NBA picks: Hornets’ Miles Bridges leads trio of mid-tier fantasy targets for Friday

Friday’s eight-game NBA slate will begin at 7 p.m. Studs and cheap plays often attract a large chunk of attention for fantasy managers when building lineups, but this schedule is loaded with strong mid-tier options who are capable of finishing atop the points leaderboard ahead of the weekend.

Are you looking for strong returns? Here’s who you should keep an eye on as you look to build optimal lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel: 

Players were bound to step up on offense after the Charlotte Hornets traded Terry Rozier and Bridges could continue to benefit from that moving forward. He posted 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals against the Detroit Pistons and has logged at least 39 minutes in four straight contests. He’ll likely serve as his team’s second option for the rest of the season, should he remain in Buzz City through the trade deadline. Bridges has been hot since before the Rozier trade and is averaging 23.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in January.

Middleton has had an up-and-year but can finish this month on a high note if he keeps it up. The Milwaukee Bucks forward has eclipsed 23 points in two straight games while shooting 58.6% from the field. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ wings don’t have the length to bother his shot and the Bucks seem refreshed as a whole following Adrian Griffin’s departure. Middleton has a great chance to build momentum against a team he dominated his last time out.

Kyrie Irving is set to miss his second straight game with a thumb injury and Tim Hardaway has done a great job stepping up this season when the star point guard is inactive. The Dallas Mavericks wing is averaging 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists through 15 games without Irving this season. He chucked up nearly 10.0 shots from beyond the arc per game in the contests. The Atlanta Hawks will be throwing bodies at Luka Doncic, so fantasy managers should expect Hardaway to get plenty of quality looks in what could be a very high-scoring game.