Lowry -- but if that back pain continues to bother Lowry then Vazquez becomes a very good option. He scored 22 points and had three assists Wednesday against the Bulls. As a starter this season Vazquez is averaging 11.4 points and 4.3 assists per game. For the right price you'll take those numbers. Oh, and on Friday the Raptors play the Lakers, who are allowing opposing point guards to score a league-high 43.1 FanDuel points per game, via Rotoworld.

Dwight Howard, C, Rockets: The big man returned to the court on Wednesday, but played just 16 minutes and, as expected, did not look like himself. It could be tempting to look at the four points and seven redounds he put up in that limited amount of playing time and convince yourself that in Game 2 Howard could be a good play. Don't. Anyone who has missed as much time as Howard has is going to take a few games, at least, to get his feet under him. Wait until he does before you start slotting him into your lineup.

Robert Covington, G, Sixers: Covington has been on fire this week, scoring 21 points on Tuesday and 25 points on Friday. So why should you avoid him? First off, he's still Robert Covington. There's a reason you hadn't heard of him until recently, and too many times this year Covington has gotten hot for a couple of games only to eventually let down fantasy owners who take a flyer on him. Also, the Sixers play the Clippers on Friday, a team allowing opposing shooting guards to score only 31.1 FanDuel points per game over their last five (per Rotoworld), a number that, if extrapolated over the season, would be the best/lowest in the league. Sure, Covington could go off again, but chances are better that he lets down all those owners who buy into his latest stretch.

Bradley Beal, G, Wizards: This isn't the first time Beal has appeared on this list, but for some reason owners continue to fall for his name and pretty shooting form. Over his past five games Beal is scoring just 12.6 points while doing much of anything else on the court. The Wizards' offense is a mess and it's dragging Beal down. Oh, he also turned his ankle on Wednesday. Under no circumstances should he be in your Friday lineup.

Alexey Shved is out 2-3 weeks with a rib injury, which means there's, once again, an opportunity for a player on the Knicks to start collecting meaningless garbage-time stats. The man most likely to do so is Langston Galloway, who's probably been the Knicks' best player this year, as crazy as that sounds... The Lakers are tanking. Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill are no longer getting playing time. Ryan Kelly is. It won't look pretty as you watch him, but the final numbers might. He's averaging 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal over his last three games... Speaking of tanking, be careful with Nuggets players. Weird stuff is going on there in terms of Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari being benched.