Time to jump into another loaded week of NBA action with an 11-game Monday slate on tap! Let’s hone in on some top DFS plays and props to consider this evening!

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

Straight Locks🔒 | NBA Props w/ Shannon & Tyler!

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

I hope everyone enjoyed their Super Bowl festivities (sorry Eagles fans) and had a great weekend overall! We begin this workweek with a busy 11-game NBA slate and we’re now just a few days out from the All-Star Break which rolls around this Friday. Following last week’s very active trade deadline, we’re still in the early stages of observing how some players are “gelling” with their new teams as well as the impacts they’re having on the existing rosters. It makes things a bit trickier than usual but we’re up for the challenge! Let’s dive head-first into this behemoth of a slate! Best of luck!

Today’s Key Injuries:

Hawks: J. Collins - Questionable, B. Bogdanovic - Questionable

Hornets: K. Oubre Jr. - OUT, R. Jackson - OUT, C. Martin - OUT

Spurs: K. Johnson - Probable, D. Vassell - OUT, T. Jones - OUT, J. Sochan - Probable, R. Langford - OUT, C. Bassey - Questionable, D. McDermott - Questionable, K. Birch - OUT

Cavs: None

Jazz: R. Westbrook - OUT

Pacers: T. Haliburton - Questionable, M. Turner - Questionable

Rockets: K. Porter Jr. - OUT, J. Wall - OUT, D. Green - OUT

76ers: J. Embiid - Questionable, S. Milton - Probable

Nuggets: J. Murray - Questionable, A. Gordon - Questionable, Z. Nnaji - OUT

Heat: B. Adebayo - Probable, T. Herro - Doubtful, V. Oladipo - OUT, K. Lowry - OUT, G. Vincent - Probable, M. Strus - Probable, H. Highsmith - Probable, D. Robinson - OUT, N. Jovic - OUT

Nets: S. Curry - OUT

Knicks: M. Robinson - OUT

Magic: T. Ross - OUT, RJ Hampton - OUT

Bulls: A. Caruso - Questionable, Jav. Green - OUT

Pelicans: Z. Williamson - OUT, CJ McCollum - Questionable, D. Daniels - OUT

Thunder: A. Pokusevski - OUT

T-Wolves: K. Towns - OUT, R. Gobert - Questionable, K. Anderson - Questionable

Mavs: T. Hardaway Jr. - Questionable, M. Kleber - OUT, D. Bertans - OUT

Wizards: K. Kuzma - OUT, W. Barton - OUT

Warriors: S. Curry - OUT, G. Payton II - OUT

Lakers: L. James - OUT, A. Davis - Probable, M. Bamba - OUT

Trailblazers: J. Grant - OUT, J. Nurkic - OUT, T. Watford - Questionable, K. Johnson - Probable, J. Winslow - OUT

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

Top DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Plays

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 Trae Young, ATL | DK: $9.7k, FD: $9.8k | @ CHA | Cash & GPP

With all of the post-trade deadline value out there, it won’t be difficult to spend up on multiple studs today. Trae Young stands out as a high-end guard to target on this slate. He has upped his production to 1.55 FPPM over his last five games while averaging 24.6 PPG and a whopping 12.6 APG. We’ll also need to monitor the availability of a couple of Hawks players. Both John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic are listed as questionable today. When those two players are off the court, Young has seen his usage jump up +8.36%. Atlanta draws the ever-favorable Charlotte match-up (CHA: 7th in pace, 25th in def. efficiency) and the Hawks lead the slate with a huge 123.0 implied point total.

💫PG/SG Collin Sexton, UTA | DK: $5.2k, FD: $5.5k | @ IND | Cash & GPP

Russell Westbrook is taking some time to decide whether he wants to explore a buyout with Utah or remain with the team for the rest of the season. He won’t be suiting up tonight which means Collin Sexton continues to project as the Jazz’s starting point guard. Sexton has started Utah’s last three games, played at least 31 minutes in each of those three contests, and has averaged 1.07 FPPM. At his current salaries, he offers a strong floor with a 40+ FP ceiling. Sexton and the Jazz will also draw a plus match-up against a Pacers team that ranks 8th in pace and 22nd in defensive efficiency.

SG/SF Josh Richardson, NOP | DK: $3k, FD: $5.7k | @ OKC | DK Preferred

Josh Richardson is worth a look over on DraftKings where he sits at the stone minimum of $3,000. Richardson, who was recently traded from the Spurs, is expected to make his Pelicans debut this evening and he should project for at least 20 minutes, especially if CJ McCollum (ankle/questionable) is unable to suit up. Richardson averaged 0.96 FPPM with the Spurs this season and he was a bit more productive in recent weeks. There are better options on FanDuel around Richardson’s $5,700 price tag, but he could be a total steal on DraftKings.

Other Guards to Consider:

PG Damian Lillard, POR | DK: $11.1k, FD: $10.4k | vs. LAL | GPP Preferred

💫PG LaMelo Ball, CHA | DK: $10.4k, FD: $9.6k | vs. ATL | Cash & GPP

PG/SG Donovan Mitchell, CLE | DK: $8.7k, FD: $8.5k | vs. SAS | GPP Preferred

💫SG Brandon Ingram, NOP | DK: $7.8k, FD: $7.8k | @ OKC | Cash & GPP (Boost if McCollum is out)

💫PG/SG Jordan Poole, GSW | DK: $7.8k, FD: $7.8k | vs. WAS | Cash & GPP

SG Bradley Beal, WAS | DK: $7.6k, FD: $8.5k | @ GSW | GPP Preferred

PG TJ McConnell, IND | DK: $5k, FD: $5k | vs. UTA | Cash & GPP (If T. Haliburton is out)

PG/SG Devonte’ Graham, SAS | DK: $3.5k, FD: $5.2k | @ CLE | DK Preferred

💫SG/SF Cam Reddish, POR | DK: $3k, FD: $3.9k | vs. LAL | Cash & GPP (Assuming he continues to start)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

💫PF/C Evan Mobley, CLE | DK: $7.4k, FD: $8k | vs. SAS | Cash & GPP

Despite 22 teams being in action tonight, the forward options are not overly enticing. One guy worth a look in the upper mid-range would be Evan Mobley. He’s a consistent player who provides a great DFS floor on a near-nightly basis and he boasts an excellent ceiling as well after coming off of a 58.75 DKFP performance two games ago versus the Pelicans. It’s also a dream match-up against the Spurs who continue to rank dead last in defensive efficiency, allowing an NBA-high 122.8 PPG and the most points in the paint per game (56.4). The only real concern here would center around the blowout factor. The Cavaliers are massive 15-point favorites on their home court tonight but if the Spurs can keep this thing competitive going into the 4th quarter, Mobley should be poised to have an excellent game.

SF/PF Gordon Hayward, CHA | DK: $4.9k, FD: $5.2k | vs. ATL | GPP Preferred

It has not been a stellar season for Hayward by any stretch and the Hornets’ forward has missed several lengthy stretches due to injuries. However, he’s looking just a bit too cheap on this slate. Hayward is getting back to playing mid-30s minutes and this will be one of the better game environments on the slate. The Hornets and Hawks own the second-highest combined pace tonight and the 241.5 over/under in this game leads the slate. Atlanta has also ranked 26th versus starting SFs over their last 20 games. It’s not a slam dunk play like some other options on this slate, but there is some realistic 6x-7x upside out of Hayward this evening.

💫SF/SG Talen Horton-Tucker, UTA | DK: $3.9k, FD: $4.3k | @ IND | Cash & GPP

We’ll go back to the Jazz for value and look to target Talen Horton-Tucker, who carries small forward and shooting guard eligibility on both DraftKings and FanDuel. THT has always been a productive per-minute player, and he’s averaging a hair over an FPPM this season, but the main issue has been a lack of playing time. That has changed recently with the Jazz shipping off three rotation players (Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley) ahead of last week’s trade deadline. THT has picked up at least 24 minutes off of the bench in the last three games and he has responded with DKFP totals of 40.0, 32.25, and 26.75. He should be able to log around 24-28 minutes again tonight, in which case he is simply too cheap to ignore in DFS lineups tonight.

Other Forwards to Consider:

💫SF/PF Lauri Markkanen, UTA | DK: $9.1k, FD: $7.6k | @ IND | FD Preferred

💫PF/C Draymond Green, GSW | DK: $6.6k, FD: $7k | vs. WAS | GPP Preferred

PF/C PJ Washington, CHA | DK: $6.1k, FD: $6.6k | vs. ATL | GPP Preferred

SF/PF Cameron Johnson, BKN | DK: $4.9k, FD: $5.1k | @ NYK | Cash & GPP

SF/SG Max Strus, MIA | DK: $3.8k, FD: $4.2k | vs. DEN | GPP Preferred

Centers to Consider 🏀

💫C Nikola Vucevic, CHI | DK: $9k, FD: $8.8k | vs. ORL | Cash & GPP

Vucevic is always going to be worthy of some DFS consideration given the way he’s been playing for the last several weeks. He has posted at least 39.75 DKFP in 19 of his last 20 games, dating back to Jan. 2nd, and he has posted some big-time ceiling performances in that stretch as well. The Magic have been getting owned by opposing centers recently, ranking 25th versus the position over their last 20 games. Vuc has already had a pair of monster games against Orlando this season, scoring 53.5 DKFP against them on Nov. 18th and 54.75 DKFP more recently on Jan. 28th. If you’re not gunning for a stud like Jokic or Embiid and not overly interested in any of the value center plays, Vucevic makes for a perfectly fine spend up at his $9k/$8.8k salaries.

💫C Mark Williams, CHA | DK: $4k, FD: $5.2k | vs. ATL | Cash & GPP

Things did not go too well for the Hornets’ new starting center in his last game. Williams put up just 18.25 DKFP in 21 minutes against Jokic and the Nuggets. However, we should probably expect results similar to his first start of the season, which came against the Celtics three days ago, to be closer to the norm. In that game, Williams played a season-high 31 minutes, posted an 11-12 double-double with two assists and a block, and racked up 32.5 DKFP. He’ll need to improve on his ability to stay out of foul trouble but, if he can do that tonight, he stands out as a strong value target at the center position since he should be expected to play closer to 30 minutes once again.

Other Centers to Consider:

C Nikola Jokic, DEN | DK: $12k, FD: $12k | @ MIA | GPP Preferred (Usage bump if J. Murray/A. Gordon sit)

C Joel Embiid, PHI | DK: $11.4k, FD: $11.7k | vs. HOU | Cash & GPP (Note: Embiid is currently questionable)

C Nicolas Claxton, BKN | DK: $7.2k, FD: $8.4k | @ NYK | DK Preferred

C Jarrett Allen, CLE | DK: $6.8k, FD: $7.9k | vs. SAS | DK Preferred

C Clint Capela, ATL | DK: $5.9k, FD: $7k | @ CHA | DK Preferred

💫C Walker Kessler, UTA | DK: $5.6k, FD: $7.2k | @ IND | DK Preferred

💫C Zach Collins, SAS | DK: $4.5k, FD: $6.4k | @ CLE | GPP Preferred

C Drew Eubanks, POR | DK: $4.1k, FD: $4.6k | vs. LAL | Cash & GPP

C Onyeka Okongwu, ATL | DK: $3.8k, FD: $5.5k | @ CHA | DK Preferred

NBA Player Props 📊

Player Prop or Bet | Odds | Unit Bet Size

Collin Sexton OVER 4.5 Assists | -120 (DraftKings) | 2.0 Units

Nikola Vucevic OVER 15.5 Rebounds + Assists | -130 (DraftKings) | 2.0 Units

PrizePicks 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.

Collin Sexton MORE than 4.5 Assists

Nikola Vucevic MORE than 15.5 REBS + ASTS

🆕 Props Edge+ 🆕

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Speaking of props, put the Props Edge+ tool to use by signing up for PrizePicks (Promo code: BETFULLY) or Underdog (Promo code: LINESTAR). You'll receive a 100% match on first deposits up to $100 PLUS a free two-month subscription to LineStar Premium. Many people may not realize that you can legally place prop bets in most states using UnderDog (or PrizePicks) – it’s called Pick'Em, and it’s incredibly easy.

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!