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

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DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

Wednesday brings us a modest five-game NBA main slate. There are a couple of later games on the schedule this evening (OKC/MIL and TOR/SAC), but both DraftKings and FanDuel will be excluding them from their respective main slates. The matchups tonight are fairly middle-of-the-road. Two games (CLE/CHA and ATL/MEM) carry 235+ totals with narrow spreads, while the remaining three contests come with a bit more blowout risk, each sporting spreads of at least 9.5 points.

The injury report is relatively light, and the only truly impactful questionable tags to monitor come from the same game, as both Cade Cunningham and Zion Williamson are carrying Q-designations in the Pistons/Pelicans matchup. Let’s get into it. 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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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.}

• Cavaliers: D. Garland – OUT, S. Merrill – OUT

• Hornets: T. Salaun – Probable, T. Mann – Questionable, KJ Simpson – OUT

• Pacers: B. Mathurin – OUT

• Celtics: J. Brown – Probable, J. Minott – OUT

• Nets: None

• Knicks: None

• Hawks: K. Porzingis – OUT, Z. Risacher – OUT

• Grizzlies: Z. Edey – OUT, S. Aldama – DOUBTFUL

• Pistons: C. Cunningham – Questionable, C. LeVert – Questionable

• Pelicans: Z. Williamson – Questionable, H. Jones – OUT, J. Alvarado – 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 Ja Morant, MEM | DK: $7.7k, FD: $7.9k | vs. ATL

Morant’s season has been littered with multiple extended injury absences, but he has still been highly effective when he’s been on the court. Most recently, he returned from a calf injury that held him out six games and dropped a 24/5/13 line on the Magic in 28 minutes on Sunday, which netted him 53.75 DKFP. He is up to an impressive 1.45 FPPM over his last five starts and doesn’t carry an injury designation into tonight’s game, so we should anticipate him playing around 28-30 minutes. This matchup is arguably the best on the slate, given it’s 239.5 O/U and 1.5-point spread, in favor of the Grizzlies. The individual matchup for Morant is also excellent, as the Hawks have ranked 25th in DvP versus starting point guards over their last 20 games. It’s unlikely Morant will play monster minutes but, at these sub-$8k prices, we don’t need him to.

PG Andrew Nembhard, IND | DK: $6.7k, FD: $7.2k | at BOS

Nembhard has been fairly steady of late, averaging 1.09 FPPM and 35.7 DKFP/gm over his last 20 starts – he has bumped that up to 1.20 FPPM and 39.3 DKFP/gm over his last five, while averaging 20.0 PPG and 7.8 APG in that span. The Pacers are 10.5-point underdogs this evening but, despite what their 10-34 record might suggest, they’ve managed to hang around in tougher matchups more often than not lately. Boston has also struggled versus the point guard position in recent weeks, ranking 26th in DvP over their last ten games, and Nembhard has already had three quality performances against the Celtics this season. As long as the Pacers continue to remain scrappy, Nembhard sets up as a strong mid-range target with decent 40+ FP upside.

SG Duncan Robinson, DET | DK: $4.3k, FD: $4.3k | at NOP

Without many injuries to account for on this slate, finding value is going to be a little tougher than usual. However, we can feel rather good about Duncan Robinson at $4,300 on both sites. He’s had a hot hand over his last four games and, in that stretch, he’s averaging 17.5 PPG on a 58.4% FG%, including a scorching-hot 60.2% 3P%. While most of his value stems from scoring, he has averaged a respectable 0.92 FPPM and 25.1 DKFP/gm over those four games, while playing 27.3 minutes/gm. If the shooting efficiency holds, he’s a viable affordable option to consider, assuming the high-20s/low-30s minutes hold. It’s also a perfect matchup against a Pelicans’ team that is 27th in DEFRTG and has allowed the 3rd-most FPPG to starting shooting guards over their last 20 games. Also, if either (or both) Cade Cunningham (illness/questionable) or Caris LeVert (illness/questionable) sit out tonight, Robinson would likely receive a moderate projections bump.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Cade Cunningham, DET at NOP (Currently questionable)

SG Donovan Mitchell, CLE at CHA

SG Trey Murphy III, NOP vs. DET (Boost if Zion is out)

PG Dyson Daniels, ATL at MEM

SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker, ATL at MEM

SG/SF Jaylon Tyson, CLE at CHA

SG Cedric Coward, MEM vs. ATL

PG/SG Anfernee Simons, BOS vs. IND

PG/SG Jaden Ivey, DET at NOP (Preferred if Cunningham is out)

PG Daniss Jenkins, DET at NOP (Only if Cunningham is out)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

SF Jaylen Brown, BOS | DK: $9.8k, FD: $9.7k | vs. IND

On a slate that lacks many true studs to choose from, I believe we can keep Jaylen Brown firmly on the radar. Outside of two or three underperformances, Brown has been extremely consistent spanning multiple months, and he’s put up a stout 30.7 PPG and 1.39 FPPM over his last 20 starts. He’s coming off back-to-back 50+ DKFP games and has scored 30+ points in both of his previous games against the Pacers this season. Indiana has also ranked a subpar 22nd in DvP versus starting small forwards across their last 20 contests. Overall, Brown stands out as one of the best raw points options on the slate.

SF Brandon Miller, CHA | DK: $7k, FD: $7.5k | vs. CLE

There are a lot of mouths to feed in this Charlotte lineup, but Brandon Miller has been consistently getting a large piece of the pie. Over his last 11 games, he has averaged 22.5 PPG, 37.8 DKFP, and 1.23 FPPM while shooting a hair under 40% from beyond the arc. He has notched at least 40 DKFP in six of those 11 games, and he tends to be at his best at home, where he averaged +11% more FPPG than on the road. The Hornets are also a team that have played better than their record would suggest, and they’ve typically found themselves “in” most games no matter the opponent. They’re only 2.5-point underdogs to the Cavs tonight and, in two previous meetings with Cleveland this season, they got into a 132-139 shootout (Dec. 22nd) and landed a 119-111 overtime win (Dec. 14th). Miller was particularly impactful in that OT win, posting a 25/13/6 stat line and 54.25 DKFP. The Hornets essentially have all their key players healthy these days, so the usage carousel can be tough to predict. But Miller is arguably the most trustworthy option of the bunch at the moment, and he checks in with some reasonable DFS salaries today.

PF Gregory “GG” Jackson, MEM | DK: $3.9k, FD: $3.8k | vs. ATL

This is a bit of a wildcard value selection but, with Santi Aldama (knee/doubtful) likely to miss his first game of the season, there will be some additional minutes and usage to go around in the Grizzlies’ frontcourt. Aldama and GG Jackson both typically play off the bench, so Jackson will now have a better chance to make more of an impact with the second unit while potentially playing in the 24–28-minute range. He has averaged a respectable 0.90 FPPM on the season and, in the past, we’ve seen him put up some quality stat lines when given an expanded workload. The Hawks have also allowed the 5th-most FPPG to bench units L20Games and there should be plenty of possessions in this matchup, based on the slate-high 239.5 over/under.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF Jalen Johnson, ATL at MEM

SF Michael Porter Jr., BKN at NYK

PF Pascal Siakam, IND at BOS

PF OG Anunoby, NYK vs. BKN

SF/PF Saddiq Bey, NOP vs. DET (Preferred if Zion is out)

PF Tobias Harris, DET at NOP (Boost if Cunningham is out)

SF/PF Sam Hauser, BOS vs. IND

SF/PF Corey Kispert, ATL at MEM

SF John Konchar, MEM vs. ATL

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Onyeka Okongwu, ATL | DK: $7.4k, FD: $7.6k | at MEM

Okongwu has been handling consistent mid-30s minutes as the featured center while Kristaps Porzingis has been dealing with various ailments. The results haven’t always been great, but Okongwu has displayed an outstanding ceiling for a guy priced in the mid-$7k range. He’s put up at least 46.5 DKFP in six of his last 12 starts, while averaging an impressive 1.25 FPPM, and he’s gone below 35.2 DKFP only three times in that span. So, there is a little volatility, but it’s not enough to keep us off Okongwu tonight. No issues with the matchup either as the Grizzlies have ranked a subpar 18th in DvP versus starting centers this season, and they’ve dipped to 22nd in that department over their last ten games.

C Jock Landale, MEM | DK: $5k, FD: $5k | vs. ATL

We’ll jump over to the other side of the court for our value center with Jock Landale, who checks in with a flat $5,000 salary on both sites today. Landale has been working as the primary center for the Grizzlies while Zach Edey remains out due to an ankle injury. He doesn’t always play heavy minutes but he has secured at least 30.5 DKFP in five of his last seven games while averaging 1.14 FPPM in that stretch. He came off the bench in the last game and responded with a hefty 41.0 DKFP in just 23 minutes. However, with Santi Aldama doubtful to play tonight (he moved into the starting lineup last game), I’d expect Landale to be back in as a starter. Regardless, as long as he’s handling 25-30 minutes, he’s a strong option at $5k. The Hawks have also ranked 23rd versus starting centers over their last 20, so there’s nothing wrong with the matchup in what should be a competitive shootout.

Other Centers to Consider

C Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK vs. BKN

C Jalen Duren, DET at NOP

C Neemias Queta, BOS vs. IND

C Moussa Diabate, CHA vs. CLE

C Mitchell Robinson, NYK vs. BKN

🔥 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!