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

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NBA DFS & Props Shows w/ Tyler Wiemann

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

A modest five-game main slate lands on the Tuesday ticket! With fewer games on tap, we get a bit of a breather from the chaos that’s been running wild on those larger early-season slates. Don’t get me wrong—I love those monster 9-, 10-, and 11-game slates—but it’s nice to catch a smaller one every now and then. We do have a late 11:00 p.m. ET tip on the West Coast between the Clippers and Warriors, which isn’t ideal for us East Coasters (unless you’re a night owl). Luckily, there aren’t many key injury situations to monitor there, so you should be safe calling it a night before that one tips. 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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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.}

• 76ers: D. Barlow - OUT

• Wizards: T. Johnson - Questionable

• Hornets: B. Miller - OUT, T Mann - Questionable

• Heat: N. Powell - Questionable, S. Fontecchio - Probable

• Knicks: K. Towns - Probable, M. McBride - OUT, G. Yabusele - Questionable

• Bucks: K. Porter Jr. - OUT, G. Trent Jr. - Probable, C. Anthony - Probable

• Kings: N. Clifford - OUT

• Thunder: C. Holmgren - OUT

• Clippers: B. Beal - OUT

• Warriors: A. Horford - 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 LaMelo Ball, CHA | DK: $9.7k, FD: $9.6k | at MIA

LaMelo had one of the best games of his career on Sunday, pouring in a 38/13/13 triple-double (with three steals) while taking on a 39.2% USG% and racking up 84.75 DKFP/78.10 FDFP. That served as a strong reminder of the sort of upside that LaMelo has in his bag. Unfortunately, the oft-injured star point guard has not played more than 47 games in any of the last three seasons, so it is easy to forget how huge an impact he can have on a game. But he is healthy at the moment and has averaged a stellar 1.77 FPPM through three games while posting 28.3 PPG, 9.7 APG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.0 STL/gm while sinking 41.9% of his three-point attempts (10.3 3PA/gm). The Miami Heat, who were 27th in pace last season, have flipped the script in their style of play this season and currently lead the NBA in pace through the first week of the season. The Hornets are also currently 5th in pace. As a result, we should expect a ton of possessions and DFS scoring opportunities in this matchup, which owns a slate-high 241.5 O/U. The Hornets are 5.5-point underdogs in this one, so if they hope to pull off the mild upset, LaMelo will need another heroic performance, especially with Brandon Miller (shoulder/out) set to miss a second consecutive game.

SG/SF VJ Edgecombe, PHI | DK: $6.5k, FD: $6.6k | at WAS

The 76ers took VJ Edgecombe with the third overall pick in this year’s draft, and, so far, it’s looking like a home run pick. Edgecombe dropped 34 points in his NBA debut during the Sixers’ 117-116 win over the Celtics, which was the most points scored by a rookie in their debut since Wilt Chamberlain went for 43 on October 24th, 1959. It’s, of course, very early into his campaign, but Edgecombe has skyrocketed up the NBA Rookie of the Year odds leaderboard, starting with +2500 odds after the draft to now holding +190 odds (second only to Cooper Flagg at -140 odds) just a week into the season. Edgecombe has played at least 39 minutes in all three games (none of which went to OT). While the 76ers are on the second leg of a back-to-back, Edgecombe is just 20 years old, so he’s more likely to be able to bounce back quicker on a B2B than a 10-plus-year veteran could. He’s putting up 19.3 FGA/gm and 25.0 PPG while providing solid peripherals -- 6.0 APG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.3 STL+BLK/gm. Much like last season, the Wizards are not a strong defensive team and currently check in at 28th in DEFRTG, so we don’t have any matchup concerns. Like any player, Edgecome is going to eventually put up a dud performance or go through a rough stretch of games. But he’s currently playing like a guy who should be priced somewhere in the $8k range. So, even though he’ll be extremely popular on this small slate, we can’t ignore him at these mid-$6k price points.

PG/SG Collin Sexton, CHA | DK: $5.4k, FD: $5.6k | at MIA

Sexton was a solid, somewhat under-the-radar offseason pickup for the Hornets, acquired back in June in the deal that sent center Jusuf Nurkic to the Jazz. He has started in each of the last two games and should continue to do so, especially with Brandon Miller (shoulder/out) currently sidelined. Sexton has played 30+ minutes and scored 20+ points in both starts, and he has been an efficient shooter, sinking 56.3% of his attempts. He doesn’t put up a ton of threes (2.7 3PA/gm), but he has also made 50% of those shots from deep. Sexton has historically been a rock-solid FPPM producer, and he’s at a 1.10 FPPM so far this season. Given the high combined pace of this matchup, which we hit on in the LaMelo Ball spotlight above, Sexton should continue to have ample opportunity to put up another quality stat line tonight, and he feels just a bit too cheap at these mid-$5k salaries.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC | DK: $10.9k, FD: $10.5k | vs. SAC

PG Tyrese Maxey, PHI | DK: $9.5k, FD: $8.9k | at WAS

PG James Harden, LAC | DK: $8.5k, FD: $8.7k | at GSW

PG Jalen Brunson, NYK | DK: $8.1k, FD: $8.4k | at MIL

SG Norman Powell, MIA | DK: $6.9k, FD: $6.9k | vs. CHA (Currently questionable)

SG/SF Mikal Bridges, NYK | DK: $6.2k, FD: $6.2k | at MIL

PG Davion Mitchell, MIA | DK: $5.9k, FD: $4.7k | vs. CHA (FD Preferred - Boost if Powell is out)

PG Ryan Rollins, MIL | DK: $5.2k, FD: $5.7k | vs. NYK

PG Ajay Mitchell, OKC | DK: $4.9k, FD: $5.1k | vs. SAC

PG/SG Tre Johnson, WAS | DK: $4.8k, FD: $5.2k | vs. PHI (Currently questionable)

PG Russell Westbrook, SAC | DK: $4.5k, FD: $4.8k | at OKC

PG/SG Dru Smith, MIA | DK: $3.3k, FD: $3.7k | vs. CHA (Boost if Powell is out)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

SF/PF Kawhi Leonard, LAC | DK: $7.6k, FD: $8.1k | at GSW

Kawhi Leonard had a lackluster season debut, as did most of the Clippers team in their opening 108-129 loss to the Jazz. But, in the two games since then, Kawhi has bounced back nicely, putting up DFS totals of 44.25 DKFP/44.50 FDFP versus the Suns and 55.0 DKFP/52.0 FDFP against the Trailblazers. He’s leading the Clippers in usage (28.1%) and minutes played (32.3 Min/gm). In that last game against Portland, which was the Clippers’ most competitive game up to this point, Kawhi played 35 minutes. Now that he’s starting the season healthy, minutes should not be a concern for Leonard, as long as a game stays competitive. This game against the Warriors is tied for the closest spread on the slate (LAC -2.5), so we should expect a closely contested matchup here. The Warriors are also 21st in DEFRTG and play at an above-average pace.

SF/PF Aaron Wiggins, OKC | DK: $4.8k, FD: $4.9k | vs. SAC

Chet Holmgren was a delayed addition to the Thunder’s injury report, and he will now be sitting out on the second leg of a B2B due to a back issue. That should result in OKC turning to Aaron Wiggins for a spot start -- though, keep in mind that Jaylin Williams (DK: $4.2k, FD: $3.7k) is also a candidate to start in place of Holmgren if OKC wishes to keep more size in the lineup. Either way, whether he starts or plays off the bench, Wiggins is in line for added minutes. He has averaged a solid 1.16 FPPM in his last five games as a starter and, in his spot start in place of Cason Wallace last Thursday, he earned 36 minutes and posted 38.25 DKFP/35.80 FDFP (though that game did go into double-OT). He will be riskier if he’s coming off the bench, so keep an eye out for OKC’s starting lineup, which should drop around 30 minutes before their 8:00 ET tip-off.

SF Jaime Jaquez Jr., MIA | DK: $4.5k, FD: $5.2k | vs. CHA

Jaquez has been operating as the Heat’s sixth man off the bench, and he has been on the court for the fourth-most possessions, trailing only Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell, and Andrew Wiggins. He has provided some quality numbers in his 28.0 Min/gm -- 15.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.3 STL/gm -- and has averaged a very respectable 1.16 FPPM. He has yet to sink a three-pointer, but the vast majority of his shots are coming from two-point range, and he’s been extremely efficient from inside the arc with an 81.5% 2PT%. Jaquez is a worthy value play regardless, as this should be a very uptempo game environment with plenty of possessions, but if Normal Powell (groin/questionable) is forced to sit, Jaquez’s floor and ceiling will only go up.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL | DK: $11.8k, FD: $12.1k | vs. NYK

PF Miles Bridges, CHA | DK: $7.5k, FD: $7.7k | at MIA

SF/PF Kyshawn George, WAS | DK: $6.6k, FD: $6.5k | vs. PHI

SF/PF OG Anunoby, NYK | DK: $6.3k, FD: $6.4k | at MIL

SF/PF Jonathan Kuminga, GSW | DK: $6.2k, FD: $6.3k | vs. LAC

PF/C John Collins, LAC | DK: $5.2k, FD: $5.5k | at GSW

SF Kon Knueppel, CHA | DK: $4.9k, FD: $4.9k, FD: $4.3k | at MIA

PF/C Nikola Jovic, MIA | DK: $4.1k, FD: $4.4k | vs. CHA

SF/PF Simone Fontecchio, MIA | DK: $3.2k, FD: $3.9k | vs. CHA

Centers to Consider 🏀

PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK | DK: $8.6k, FD: $8.3k | at MIL

KAT was upgraded from “questionable” to “probable” this afternoon as he continues to play through a quadriceps ailment, which he’s been dealing with since Opening Night. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem as if he is in any danger of missing his first game of the season, and he is coming into tonight’s matchup on the heels of strong back-to-back performances. He’s currently posting a career-high 22.2% Rebounding%, which has resulted in 14.0 RPG, while taking on a strong 25.5% USG%. The Bucks do currently check in at 11th in DEFRTG, but they have also played at the 9th-fastest pace and have ranked bottom-10 in Rebounding%. KAT had a couple of massive performances against Milwaukee last season, so I don’t think we’re too concerned about the matchup. He should be forced to play mid-to-high 30s minutes in a competitive game (NYK -2.5) tonight, and he’s a strong bet to put up a 20-point double-double.

C Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC | DK: $6.3k, FD: $6.1k | vs. SAC

Pending some surprise injury news on this slate, there is not much to love about the value tier at the center position, so we won’t go too cheap with our second spotlighted center. Hartenstein hasn’t been an overly exciting play up to this point in the young season, but he has posted a double-double in back-to-back games heading into tonight while putting up at least 34.0 DKFP/32.4 FDFP in both of those games. Moreover, he should see a slight uptick in his numbers with Chet Holmgren (back/out) set to miss his first game of the season. Since the start of last season, when Holmgren has been off the court, Hartenstein has seen a slight, but notable, uptick in his USG% (+1.3%), Rebounding% (+2.7%), FPPM (+0.08 FPPM), and BLK+STL per 100 possessions (+1.0 BLK+STL/100 poss.). Are these massive bumps? No. But they are bumps nonetheless and, over the course of a full game, these small statistical increases can add up! Don’t forget that Hartenstein had quite a few 40+ FP games with the Thunder a season ago. Holmgren’s absence only increases his chance at a ceiling game tonight.

Other Centers to Consider

PF/C Bam Adebayo, MIA | DK: $8k, FD: $7.8k | vs. CHA

C Ivica Zubac, LAC | DK: $6.9k, FD: $6.2k | at GSW

C Alexandre Sarr, WAS | DK: $6.7k, FD: $7k | vs. PHI

C Kel’el Ware, MIA | DK: $4.9k, FD: $4.9k | vs. CHA

C Ryan Kalkbrenner, CHA | DK: $4.6k, FD: $4.5k | at MIA

C Moussa Diabate, CHA | DK: $4.2k, FD: $4.8k | at MIA

C Jaylin Williams, OKC | DK: $4.2k, FD: $3.7k | vs. SAC (Preferred if he starts for Holmgren)

C Brook Lopez, LAC | DK: $3.6k, FD: $4k | 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!