Only two games on the board tonight but there is no shortage of starpower to choose from for our DFS lineups!

Written By: Ryan Humphries on Twitter & LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries

Main Slate Rundown 📰

It’s a Thursday in the NBA, so that’s usually going to signify a small slate is on tap. After getting a taste of a huge slate yesterday, we’re back to a little two-game slate today. As always on these mini slates, I recommend exercising a little extra caution when it comes to bankroll exposure but you do you! With so many sports in full swing, there is no shortage of DFS action to get involved in today on this “sports equinox” so let’s have some fun!

Main Slate Match-Ups w/ Game Totals & Point Spreads

Note: NBA position designations are never going to perfectly align between the major DFS sites. For the purposes of these newsletters, positional designations will default to DraftKings.

Point Guards/Shooting Guards to Consider 🏀

PG/SG James Harden, PHI | DK: $9k, FD: $9.7k | vs. MIL | GPP Preferred

Harden supplied a vintage performance on opening night where in 37 minutes played, he shot 9-14 from the field, including 5-9 from downtown, and went 12-12 from the FT line, scoring 37 points in total. Also in classic Harden fashion, he stuffed the stat sheet with eight boards and seven dimes. He’s not going to shoot 64.3% from the field all of the time, but if he can maintain relative efficiency, we could see plenty of similar fantasy outputs moving forward. The Bucks are tough defensively in the paint, so Harden may have to pick up some of the slack on offense if Joel Embiid gets limited down low.

PG Jrue Holiday, MIL | DK: $7.9k, FD: $8.8k | @ PHI | Cash & GPP

SF Khris Middleton (wrist) is on the shelf for the first few weeks of the season, and Jrue Holiday should be the biggest usage beneficiary from his absence. Holiday saw a team-high +4.8% usage increase when Middleton was off of the court last season. He should be in line for big minutes this evening, perhaps in the range of 35-38 minutes (as long as the game stays competitive). On top of strong assist/rebound numbers, the likelihood of 15 to 20+ shot attempts should give Holiday an excellent floor today.

PG Patrick Beverly, LAL | DK: $4.1k, FD: $5k | vs. LAC | Cash & GPP

Pat Bev saw some minutes limitations due to foul trouble in Tuesday’s game against the Warriors so better fantasy outputs are ahead when he plays his usual projected 30-ish minutes. He’s never going to be a high-usage player as long as LeBron and AD are on the court, but at his DFS salaries, he doesn’t need to be. Beverly relies more on the peripheral stats but he is one of the best when it comes to racking up steals and blocks. He’ll represent a decent value option on today’s small slate.

Also Consider:

SG Paul George, LAC | DK: $8.9k, FD: $9.2k | @ LAL | GPP Preferred

PG Tyrese Maxey, PHI | DK: $5.2k, FD: $6.6k | vs. MIL | Cash & GPP (DK Preferred)

PG John Wall, LAC | DK: $4.9k, FD: $6k | @ LAL | GPP Preferred

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

PF/C Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL | DK: $10.7k, FD: $11.3k | @ PHI | Cash & GPP

There is no question who owns the highest ceiling on this slate. It’s this man. Of course, he is going to be extremely popular on a two-game slate and he will be dealing with Joel Embiid in the paint at times. Barring any foul trouble, he should continue to smash and historically, he has always provided elite performances against the 76ers. Giannis didn’t see a ton of action in the preseason, but in two games he put up 21.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.5 Stl/G on 26.4 Min/G. His usage rate was above 40% in those two games and one way or the other, he is also going to benefit from Khris Middleton (wrist) being off the court. There are a lot of star players packed into this two-gamer, but Giannis is an extremely tough guy to fade today.

SF/PF LeBron James, LAL | DK: $9.3k, FD: $10.8k | vs. LAC | Cash & GPP

No surprise “Year 20 LeBron” is still a monster. It was a losing effort on opening night, but LeBron shouldered the load as much as he could against the Warriors on Tuesday when he put up 31 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists in 35 minutes. The Lakers are +5.5 home underdogs tonight and if they have any hope of winning this game, LeBron is going to have to put in another hard carry once again.

SF/PG Tobias Harris, PHI | DK: $5.5k, FD: $6.3k | vs. MIL | Cash & GPP

It’s hard to go wrong with Tobias Harris at these DFS salaries. He’s not quite an FPPM player (0.89 FPPM L20Gms), but he is a super safe bet to play minutes in the mid-30s. Harris is a solid rebounder who is going to put up around 12-15 shots most games, and he can be sort of "the forgotten man" on this 76ers offense at times, with so much defensive focus being directed at Embiid and Harden. Milwaukee is not particularly great against small forwards, to begin with, at least based on last season’s results. Over the Bucks’ last 20 games, they have allowed the most FPPG to starting small forwards.

Also Consider:

PF/C Anthony Davis, LAL | DK: $8.6k, FD: $9.9k | vs. LAC | Cash & GPP

PF Marcus Morris Sr., LAC | DK: $4.5k, FD: $4.6k | @ LAL | GPP Preferred

SF Lonnie Walker IV, LAL | DK: $4.1k, FD: $4.4k | vs. LAC | Cash & GPP

PF/C PJ Tucker, PHI | DK: $3.5k, FD: $4.1k | vs. MIL | GPP Preferred

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Joel Embiid, PHI | DK: $10.3k, FD: $10.2k | vs. MIL | GPP Preferred

Embiid is quite obviously the best center on the slate and he’s nearly double the salary of the next closest “center eligibility only” player. With other studs like Giannis, LeBron, AD, Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi on this slate, I could see Embiid’s ownership coming in fairly low (by two-game slate standards). It’s not an easy match-up with Milwaukee but Embiid still retains 60+ FP upside regardless. This will be especially true if he plays the sort of minutes he did on Tuesday (37). Embiid averaged 33.8 Min/G last season and 31.3 Min/G the season before that. Even in ‘down’ games, Embiid is going to produce huge numbers if he continues to play around 36 minutes regardless of match-up.

C Brook Lopez, MIL | DK: $4.8k, FD: $4.9k | @ PHI | GPP Preferred

If you’re playing it safe while spending on other stud players not named “Embiid,” your best bet is to likely slot in one of the “PF/C” eligible players in at center tonight. However, Brook Lopez could be a decent contrarian option to turn to in GPPs. Assuming he is in the starting lineup today, he will be assigned the not-so-easy task of dealing with Joel Embiid. That ups Lopez’s foul trouble concerns considerably. But Lopez is probably a guy we’re just hoping to get around 25 minutes out of anyway. He is close to an FPPM player (0.90 FPPM L20Gms), so he’ll have a shot at returning value, and he is a guy who can stretch the floor and put up some shots from outside the paint.

Also Consider:

C Ivica Zubac, LAC | DK: $5.3k, FD: $5.5k | @ LAL | GPP Preferred

NBA Player Props 📊

Player Prop or Bet | Odds | Unit Bet Size

It’s a small slate so I’m just highlighting one prop tonight!

James Harden OVER 22.5 Points | -105 (Caesars) | 2.0 Units

Harden is not going to be guarded by Jrue Holiday this entire game. With Khris Middleton out, he will be up against guys like Jevon Carter and Grayson Allen. Those are match-ups Harden can dominate and, as he often does, he’s going to make it to the charity stripe a fair amount as well Don’t expect the same sort of efficiency we saw out of Harden two nights ago, but this is going to be a two-man 76ers offense on a massive amount of possessions and Harden should be able to crack the over on this points prop fairly easily.

PrizePicks Two-Pick Power Play ⚡

Here is a two-pick “Power Play” I’m liking for today's NBA action over on PrizePicks! Nothing is ever a guarantee to hit but I put my own money on these bets so I don't just lightly throw these out there without believing they'll cash! If it hits, it will return 3x the wager.

Tyrese Maxey MORE than 5.5 Rebounds + Assists

Jrue Holiday MORE than 25.5 Points + Assists

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That will wrap us up with today’s “Daily Dribble” edition! Once again, you can find me on Twitter or in LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries. Good luck everyone!