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 📰

Depending on your DFS site of choice, you’ll be staring down either a five-game (FanDuel) or six-game (DraftKings) Thursday main slate. DraftKings will be including an extra matchup between the Spurs and Jazz, while FanDuel sticks with a five-game set. Overall, it’s a solid – if unspectacular – slate, featuring a few strong matchups and a few higher totals to work with. There are also several questionable tags to monitor throughout the day, so as always, be sure to stay on top of late news and starting lineups. Let’s jump in. Best of luck!

Note: I’m writing today’s newsletter a bit earlier than usual, so the injury report below could be slightly outdated by the time you’re reading this.

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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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.}

• Nuggets: N. Jokic – OUT, J. Murray – Probable, A. Gordon – Probable, J. Valanciunas – Questionable, C. Johnson – OUT, C. Braun – OUT, T. Hardaway Jr. – Probable

• Wizards: T. Young – OUT, B. Coulibaly – OUT, M. Bagley III – OUT, T. Vukcevic – OUT, AJ Johnson – Questionable

• Hornets: L. Ball – Questionable, B. Miller – Probable, G. Williams – OUT, T. Mann – OUT, KJ Simpson – OUT

• Magic: F. Wagner – OUT, J. Suggs – OUT

• Rockets: S. Adams – OUT, A. Holiday – OUT

• 76ers: J. Embiid – Probable, P. George – Questionable

• Warriors: G. Payton II – Questionable

• Mavs: A. Davis – OUT, D. Gafford – DOUBTFUL, M. Cisse – Questionable

• Bulls: J. Giddey – Questionable, Z. Collins – OUT, P. Williams – Questionable

• Timberwolves: J. Randle – Questionable

DraftKings Main Slate Only

• Spurs: D. Vassell – OUT, L. Kornet – OUT, J. Sochan – Questionable

• Jazz: L. Markkanen – OUT, K. George – Questionable, B. Sensabaugh – Questionable

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 Jamal Murray, DEN | DK: $9.8k, FD: $10.1k | at WAS

With Jokic sidelined, Murray’s been Denver’s clear offensive engine, and his production has held up even with the extra defensive attention. Across his last nine games (all without Jokic), he’s averaging 28.7 PPG, 8.8 APG, 4.1 RPG, and 50.7 DKFP/gm while producing 1.39 FPPM in 36.6 minutes per night. He’s topped 50+ DKFP in six of those nine, and we just saw the ceiling against this same Washington team – 42 points and 62.8 DKFP in their meeting last week. Murray (hip) is listed as probable, but assuming his minutes hold steady in the mid-30s, this is one of the best spots on the slate, with the Wizards continuing to grade out as an elite matchup for opposing point guards, ranking dead last in DvP versus the position this season.

SG Kyshawn George, WAS | DK: $6.4k, FD: $6.9k | vs. DEN

Flipping over to the other side of this DEN/WAS matchup, Kyshawn George could continue to benefit from Washington’s shaky rotation, and there’s a real path to another strong offensive performance tonight. Over his last four games, he’s averaged 21.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 5.0 APG, producing 41.0 DKFP/gm on a strong 1.34 FPPM while playing 30.5 minutes per contest. We just saw the sort of ceiling he can “spike” for against this Nuggets team last week when he dropped 29 points and 55.8 DKFP in Denver. And the matchup remains favorable with Denver allowing the 8th-most FPPG to starting SGs over their last 20 games. The Wizards could be thinner than usual this evening, as Bilal Coulibaly and Khris Middleton are both questionable and Trae Young has yet to make his Washington debut. He profiles as a solid mid-range option on both sites.

Update: Middleton has been removed from the injury report, but Coulibaly has been ruled out for the fourth straight game.

PG/SG Tre Johnson, WAS | DK: $4.5k, FD: $4.7k | vs. DEN

Johnson rounds out this cluster of guards out of this DEN/WAS matchup and stands out as a viable salary-saver, particularly if Washington remains short-handed. While the efficiency has been a bit volatile, he’s logged steady minutes in the high-20s to low-30s and has flashed real upside, clearing 30 DKFP in three of his last seven games. The dud against Denver last week (1-for-10 shooting) stands out, but outside of that outing, he’s generally produced when given opportunity and followed the down game with a solid 25.2 DKFP against the Clippers on Monday. He’s not someone to force into lineups, but Johnson fits well as a value guard who brings a bit more ceiling than you typically get out of this salary range.

Other Guards to Consider

SG Anthony Edwards, MIN vs. CHI

PG Steph Curry, GSW at DAL

PG/SG Anthony Black, ORL vs. CHA

SG Coby White, CHI at MIN (Preferred if Giddey remains out)

SG Kon Knueppel, CHA at ORL (Boost if LaMelo is out)

PG Bub Carrington, WAS vs. DEN (Preferred if starting again)

PG Brandin Podziemski, GSW at DAL

PG/SG Collin Sexton, CHA at ORL (Preferred if LaMelo is out)

DraftKings Main Slate Only

PG Keyonte George, UTA vs. SAS (Currently questionable)

PG De’Aaron Fox, SAS at UTA

SG Stephon Castle, SAS at UTA

PG Isaiah Collier, UTA vs. SAS (Preferred if K. George is out)

PG/SG Dylan Harper, SAS at UTA

PG/SG Walter Clayton Jr., UTA vs. SAS (Boost if K. George is out)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

SF Brandon Miller, CHA | DK: $7k, FD: $7.5k | at ORL

There are a handful of star forwards on this slate, but no one player stands out at the top, so we’ll kick this section off closer to the mid-range. Brandon Miller remains one of Charlotte’s steadiest scoring pieces and continues to carry a strong minute-and-shot profile most nights. Over his last 12 games, he’s averaged 22.6 PPG and 37.6 DKFP/gm while producing a sharp 1.21 FPPM, and Miller has pushed past 40 DKFP in half of those games. The Magic can be a tougher defensive opponent on paper, but they’re coming off two overseas games, which could play a sneaky factor tonight. They also haven’t been strong whatsoever against small forwards, allowing the 3rd-most FPPG to the position over their last 20 games.

PF/C Draymond Green, GSW | DK: $5.5k, FD: $5.5k | at DAL

Green could see a more involved role with Jimmy Butler sidelined for the remainder of the season, and the matchup sets up well given how banged-up Dallas is up front. The Mavericks remain without Anthony Davis and could also be missing Daniel Gafford (doubtful) and Moussa Cisse (questionable), which would leave Dwight Powell and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl handling most of the center minutes – a spot Golden State and Green could clearly exploit. With Butler off the floor this season, Green has produced a steady 0.98 FPPM, and his minutes tend to be secure in competitive environments (GSW -5.5). He’s always a bit volatile due to his scoring limitations, but the combination of role bump and matchup gives him a realistic path to returning value at $5,500 on both sites.

SF/PF Noah Penda, ORL | DK: $3.8k, FD: $3.9k | vs. CHA

This is a bit of a dice roll, but Franz Wagner (ankle) was ruled out for tonight after briefly returning for Orlando’s two overseas games. During the longer stretch Wagner previously missed, Tristan da Silva picked up some extra run, but more recently it’s been Penda who has absorbed much of that workload. In a four-game sample from Jan. 6th–11th (just before Wagner’s return), Penda averaged 31.5 minutes/gm and 26.9 DKFP/gm while making a major defensive impact with 3.0 STL+BLK per contest. He started two of those games and also closed the fourth quarter with most of the starters in another. The minutes dipped once Wagner returned, but with Wagner back out tonight, Penda could slide into a roughly 30-minute role again. He’s clearly safer if he draws another start, but there’s still a path to meaningful run even if he comes off the bench.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF/C Alperen Sengun, HOU at PHI

PF Paolo Banchero, ORL vs. CHA

PF Julius Randle, MIN vs. CHI (Currently questionable)

PF/C Aaron Gordon, DEN at WAS

SF Jaden McDaniels, MIN vs. CHI (Boost if Randle is out)

PF/C Naz Reid, MIN vs. CHI (Boost if Randle is out)

SF/PF Justin Champagnie, WAS vs. DEN

PF Khris Middleton, WAS vs. DEN

SF/SG Moses Moody, GSW at DAL

SF Buddy Hield, GSW at DAL

SF Tristan da Silva, ORL vs. CHA (Preferred if starting)

DraftKings Main Slate Only

SF/SG Julian Champagnie, SAS at UTA

SF Ace Bailey, UTA vs. SAS

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Alex Sarr, WAS | DK: $6.8k, FD: $7.9k | vs. DEN

If you’re willing to live with some volatility, Sarr is a viable center option in more aggressive builds. He’s clearly a better bargain on DraftKings at $6,800, but when he “hits,” he’s very capable of paying off the $7,900 FanDuel tag as well. Sarr has averaged an excellent 1.28 FPPM over his last 20 starts, and Washington being without two of their backup centers (Marvin Bagley III and Tristan Vukcevic have both been ruled out) could help push him toward the upper end of his minutes range. He didn’t have a standout performance in this matchup five days ago, but the spot still grades out well, with Denver allowing the 3rd-most FPPG to starting centers over their last 20 games.

C Rudy Gobert, MIN | DK: $6.3k, FD: $6.5k | vs. CHI

If you’re looking for a steady mid-range option at center, Gobert checks a lot of boxes. He’s hauled in double-digit rebounds in 10 straight games and has averaged 34.5 DKFP/gm over that stretch while producing a solid 1.09 FPPM. The floor has been dependable, and the matchup also cooperates, as Chicago has ranked 27th in DvP versus starting centers this season and has struggled to contain the position overall. Gobert may not carry the flashiest ceiling on the slate, but his consistency and rebounding stability make him a dependable option at these salaries.

Other Centers to Consider

C Joel Embiid, PHI vs. HOU

C Nikola Vucevic, CHI at MIN

C Wendell Carter Jr., ORL vs. CHA

C Quinten Post, GSW at DAL

DraftKings Main Slate Only

C Victor Wembanyama, SAS at UTA

C Jusuf Nurkic, UTA vs. SAS

🔥 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!