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

🏀Tyler’s NBA (and other sports) prop bets can be found on the LineStar YouTube Shorts page!🏀

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

I hope everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year! We’ve got a busy NBA Friday on tap, featuring a seven-game main slate on DraftKings and a 10-game main slate on FanDuel. The injury report is an absolute menace, with several teams set to play without multiple starters, so value won’t be hard to find. That said, there are plenty of moving parts to keep tabs on throughout the day, so you’ll really need to be proactive when it comes to keeping up with injury news and starting lineups. Let’s see if we can piece it all together and land on the right pieces to the puzzle. Best of luck!

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

Today’s Key Injuries 🚑

^{Note: NBA injury reports can be fickle and often update throughout the day. Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}

^{Additional Note: Players who have yet to play this season will be excluded from the injury report, unless they have either a probable, questionable, or doubtful injury designation, with some amount of chance to make their season debut. Injured players who have been out for an extended period of time and/or are not expected to play for a month-plus will also be excluded.}

• Nets: M. Porter Jr. – OUT, C. Thomas – OUT, N. Claxton – OUT, T. Mann – Probable

• Wizards: K. George – OUT, C. Kispert – OUT

• Spurs: V. Wembanyama – OUT, D. Vassell – OUT

• Pacers: TJ McConnell – Probable, I. Jackson – OUT

• Nuggets: N. Jokic – OUT, J. Murray – Probable, A. Gordon – OUT, J. Valanciunas – OUT, C. Johnson – OUT, C. Braun – OUT, J. Strawther – Probable

• Cavs: D. Hunter – Probable, S. Merrill – Questionable, D. Wade – Questionable, L. Nance Jr. – OUT

• Hawks: T. Young – OUT

• Knicks: K. Towns – Questionable, J. Hart – OUT, M. Robinson – Questionable, L. Shamet – OUT

• Magic: F. Wagner – OUT, J. Isaac – Questionable

• Bulls: J. Giddey – OUT, C. White – OUT, Z. Collins – OUT

• Trailblazers: J. Holiday – OUT, J. Grant – OUT

• Pelicans: T. Murphy III – OUT, D. Queen – OUT, S. Bey – OUT, H. Jones – OUT

• Hornets: M. Bridges – Probable, M. Diabate – Questionable, R. Kalkbrenner – OUT, M. Plumlee – OUT

• Bucks: G. Antetokounmpo – Probable

Late Game Injury Report (FanDuel Main Slate Only)

• Kings: D. Sabonis – OUT, Z. LaVine – Questionable

• Suns: J. Green – OUT, G. Allen – Questionable

• Thunder: I. Hartenstein – OUT, Jay. Williams – OUT, O. Dieng – OUT

• Warriors: St. Curry – OUT, J. Butler – OUT, D. Green – OUT, A. Horford – Probable, D. Melton – OUT

• Grizzlies: Z. Edey – OUT, J. Wells – Probable, V. Williams Jr. – OUT, K. Caldwell-Pope – Probable, B. Clarke – OUT, J. Konchar – OUT

• Lakers: A. Reaves – OUT, R. Hachimura – OUT, J. Vanderbilt – Probable, G. Vincent – OUT

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.

Point Guards/Shooting Guards to Consider 🏀

PG De’Aaron Fox, SAS | DK: $7k, FD: $8.3k | at IND

With Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell both sidelined, De’Aaron Fox steps into a clear lead role for San Antonio. In that split, his usage jumps to 31.5% and his production climbs to 1.34 FPPM, well above his baseline. Fox should have the ball in his hands all night and carry the offense as both a scorer and facilitator. Given the role security and workload, he stands out as one of the stronger guard plays on the slate, especially at the $7,000 price tag on DraftKings.

PG Tre Jones, CHI | DK: $5.1k, FD: $6.2k | vs. ORL

With Josh Giddey and Coby White still out, Tre Jones will continue to see a more stable role for Chicago. He’s averaged 1.16 FPPM over his last five games as a starter and just turned 27 minutes into 42.0 DKFP on Wednesday. While that level of efficiency is unlikely to repeat, Jones projects for around 28–29 minutes again and remains highly efficient as both a scorer and facilitator. The Magic have also allowed the fourth-most FPPG to starting point guards over their last 20 games, so there are no issues with the matchup.

PG/SG Jordan Poole, NOP | DK: $5.1k, FD: $5.4k | vs. POR

Jordan Poole has quietly been one of New Orleans’ steadier producers lately, scoring at least 34.75 DKFP in three of his last four games. He’s at 0.98 FPPM on the season, but that climbs to 1.09 FPPM with the Pelicans’ thin frontcourt factored in (D. Queen, S. Bey, H. Jones are all out), and it spikes even further to 1.36 FPPM if Trey Murphy III (lower back/questionable) is also sidelined. This game environment checks all the boxes, with Pelicans–Blazers carrying a 241.5 total and a tight spread. Poole remains volatile, but the role, matchup, and scoring upside make him a strong mid-range guard option.

Update: Murphy has been ruled out. Additional bump for Poole.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Jamal Murray, DEN at CLE

PG Jalen Brunson, NYK vs. ATL

PG LaMelo Ball, CHA at MIL

PG/SG Anthony Black, ORL at CHI

PG/SG Dyson Daniels, ATL at NYK

PG Andrew Nembhard, IND vs. SAS

SG/SF Tim Hardaway Jr., DEN at CLE

PG/SG Caleb Love, POR at NOP

PG/SG Bruce Brown, DEN at CLE

PG Jalen Pickett, DEN at CLE

SG/SF Drake Powell, BKN at WAS

FanDuel Main Slate Only

PG Luka Doncic, LAL vs. MEM

PG/SG Collin Gillespie, PHX vs. SAC

SG Will Richard, GSW vs. OKC

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

PF Zion Williamson, NOP | DK: $7.5k, FD: $8k | vs. POR

Zion Williamson continues to play under some light minutes restrictions, but his production hasn’t suffered, as he’s topped 40 DKFP in three of his last four games while scoring at least 31 points in back-to-back outings. He’s averaged 1.40 FPPM since returning to the court nine games ago, which allows him to do plenty of damage even in a 28–30-minute role. New Orleans is thin offensively with Murphy, Queen, Bey, and Jones all sidelined, leaving Zion as the clear focal point. In a strong game environment against Portland, his ceiling remains firmly intact despite the managed workload.

PF Noah Clowney, BKN | DK: $5k, FD: $5.3k | at WAS

With Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. sidelined, Noah Clowney steps into a featured offensive role for Brooklyn. With those two off the floor, he’s seen a team-high +5.7% usage bump and leads the Nets at a 26.2% usage rate. Clowney doesn’t head into this game in the best form, but his expanded role tonight eases some concern there. The matchup also doesn’t get much better – the Wizards are dead last in defensive rating and have allowed the fourth-most FPPG to power forward starters L20Games. The Nets are also receiving the second-largest pace boost on the slate.

PF/C Jalen Smith, CHI | DK: $5k, FD: $5k | vs. ORL

Jalen Smith has always been a strong per-minute producer, but his usual role playing off the bench has limited his potential. With Zach Collins joining Josh Giddey and Coby White on the sidelines, Smith is now set up for a stable starting role in the Bulls’ frontcourt. In his first start of the season on Wednesday, he posted a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double and secured 40.5 DKFP in 26 minutes. He’s averaged 1.25 FPPM on the season and projects for around 26 minutes again tonight, which is plenty of runway at this salary. If those minutes hold, Smith has a clear path to returning value through rebounding and efficient scoring.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF Jalen Johnson, ATL at NYK

PF Paolo Banchero, ORL at CHI

SF Brandon Miller, CHA at MIL

PF OG Anunoby, NYK vs. ATL

SF/PF Peyton Watson, DEN at CLE

SF Aaron Nesmith, IND vs. SAS

PF Matas Buzelis, CHI vs. ORL

SF Bilal Coulibaly, WAS vs. BKN

SF/PF Keldon Johnson, SAS at IND

SF/SG Julian Champagnie, SAS at IND

PF/C Danny Wolf, BKN at WAS

SF/PF Ziaire Williams, BKN at WAS

FanDuel Main Slate Only

SF/PF Jalen Williams, OKC at GSW

PF/C Santi Aldama, MEM at LAL

PF/SF Jake LaRavia, LAL vs. MEM

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Daron Holmes II, DEN | DK: $4.5k, FD: $4.9k | at CLE

Center seems like a good position to save some salary today, so I won’t force in any high-end option… not that there’s many to choose from anyway. The Nuggets are going through it with the injury bug right now and that includes losing both Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas for about a month. That should thrust Holmes into a starting role, and he should handle around 25-30 minutes tonight. Holmes has only appeared in four games this season but he’s capable of being around an FPPM player. It’s not the friendliest matchups and the extremely shorthanded Nuggets (+13.5 underdogs) could get blown out tonight, but Holmes should still earn enough minutes to pay off these sub-$5k salaries.

C Day’Ron Sharpe, BKN | DK: $3.7k, FD: $4.8k | at WAS

With Nic Claxton joining Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. on the sidelines, Day’Ron Sharpe is set up for a sizable minutes boost in a presumable starting role. He’s been extremely productive when on the floor, averaging 1.40 FPPM over the past month, and he’s projected for close to 30 minutes tonight. That combination is hard to ignore at his salary, especially in a soft matchup against the Wizards, who have ranked dead last versus starting centers this season. He’ll be incredibly chalky, but Sharpe checks in as one of the strongest pure value options on the slate and has an extremely high chance of ending the night as an optimal play.

Other Centers to Consider

C Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK vs. ATL (Currently questionable)

C Alex Sarr, WAS vs. BKN

C Donovan Clingan, POR at NOP

C Myles Turner, MIL vs. CHA

C Luke Kornet, SAS at IND

C Yves Missi, NOP vs. POR

C Kevon Looney, NOP vs. POR

FanDuel Main Slate Only

PF/C Chet Holmgren, OKC at GSW

🔥 Props AI 🔥

In LineStar’s ongoing mission to improve, innovate, and help you reel in some cash, we have rolled out 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, UnderDog Fantasy, and other prop apps/sites!

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