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

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DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

We’ll get a crack at another six-game slate to close out the workweek and send us into the weekend! If we’re all being honest, these last couple of slates have been kinda shabby so hopefully this Friday slate can provide some entertaining NBA action along with plenty of DFS profits! Today’s newsletter is coming out earlier than usual so perhaps some additional news will drop later in the afternoon. But, as it stands now, there are very few high-impact injuries to speak of on this slate which is very “un-NBA-like,” especially this late in the season. We’ll see how that affects our DFS approach today but, either way, we’ll try to hone in on some top plays to target. Best of luck!

Today’s Key Injuries:

Hawks: None

Wizards: None

Trailblazers: A. Simons - Questionable

76ers: None

Cavaliers: D. Garland - Questionable

Heat: K. Lowry - OUT, K. Love - Probable

Nets: B. Simmons - OUT

Timberwolves: K. Towns - OUT, J. Nowell - OUT

Nuggets: V. Cancar - Questionable, Z. Nnaji - OUT

Spurs: J. Sochan - Probable, D. McDermott - Probable, R. Langford - Probable

Raptors: W. Barton - Probable

Lakers: A. Davis - Probable, L. James - OUT, D. Russell - Probable, M. Bamba - 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: $9.3k, FD: $9.5k | @ WAS | Cash & GPP

For a strong floor/ceiling play, we can feel pretty good about going back to Trae Young tonight. He draws the same Wizards match-up that he had on Wednesday when he dropped 28 points, 10 assists, and 54.5 DKFP. This game is enticing from a DFS perspective, given its slate-high 238 over/under to go along with a narrow 1.5-point spread in favor of the visiting Hawks. Young has put up at least 52.25 DKFP in seven of his last 11 starts so he sets up as a strong high-end value at his current mid-$9k DFS salaries.

💫PG Jamal Murray, DEN | DK: $7.6k, FD: $8.2k | @ SAS | Cash & GPP

Any time the Spurs, aka the NBA’s worst defense, land on the slate, it’s always going to be tempting to roster some opposing players. But given the discrepancy in talent between these two teams, the blowout possibility is real and Denver sets up as a massive 13-point road favorite tonight. The good news is that the Spurs are as healthy as they have been in months so there is hope that they can keep this contest close. If that happens, Jamal Murray is poised for a big night. Murray has been posting some big DFS scores on a routine basis lately with eight 45+ DKFP games within his last 14 starts. The Nuggets easily lead this slate with a 124.5 implied team total and if this is one of those nights where Murray puts up 20+ shot attempts, he’ll be a major threat to land in the optimal lineup by night’s end.

PG/SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker, MIN | DK: $3.5k, FD: $4.6k | vs. BKN | DK Preferred

A lack of marquee injuries is going to make the value-finding process a bit of a struggle on this slate. However, on DraftKings, Nickeil Alexander-Walker does have some punt appeal given his near-minimum $3,500 price tag. NAW came over to Minnesota ahead of February’s trade deadline and he has been picking up some fairly significant minutes off of the bench while backup guard Jaylen Nowell (knee/out) has been sidelined. NAW has logged at least 20 minutes in five of the last six games. He has averaged a respectable 0.91 FPPM on the season so, assuming he continues to play 20-24 minutes, he’ll have some realistic 6x upside (on DK).

Other Guards to Consider:

💫PG James Harden, PHI | DK: $10.3k, FD: $10.6k | vs. POR | GPP Preferred

PG/SG Donovan Mitchell, CLE | DK: $9k, FD: $9.9k | @ MIA | GPP Preferred (If D. Garland is out)

SG Bradley Beal, WAS | DK: $8.4k, FD: $9k | vs. ATL | DK Preferred

PG Fred VanVleet, TOR | DK: $8.3k, FD: $8.4k | @ LAL | Cash & GPP

💫SG Mikal Bridges, BKN | DK: $8.2k, FD: $9k | @ MIN | DK Preferred

💫PG Spencer Dinwiddie, BKN | DK: $7.3k, FD: $8.4k | @ MIN | DK Preferred

PG Delon Wright, WAS | DK: $5.4k, FD: $5.6k | vs. ATL | Cash & GPP (If he continues to start)

PG/SG Austin Reaves, LAL | DK: $4.7k, FD: $5.9k | vs. TOR | GPP Preferred

SG/SF Bogdan Bogdanovic, ATL | DK: $4.5k, FD: $6k | @ WAS | DK Preferred

SG Caris LeVert, CLE | DK: $4.2k, FD: $5.2k | @ MIA | GPP Preferred (Cash play if Garland sits & LeVert starts)

PG/SG Reggie Jackson, DEN | DK: $3.5k, FD: $4.3k | @ SAS | GPP Preferred

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

💫SF/PF Kyle Kuzma, WAS | DK: $7.8k, FD: $7.9k | vs. ATL | Cash & GPP

Much like the last couple of slates, today may be another one of those days where we’ll be content with players returning 5x to 5.5x value instead of the usual 6x+ value. At a touch under $8k on both sites, I believe we can get 40-45 FP out of Kuzma tonight and there is a bit of room for some additional upside. He posted a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double against the Hawks on Wednesday night to go along with six assists and a pair of steals -- good for 51.0 DKFP. The Hawks have really struggled against small forwards, ranking 29th versus the position over their last 20 games. As touched on earlier, this game owns the highest total on the slate along with a very close spread so, while Kuzma is known for posting some real stinkers from time to time, he should be in line for some big minutes in an excellent match-up.

SF/PF Cameron Johnson, BKN | DK: $6k, FD: $5.8k | @ MIN | Cash & GPP

Johnson was one of the Nets’ players who got the night off yesterday on the front end of the back-to-back. He was limited to just 24 minutes in his last start against the Rockets, in what was a 22-point blowout Brooklyn win. Before that game, Johnson averaged 31.6 Min/Gm in his previous five starts to go along with 35.6 FPPG in that stretch. The Nets are in a solid pace-up spot against Minnesota, the league’s fourth-fastest offense. When Johnson was still donning the Suns’ uniform earlier in the season, he went off for 29 points and 47.5 DKFP against the T-Wolves. A repeat performance would be a big ask, but I do feel as though he’s a good bet to land somewhere in that 30-36 FP range.

💫SF/PF Jaden McDaniels, MIN | DK: $4.7k, FD: $5.4k | vs. BKN | Cash & GPP

McDaniels has met or exceeded his current salary expectations, scoring at least 23.75 DKFP, in seven of his last 10 starts. He’s not an overly efficient per-minute fantasy point scorer (0.73 FPPM L20Gms) but he will play 30-35 minutes in any competitive game and he has been popping for 30+ FP games quite a bit this season. McDaniels has been a quality source of the two premium DFS stats (blocks and steals) lately -- averaging 2.2 BLK+STL/Gm over his last five. As long as he can pour in around 15 actual points, McDaniels’ peripheral stats should give him a good shot at returning decent value tonight.

Other Forwards to Consider:

SF/SG Anthony Edwards, MIN | DK: $9.5k, FD: $8.8k | vs. BKN | FD Preferred

PF/C Kristaps Porzingis, WAS | DK: $9.1k, FD: $9.8k | vs. ATL | DK Preferred

SF Jimmy Butler, MIA | DK: $8.6k, FD: $9.3k | vs. CLE | GPP Preferred

SF/PF Kyle Anderson, MIN | DK: $5.8k, FD: $6.5k | vs. BKN | DK Preferred

SF Michael Porter Jr., DEN | DK: $5.7k, FD: $6.4k | @ SAS | GPP Preferred

SF/SG Bruce Brown, DEN | DK: $4.3k, FD: $5.5k | @ SAS | DK Preferred

Centers to Consider 🏀

💫C Joel Embiid, PHI | DK: $11.6k, FD: $12k | vs. POR | Cash & GPP

The center depth on this slate isn’t overly strong so spending up on one of the two MVP candidates, Jokic or Embiid, will be a popular route this evening. Jokic could absolutely nuke the slate in a dream match-up against the Spurs, but the lingering worry of blowout limitations is cause for concern. With that being said, Embiid feels a touch safer if you’re spending up at the position. Embiid has accounted for at least 56.0 DKFP in eight of his last 11 starts and he’s averaging 59.9 FPPG in home games this season. Furthermore, the Trailblazers are allowing the 6th most points in the paint per game (52.8) so we can anticipate another big scoring night out of The Process this evening.

C Jarrett Allen, CLE | DK: $6.2k, FD: $7.4k | @ MIA | DK Preferred

Despite the brutal match-up (MIA ranks 3rd vs. Centers L20Gms), Jarrett Allen is simply too cheap over on DraftKings. This game is a re-match from two days ago when Allen went for a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double en route to a 38.0 DKFP score. Allen has not been immune to some disappointing games lately but even in difficult match-ups, he brings ample 40+ FP upside to lineups. He’ll be worth quite a bit of GPP consideration at $6,200 on DraftKings.

Other Centers to Consider:

C Nikola Jokic, DEN | DK: $11.7k, FD: $11.7k | @ SAS | GPP Preferred

💫C Rudy Gobert, MIN | DK: $7k, FD: $7.9k | vs. BKN | DK Preferred

C Jakob Poeltl, TOR | DK: $6.9k, FD: $7.4k | @ LAL | GPP Preferred

C Onyeka Okongwu, ATL | DK: $4k, FD: $5k | @ WAS | DK Preferred

NBA Player Props 📊

Player Prop or Bet | Odds | Unit Bet Size

Joel Embiid OVER 33.5 Points | -104 (FanDuel) | 2.0 Units

Kyle Kuzma OVER 2.5 Turnovers | -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.

Kyle Kuzma MORE than 35.5 Fantasy Score

Joel Embiid MORE than 55.5 Fantasy Score

🆕 Props AI 🆕

In LineStar’s ongoing mission to improve, innovate, and help you reel in some cash, we are introducing Props AI for NBA – available for LineStar Premium users! This tool can help you find value and mispriced odds on player props from sportsbooks and, more specifically, for PrizePicks and UnderDog Fantasy!

Speaking of props, put the Props AI 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!