A solid eight-game NBA slate gets us started this week so let’s get set to lock in onto some top DFS plays and props!

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

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

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

It’s a big week for us sports nuts. A blockbuster NBA trade went down over the weekend with Kyrie joining Luka and the Mavs, LeBron is likely just one or two games away from breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record, it’s officially Super Bowl LVII week, the NHL returns today from its All-Star Break, the rowdiest golf tournament of the year gets underway at the WM Phoenix Open on Thursday, and we’re inching ever so closely to the new MLB season! Fun times! Let’s get the ball rolling on tonight’s eight-game NBA slate, shall we? As always, best of luck!

Today’s Key Injuries:

Cavaliers: C. LeVert - Questionable, R. Rubio - OUT

Wizards: K. Kuzma - OUT, B. Beal - Questionable, A. Gill - Questionable

Celtics: J. Brown - Questionable, M. Smart - OUT, L. Kornet - OUT

Pistons: I. Stewart - Questionable, M. Bagley III - OUT

Clippers: J. Wall - OUT

Nets: K. Durant - OUT, S. Dinwiddie - Questionable (NOT expected to make Nets debut tonight), D. Finney-Smith - Questionable (NOT expected to make Nets debut tonight), B. Simmons - Questionable, S. Curry - OUT, TJ Warren - Probable

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

Bulls: P. Williams - Probable, A. Caruso - Questionable, Jav. Green - OUT

Kings: None

Rockets: K. Porter Jr. - OUT, G. Mathews - Questionable

Mavericks: L. Doncic - OUT, K. Irving - OUT (expected Mavs debut on Wednesday), M. Kleber - OUT, F. Ntilikina - Questionable, D. Bertans - OUT, M. Morris - Questionable

Jazz: J. Vanderbilt - Questionable

Thunder: L. Dort - OUT, A. Pokusevski - OUT, J. Robinson-Earl - OUT

Warriors: S. Curry - OUT

Bucks: G. Antetokounmpo - Probable, B. Portis - OUT

Trailblazers: J. Nurkic - OUT, D. Eubanks - Probable, G. Payton II - 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 🏀

SG/SF Zach LaVine, CHI | DK: $8.1k, FD: $7.6k | vs. SAS | Cash & GPP

There is just an absurd amount of viable guard plays on this eight-game slate but we’ll begin with someone who isn’t necessarily impacted by recent injury/trade news. Zach LaVine is in a stellar spot tonight against the most porous defense in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs (30th in def. efficiency, 122.5 PPG allowed). LaVine is prone to the occasional dud performance and there is some sizable blowout risk involved in this match-up with the Bulls stepping in as -10 point favorites at home on the front end of a back-to-back, no less. That said, if the banged-up Spurs squad can keep this thing fairly close, LaVine has 50+ FP upside written all over him tonight. He has hit that 50+ FP threshold in two of his last three games and, on top of his typically-solid scoring outputs, he has been picking up his peripheral stats a fair amount lately as well. The Bulls lead the slate with a 124.5 implied team total and there is a great chance we see a ceiling performance out of LaVine this evening.

💫PG/SG Cam Thomas, BKN | DK: $5k, FD: $6k | vs. LAC | GPP Preferred

Kyrie has been shipped to Dallas and the newly acquired Spencer Dinwiddie is not expected to make his Nets debut just yet. That leaves Cam Thomas as a primary beneficiary from both a minutes and usage standpoint. Whether he starts or continues to come off of the bench, Thomas should easily push for around 30 minutes tonight. He’s been picking up quality minutes in the Nets’ last three games and enters off of a career performance on Saturday against the Wizards where he dropped 44 points, six rebounds, and five assists in 29 minutes -- good for a cool 57.75 DKFP. We can’t expect similar results tonight against a solid Clippers team (11th in def. efficiency) but Thomas has averaged 0.92 FPPM this season and has averaged +9.88 FP per 48-minutes when Irving, Durant, Seth Curry, and Markieff Morris (all four are out or traded) have been off the court this season.

💫PG/SG Malaki Branham, SAS | DK: $4.5k, FD: $4.8k | @ CHI | Cash & GPP

Spurs’ first-round rookie selection, Malaki Branham, is another affordable guard play who will be poised for a big role tonight. San Antonio will be short on healthy bodies in the backcourt with Devin Vassell, Tre Jones, and Romeo Langford all sidelined for tonight’s game in Chicago. The Spurs will also be without forward Jeremy Sochan and may not have Keldon Johnson (ankle/questionable) either. Regardless of Johnson’s availability, there will be an abundance of minutes and usage to go around tonight even if this turns into a blowout (SAS +10). Branham most recently posted his best NBA performance against a very good 76ers team on Friday when he put up 26 points, three assists, two rebounds, and a steal (35.0 DKFP) in 35 minutes. Perhaps that game gave Coach Popovich enough confidence to give him similar run tonight. At this point, he may not have any other option.

Other Guards to Consider:

PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC | DK: $10.7k, FD: $10.4k | @ GSW | GPP Preferred

💫PG/SG Josh Giddey, OKC | DK: $7.8k, FD: $8k | @ GSW | Cash & GPP

SG/SF Klay Thompson, GSW | DK: $7k, FD: $7.6k | vs. OKC | Cash & GPP

PG/SG Anfernee Simons, POR | DK: $6.8k, FD: $6.4k | vs. MIL | GPP Preferred

PG/SG Jaden Ivey, DET | DK; $6k, FD: $6.1k | vs. BOS | GPP Preferred

💫PG/SG Jordan Poole, GSW | DK: $6.2k, FD: $7.4k | vs. OKC | Cash & GPP

💫PG Mike Conley, UTA | DK: $5.8k, FD: $6.3k | vs. DAL | Cash & GPP

💫PG Edmond Sumner, BKN | DK: $4.5k, FD: $5.3k | vs. LAC | Cash & GPP

SG Jaden Hardy, DAL | DK: $3.4k, FD: $3.8k | @ UTA | GPP Preferred

PG/SF Frank Ntilikina, DAL | DK: $3k, FD: $3.5k | @ UTA | Cash & GPP (If he’s starting, currently listed as questionable)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

💫PF/C Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL | DK: $12.1k, FD: $12.2k | @ POR | Cash & GPP

It’s not looking as if we’ll have as many clear-cut reliable options at the forward positions today so you can never feel too bad about spending up for the Greek Freak -- the available value at other positions will certainly make him easy to jam into lineups. Not much is left to be said about Giannis at this point. He’s playing out of his mind right now, more so than usual anyway, and has secured four 70+ DKFP performances within his last five starts. This game in Portland carries a mammoth, slate-leading 242.0 over/under with a close spread (MIL -4). The Trailblazers have ranked 27th against opposing power forwards over their last 20 games and they won’t have center Jusuf Nurkic (calf/out) available to guard the paint tonight.

SF Saddiq Bey, DET | DK: $5.8k, FD: $6.7k | vs. BOS | DK Preferred

Most people tend to avoid playing Detroit Pistons, particularly when they draw a tough match-up like the one they have tonight against Boston (5th in def. efficiency). However, Saddiq Bey has been consistently providing value out of the mid-range regardless of whether he lands in the starting rotation or comes off of the bench. Bey has put up at least 34.0 DKFP in eight of his last 10 games and has been a bright spot on an otherwise bleak Pistons offense. He’s playable in GPPs as a low-owned pivot at $6,700 on FanDuel but is much more appealing at his $5,800 tag on DraftKings… though, likely still best reserved for GPPs since this game could get ugly (BOS -10.5).

SF Josh Green, DAL | DK: $4.7k, FD: $4.6k | @ UTA | Cash & GPP

The Mavs are another team that will be shorthanded tonight -- no Luka, Kyrie won’t make his Mavs debut until Wednesday, and Spencer Dinwiddie + Dorian Finney-Smith have been traded away to Brooklyn. Dallas will get Christian Wood back in the mix tonight but it’s unclear whether he will face any sort of limitations after missing the last eight games. However it shakes out, Josh Green will have a fairly wide pathway to 30+ minutes and solid usage. It’s a strong match-up against the Jazz who rank 25th in defensive efficiency and Green should be in line for big minutes, potentially in the mid-30s, tonight.

Other Forwards to Consider:

💫SF/PF Jayson Tatum, BOS | DK: $11k, FD: $10.8k | @ DET | GPP Preferred (UpdateL J. Brown is out. Boost to Tatum)

PF/C Christian Wood, DAL | DK: $8.4k, FD: $7.9k | @ UTA | GPP Preferred (Monitor potential minutes restriction news)

PF/C Evan Mobley, CLE | DK: $7.2k, FD: $7.8k | @ WAS | GPP Preferred

PF/C Draymond Green, GSW | DK: $6.4k, FD: $7.4k | vs. OKC | GPP Preferred

💫SF Josh Hart, POR | DK: $5.9k, FD: $5.6k | vs. MIL | GPP Preferred

SF/PF KJ Martin, HOU | DK: $5.7k, FD: $5.7k | vs. SAC | GPP Preferred

SF Khris Middleton, MIL | DK: $5.4k, FD: $6.2k | @ POR | GPP Preferred

PF Keita Bates-Diop, SAS | DK: $4.6k, FD: $5.5k | @ CHI | DK Preferred

SF/PF Stanley Johnson, SAS | DK: $3.3k, FD: $4.4k | @ CHI | DK Preferred (If K. Johnson is out)

Centers to Consider 🏀

💫C Nikola Vucevic, CHI | DK: $9.1k, FD: $8.3k | vs. SAS | Cash & GPP

Besides the potential blowout factor (CHI -10), it’s difficult to hate on the idea of spending up for Vucevic this evening. He has secured at least 40.0 DKFP in 15 of his last 16 games so the floor is about as good as it gets. As mentioned ad nauseam, the Spurs continue to boast the worst defense in the NBA and that applies directly to their interior defense as well. San Antonio gives up a league-high 55.8 points in the paint per game and they rank in the bottom third in rebounding rate. Vucevic will have an easy double-double tonight and if the Spurs make this a competitive game, that may just unlock Vucevic’s 50+ FP upside.

💫C Robert Williams, BOS | DK: $5.5k, FD: $5.8k | @ DET | Cash & GPP

We can feel pretty good about the Time Lord in tonight’s match-up given his current sub-$6k DFS salaries. He’s been off of a minutes restriction for several games now and saw as many as 36 minutes a week and a half ago versus the Knicks. The Pistons have ranked 25th versus starting centers in their last 20 games and even if this game does trend toward a blowout, Robert Williams is capable of returning value with mid-20s minutes. Jaylen Brown was also recently ruled out which opens up a potential usage boost for a secondary offensive option like Williams.

Other Centers to Consider:

C Nicolas Claxton, BKN | DK: $7.9k, FD: $8.4k | vs. LAC | GPP Preferred

C Jarrett Allen, CLE | DK: $6.8k, FD: $7.2k | @ WAS | GPP Preferred

C Jakob Poeltl, SAS | DK: $5.9k, FD: $6.5k | @ CHI | GPP Preferred

💫C Walker Kessler, UTA | DK: $5.4k, FD: $7k | vs. DAL | DK Preferred

PF/C Isaiah Stewart, DET | DK: $5.2k, FD: $5k | vs. BOS | GPP Preferred

C Drew Eubanks, POR | DK: $3.8k, FD: $4.7k | vs. MIL | GPP Preferred

💫C Jaylin Williams, OKC | DK: $3.1k, FD: $4.2k | @ GSW | DK Preferred

NBA Player Props 📊

Player Prop or Bet | Odds | Unit Bet Size

Nikola Vucevic OVER 31.5 Points + Rebounds | -110 (DraftKings) | 2.0 Units

Giannis Antetokounmpo OVER 48.5 Points + Rebounds | -113 (FanDuel) | 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.

Josh Giddey MORE than 7.5 Rebounds

Draymond Green MORE than 15.5 REBS + ASTS

🆕 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!