Some superstar guards are in terrific spots today and there is one match-up that stands above the rest on tonight's 11-game slate. Let's get into some DFS plays and props to consider this evening!

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

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

We’re right back to the big slate grind! With 11 games on tap, you already know the list of injuries is extensive so let’s go ahead and get right into listing those out before we hop into the DFS plays and props to keep in mind today!

Today’s Key Injuries:

Heat: J. Butler - OUT, B. Adebayo - Questionable, T. Herro - OUT, C. Martin - Questionable (plans to play), D. Dedmond - Questionable

Wizards: D. Wright - OUT, J. Goodwin - OUT

Hornets: L. Ball - OUT, G. Hayward - Questionable, D. Smith Jr. - Doubtful, C. Martin - OUT

Cavaliers: J. Allen - Questionable, D. Wade - Doubtful

Bucks: J. Holiday - Questionable, G. Allen - Probable, W. Matthews - OUT

76ers: J. Harden - OUT, T. Harris - Questionable

Magic: P. Banchero - OUT, C. Anthony - OUT

Thunder: T. Mann - OUT, D. Bazley - OUT, I. Joe - OUT

Grizzlies: D. Bane - OUT

Pacers: C. Duarte - OUT

Rockets: K. Porter Jr. - Questionable, J. Tate - OUT, B. Fernando - OUT

Nuggets: N. Jokic - OUT, J. Murray - OUT, A. Gordon - Questionable (missed shootaround)

Mavericks: J. McGee - Probable, R. Bullock - Questionable, M. Kleber - OUT

Celtics: M. Smart - OUT

Pelicans: Z. Williamson - Questionable

Suns: C. Paul - Questionable, C. Johnson - OUT, L. Shamet - OUT

Jazz: R. Gay - OUT

Knicks: M. Robinson - Doubtful

Pistons: C. Cunningham - OUT, I. Stewart - OUT

Lakers: L. James - Questionable, A. Davis - Probable, M. Christie - OUT, J. Toscano-Anderson - OUT

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.

💫 = Favorite Play

Point Guards/Shooting Guards to Consider 🏀

💫PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC | DK: $9.9k, FD: $10.8k | @ MEM | Cash & GPP

SGA for MVP? There is no question he is playing at an MVP level, and his clutch gene has been off the charts this season while knocking down a game-winning shot seemingly every week. Over his last five starts, SGA is averaging 35.0 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.4 RPG, and 3.0 STL+BLK/Gm. He’s one of the best shot-blocking guards in the game, and his 33.1% usage rate has been on par with most of the other top guards not named “Luka Doncic.” SGA vs. Ja feels like must-see TV tonight.

💫PG/SG Jalen Green, HOU | DK: $6.5k, FD: $6.5k | vs. IND | Cash & GPP

We’ll need to keep an eye on the status of Kevin Porter Jr. (back/questionable). KPJ hasn’t missed a game yet this season, but when he has been off the court, Jalen Green has seen his usage go from 27.1% to 32.9%. Green is certainly playable regardless of KPJ’s status. He’s on a tear right now -- over his last five games, he is averaging 26.0 PPG, 5.6 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 42.0 DKFPPG while playing massive minutes (37.6 Min/Gm). This game is also one we’ll want plenty of exposure to. It’s a perfect recipe of two teams that play very fast (IND: 2nd in pace, HOU: 9th in pace) and lacks any real defense (IND: 24th in def. eff., HOU: 28th in def. eff.). As a result, this match-up owns a slate-leading 236.5 O/U. So the formula will go: KPJ plays, Jalen Green = strong play; KPJ sits, Jalen Green = excellent play.

💫PG/SG Bones Hyland, DEN | DK: $5k, FD: $5.8k | @ DAL | Cash & GPP

The Nuggets have some highly notable injuries tonight. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have already been ruled out, and Aaron Gordon missed shootaround today and may be on the wrong side of “questionable.” That should open up an opportunity for Bones Hyland to start and play big minutes, perhaps in the mid-30s. Hyland has been stellar on a fantasy point-per-minute basis this season (1.22 DKFPPM). At these salaries, he has hit value several times even when he has played 20-25 minutes. The Mavericks play at the NBA’s slowest pace and they’re favored by nine points at home, so this isn’t the sexiest match-up on paper. But Hyland represents a strong value given his projected minutes and usage increase.

Other Guards to Consider:

PG Steph Curry, GSW | DK: $10.6k, FD: $10.5k | vs. NYK | GPP Preferred

PG Ja Morant, MEM | DK: $10.5k, FD: $10.1k | vs. OKC | GPP Preferred

💫PG Tyrese Haliburton, IND | DK: $9.2k, FD: $8.9k | @ HOU | Cash & GPP

SG Zach LaVine, CHI | DK: $7.3k, FD: $7.4k | vs. ORL | Cash & GPP

PG Kyle Lowry, MIA | DK: $6.6k, FD: $6.7k | @ WAS | Cash & GPP

PG Gabe Vincent, MIA | DK: $4.6k, FD: $4.8k | @ WAS | Cash & GPP

💫PG Theo Maledon, CHA | DK: $3.9k, FD: $4.4k | @ CLE | Cash & GPP

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

💫SF/SG Buddy Hield, IND | DK: $6.9k, FD: $7k | @ HOU | Cash & GPP

This doesn’t feel like a slate where spending up at forward is an optimal strategy so I’m not going to force a high-dollar player in the highlighted player section. Instead, we’ll dip down to Buddy Hield who has been about as consistent as it gets. He has scored between 34.5 and 44.25 DKFP in nine of his last ten games and, as discussed with Jalen Green above, this match-up looks fantastic on paper with two fast-paced teams who struggle defensively. Hield is known for his three-point shooting, and he is putting up 9.6 3PA/Gm while connecting on 41.6% of those shots. The Rockets are allowing the 7th highest 3P% to opponents this season. Nothing is a guarantee in the wild world of NBA DFS but Hield feels like a strong 5x floor play with 6x upside, given the match-up.

PF/C Jaren Jackson Jr., MEM | DK: $5.6k, FD: $6.3k | vs. OKC | GPP Preferred

JJJ is definitely a risky option given this is just his second game back after dealing with a foot injury to start the season. In his season debut on Tuesday, he certainly showed some rust as he made just 3-of-14 shots. But he did rack up five blocks and bring in six rebounds across his 25 minutes played. The 14 FGA did represent a strong 28.0% USG% and the Grizzlies will need another offensive weapon to step up beside Ja Morant while Desmond Bane remains sidelined. So the hope here is that Jackson handles similar usage, has a (much) more efficient night shooting, and can see his workload increase to perhaps around 30 minutes. This is a major pace-up spot for Memphis against OKC (3rd in pace) so, in theory, Jackson could put up a nice return on his depressed DFS salaries. Still, GPP play only for me.

PF/C Zeke Nnaji, DEN | DK: $3.2k, FD: $3.7k | @ DAL | GPP/DK Preferred

This play may go out the window if Aaron Gordon (illness/questionable) is able to play, but Nnaji received 26 minutes of court time in Wednesday’s game where the Nuggets were without both Gordon and Jokic. His 18.25 DKFP scored in that game is nothing to write home about, but at $3,200 on DraftKings, that represents a 5.7x value return. Not the worst punt on the board (pending injury news).

Other Forwards to Consider:

PF LeBron James, LAL | DK: $10.4k, FD: $10k | vs. DET | GPP Preferred

PF Julius Randle, NYK | DK: $8.4k, FD: $8k | @ GSW | Cash & GPP

💫PF/C Evan Mobley, CLE | DK: $6.4k, FD: $7.1k | vs. CHA | GPP Preferred

SF/PF Saddiq Bey, DET | DK: $5.3k, FD: $5.6k | @ LAL | Cash & GPP

PF/C Brandon Clarke, MEM | DK: $4.2k, FD: $5.4k | vs. OKC | GPP/DK Preferred

SF/SG Cam Reddish, NYK | DK: $3.8k, FD: $4.1k | @ GSW | GPP Preferred

Centers to Consider 🏀

💫C Joel Embiid, PHI | DK: $11.3k, FD: $11.2k | vs. MIL | Cash & GPP

The last time Embiid took the court, he put up 59 real points and an astounding 100.25 DKFP/103 FDFP. Absolutely nuts. Embiid began the season a bit slow and has missed a few games due to injury but it looks like he’s starting to find his groove as of late. To state the obvious, barring some historical coincidence, we’re not getting another 100+ FP out of Embiid tonight and this is a rather so-so match-up against the Bucks which features a slate-low 211 O/U. But, with that said, Embiid is the clear top-scoring option for Philly while James Harden remains out and his usage may increase even further if Tobias Harris (hip/questionable) sits. Can we get around 65 FP out of Embiid tonight to get that GPP-winning upside? I’d say there is a decent chance of that happening.

💫C Myles Turner, IND | DK: $7.3k, FD: $7.8k | @ HOU | Cash & GPP

Turner’s DFS prices continue to creep up after another strong performance on Wednesday but he’s been incredibly efficient over his last five games while averaging 1.43 DKFPPM. For some comparison, Anthony Davis has averaged a similar 1.46 DKFPPM over his last five games but will cost an extra $2,900 on DK/$3,200 on FD. And, as discussed multiple times already, this match-up looks incredible on paper. The Rockets allow the 4th most blocks per game and the 8th most points in the paint.

Other Centers to Consider:

C Deandre Ayton, PHX | DK: $6.2k, FD: $6.7k | @ UTA | GPP Preferred

💫C Mason Plumlee, CHA | DK: $6.1k, FD: $5.7k | @ CLE | GPP Preferred

C Jalen Duren, DET | DK: $3.7k, FD: $5.2k | @ LAL | GPP/DK Preferred

C DeAndre Jordan, DEN | DK: $3.6k, FD: $4k | @ DAL | Cash & GPP

NBA Player Props 📊

Player Prop or Bet | Odds | Unit Bet Size

Friday Transparency Report

Season-to-Date Profits/Losses: +14.71 Units | Overall Record (thru 11/17): 224-16

Previous Week’s Profits/Losses: -4.71 Units | Previous Week’s Record: 3-4

Bit of a rough week for ya boy and I tried to get back in the black with the 3.0 unit wager on Huerter o2.5 three-pointers last night, which didn’t come through. Still, we’ve had some solid results going over the first month of the season so we’ll look to get back on a hot streak starting today!

Buddy Hield OVER 18.5 Points | -110 (FanDuel) | 2.0 Units

I’ve talked ad nauseam about this Pacers/Rockets game and how it should be a high-scoring affair with little defense being played. That will lead me to take the over on Hield’s 18.5 points prop tonight. Hield has hit this in seven of his last nine games and fell just two points short in the two games where he didn’t score at least 19 points. Hield is averaging 21.0 PPG on the road this season compared to 17.0 PPG at home so that is another reason I like Hield to go for 19+ points in Houston tonight. As discussed in the DFS section, Houston allows a ton of opposing three-point production, which is Hield’s bread and butter.

Steph Curry OVER 29.5 Points | -115 (DraftKings) | 2.0 Units

We saw another “Steph Carry” on Wednesday night when Curry put up 50 in a losing effort. He has now poured in at least 31 points in 10-of-14 games this season and is averaging 33.7 PPG at home, which is apparently the only place the Warriors can win this season. For DFS purposes or over bettors, the Knicks have been a surprisingly good match-up this season as they have ranked 10th in pace and 19th in defensive efficiency. Curry should be a strong bet to go for 30+ this evening.

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.

Buddy Hield MORE than 32.5 Fantasy Score

Stephen Curry MORE than 29.5 Points

🆕 Props Edge+ 🆕

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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!