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 📰

The work week closes with a quality six-game NBA slate. The matchups look solid overall –there may be a couple of blowouts by the end of the night, but we also have a few potential competitive, high-scoring environments to work with. Injuries will play a meaningful role this evening, though there aren’t too many truly impactful questionable tags to keep track of. Let’s jump right into it. Best of luck!

Also, hoping everyone in the path of this crazy ice/snowstorm stays safe over the weekend!

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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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

• Rockets: T. Eason – OUT, S. Adams – OUT, D. Finney-Smith – OUT, A. Holiday – Questionable

• Pistons: C. Cunningham – Probable, R. Holland II – Probable, C. LeVert – OUT

• Suns: None

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

• Celtics: D. White – OUT, N. Queta – Questionable, J. Minott – OUT

• Nets: None

• Kings: K. Murray – OUT

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

• Pelicans: H. Jones – Questionable, J. Alvarado – OUT

• Grizzlies: J. Morant – OUT, Z. Edey – OUT, S. Aldama – OUT, J. Landale – Questionable

• Pacers: B. Mathurin – OUT, Q. Jackson – Questionable

• Thunder: Jal. Williams – OUT, I. Hartenstein – OUT, A. Mitchell – OUT, A. Wiggins – OUT, A. Caruso – 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC | DK: $10.7k, FD: $11k | vs. IND

SGA has had some down games, by his standards, in recent weeks, but he’s coming off a patented performance with a 40/7/11 stat line (68.75 DKFP) against the Bucks on Wednesday. The Thunder were shorthanded in that game, as they’ll be once again tonight – Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay Mitchell, Aaron Wiggins, and Alex Caruso have all been ruled out for this evening’s game. Apart from Mitchell, all of those players were also out in that last game. While it’s not a massive sample size, in just over 100 minutes with those five players off the floor this season, SGA has averaged a whopping 1.84 FPPM and 56.1 points per 100 possessions while handling a 35.0% USG% and 46.3% Assist%. Just massive numbers. Despite missing some key players, OKC is still a heavy 15.5-point favorite against the Pacers tonight. Although, in the lone previous meeting between these teams this season, the Pacers managed to force overtime and SGA went absolutely wild with 55 points and 78.5 DKFP. Replicating that level of output is unrealistic, but he still stands out as a clear spend-up option on this slate.

PG Payton Pritchard, BOS | DK: $7k, FD: $6.5k | at BKN

Derrick White (rest) will miss just his second game of the season, which should push an elevated role onto Payton Pritchard. With White on the floor this season, Pritchard has posted an 18.7% USG%, 0.86 FPPM, and 19.1% Assist%, but those numbers jump to 24.9% USG%, 1.20 FPPM, and a team-leading 29.2% Assist% with White off the floor. In the only other game Derrick White has missed this season (Nov. 30th at CLE), Pritchard erupted for a 42-point performance on a wild 40.7% USG% and ended with 52.25 DKFP. The Nets have been surprisingly stout against starting PGs, allowing the fewest FPPG to the position over their last 20 games. However, Pritchard does already have an impressive performance under his belt against the Nets this season – 22/10/5 and 44.5 DKFP at BKN on Nov. 18th – and that was with White in the lineup. As long as the Nets bounce back from that awful 66-point performance on Wednesday and can keep this thing at least somewhat competitive, Pritchard looks like a quality mid-range target on today’s slate.

SG Cedric Coward, MEM | DK: $5.4k, FD: $5.9k | vs. NOP

Coward is putting forth a strong rookie campaign, and he’ll have a chance to shoulder more of an offensive workload tonight with Ja Morant, Santi Aldama, and Zach Edey all ruled out. On the season, Coward has averaged 1.07 FPPM on a 21.2% USG%. With those three players off the floor, those numbers bump up notably to a team-leading 1.28 FPPM and 25.4% USG%. The matchup is about as good as it gets – the Pelicans have allowed the second-most FPPG to starting SGs L20Games and they rank dead last in DvP versus the position this season. This also has a chance to be the best overall game environment on the slate. This matchup carries the highest combined pace, highest total (239.5 O/U), and a fairly close spread (MEM -5.5). Coward isn’t ultra cheap, but he won’t break the bank and brings plenty of point-per-dollar upside to the table this evening.

Other Guards to Consider

SG Donovan Mitchell, CLE vs. SAC

PG Russell Westbrook, SAC at CLE

SG Trey Murphy III, NOP at MEM

SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker, ATL vs. PHX

PG Dyson Daniels, ATL vs. PHX

PG Collin Gillespie, PHX at ATL

PG/SG Cam Spencer, MEM vs. NOP

PG/SG Anfernee Simons, BOS at BKN

PG/SG Malik Monk, SAC at CLE

SG Luguentz Dort, OKC vs. IND

PG/SG Cason Wallace, OKC vs. IND

SG Isaiah Joe, OKC vs. IND

SG/SF Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, MEM vs. NOP

SG/SF Baylor Scheierman, BOS at BKN (Only if starting)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

PF Jalen Johnson, ATL | DK: $10.5k, FD: $10.6k | vs. PHX

A few consecutive blowouts brought Jalen Johnson’s production down recently, but he is now on the heels of back-to-back 61+ DKFP outings. He continues to be a triple-double threat in any game that stays competitive, as this one should be based on the 3.5-point spread, and he’s a good bet to play close to 40 minutes in those types of games as well. Across his last 20 games, Johnson has averaged 22.9 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.43 FPPM, and 51.2 DKFP/gm. The Suns have been very tough on opposing power forwards (fewest FPPG allowed L20Games), but Johnson has put up a well-rounded 25/10/7 stat line against them this season and heads into tonight’s game with some real momentum.

PF/C Jaren Jackson Jr., MEM | DK: $7.4k, FD: $7.2k | vs. NOP

JJJ should be another beneficiary from the current absences for the Grizzlies. He hasn’t been in the best form throughout this season but has flashed some real 50+ FP upside over the last month or so. His numbers also tick up to a team-leading 27.5% USG% and 1.20 FPPM with Morant, Aldama, and Edey off the floor – which are decent bumps from his baseline 24.5% USG% and 1.08 FPPM. If Jock Landale (questionable) also happens to sit tonight, Jackson’s splits rise even further to a 31.4% USG% and 1.44 FPPM. Even if Landale is available tonight, there is a likely chance that Jackson serves as Memphis’ starting center. That would place him in an ideal matchup as the Pelicans have allowed the most FPPG to starting centers L20Games, and Jackson went for 46.75 DKFP when these teams last faced one another.

PF/C Kenrich Williams, OKC | DK: $3.9k, FD: $3.9k | vs. IND

With OKC operating with a thinner rotation again, Williams is set up for a larger-than-usual role off the bench. While Williams routinely handles limited minutes (with the occasional DNP) when OKC is mostly healthy, he’s averaged a respectable 1.00 FPPM over his last 20 games, and a workload in the 24-28 minutes range should be enough for him to flirt with value at his $3,900 price tag on both sites. Williams dropped 31.5 DKFP in 28 minutes in OKC’s last game (when they were similarly shorthanded) and went for 36.5 DKFP a couple of weeks ago when he saw 29 minutes. There’s also some added insurance if this game gets out of hand, as OKC sits as a hefty 15.5-point favorite and Williams could pick up a few extra minutes in a blowout scenario.

Other Forwards to Consider

SF Jaylen Brown, BOS at BKN

SF/SG Kevin Durant, HOU at DET

PF Pascal Siakam, IND at OKC

PF Chet Holmgren, OKC vs. IND

PF Zion Williamson, NOP at MEM

PF Tobias Harris, DET vs. HOU

SF/PF Sam Hauser, BOS at BKN

SF Jaylen Wells, MEM vs. NOP

PF Vince Williams Jr., MEM vs. NOP

PF Gregory “GG” Jackson, MEM vs. NOP

SF/PF Dean Wade, CLE vs. SAC

SF John Konchar, MEM vs. NOP

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Onyeka Okongwu, ATL | DK: $7.2k, FD: $7.4k | vs. PHX

Okongwu has been playing some of his best basketball of the season in recent weeks and continues to bring a strong ceiling at the center position. Over his last 13 games, he’s produced a stout 1.20 FPPM, and we’ve seen that translate into several ceiling outings, clearing 46.5 DKFP in six of those 13 games. His role has been especially stable with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined and, in competitive games, Okongwu will be locked into heavy minutes in the low-to-mid 30s (33.5 projected minutes tonight). The matchup also checks out, as Phoenix has struggled to contain opposing centers lately, ranking 25th in DvP versus starters over their last 20 games. Okongwu already flashed the upside in this spot earlier in the season with a 48.0 DKFP performance against the Suns, and he sets up as a strong center option on both sites.

C Jaylin Williams, OKC | DK: $3.7k, FD: $4k | vs. IND

After missing the last game, Jaylin Williams is off the injury report and could be in line for a meaningful role tonight given OKC’s current lack of depth. There’s a real chance he picks up a spot start, and even if he doesn’t, a workload around the mid-20s minutes puts him firmly on the value radar at these prices. Over the past month, Williams has averaged a strong 1.14 FPPM, and across his last 20 games as a starter, that has elevated to a stout 1.33 FPPM. We’ve seen him flash legitimate upside in the past when given extended minutes, so he’ll be an appealing salary-saver in builds that need flexibility.

Other Centers to Consider

C Jalen Duren, DET vs. HOU

C Neemias Queta, BOS at BKN (Currently questionable)

C Jock Landale, MEM vs. NOP (Currently questionable)

C Mark Williams, PHX at ATL

C Luka Garza, BOS at BKN (Preferred if Queta is out)

🔥 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!