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 📰

Wednesday brings another busy NBA slate, featuring eight games on DraftKings and 11 on FanDuel, with the addition of the three late 10 p.m. ET tip-offs. This might just be the most chaotic injury slate we’ve seen so far this season — particularly in those late games — so make sure to stay alert and ready for any last-minute news as it drops. 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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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.}

**Indicates that this would be their season debut if they are active tonight.

• 76ers: J. Embiid - OUT, J. McCain - OUT, D. Barlow - OUT

• Cavs: **D. Garland - Questionable, D. Hunter - Questionable, J. Allen - Questionable, S. Merrill - Questionable

• Jazz: W. Kessler - OUT (he will miss the rest of the season, so I will exclude him from future injury reports)

• Pistons: T. Harris - OUT

• Nets: None

• Pacers: B. Mathurin - OUT, A. Nembhard - OUT, Q. Jackson - OUT, O. Toppin - OUT, R. Dennis - Probable, J. Furphy - OUT

• Wizards: K. Middleton - OUT

• Celtics: None

• Timberwolves: A. Edwards - Questionable

• Knicks: K. Towns - Questionable

• Rockets: J. Smith Jr. - Questionable, S. Adams - Questionable

• Grizzlies: None

• Pelicans: Z. Williamson - OUT, J. Poole - Questionable, Y. Missi - OUT

• Mavs: A. Davis - OUT, D. Lively II - OUT

• Heat: **K. Jakucionis - Questionable

• Nuggets: J. Murray - Probable, J. Strawther - Probable

Late Game Injury Report (FanDuel Main Slate Only)

• Warriors: S. Curry - OUT, J. Butler - Questionable, A. Horford - Questionable

• Kings: D. Sabonis - OUT, Z. LaVine - OUT

• Thunder: C. Holmgren - OUT, L. Dort - OUT, A. Caruso - OUT

• Trailblazers: S. Sharpe - Probable, B. Wesley - OUT, M. Thybulle - OUT

• Spurs: D. Harper - OUT, **J. Sochan - Questionable, L. Kornet - OUT, **K. Olynyk - Questionable, **L. Waters III - Questionable

• Lakers: A. Reaves - Questionable, G. Vincent - OUT, J. Hayes - Probable

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 Tyrese Maxey, PHI | DK: $10k, FD: $9.9k | at CLE

The 76ers continue to lean heavily on Maxey, who’s averaging 42 minutes per game through the team’s first seven contests. He’s done everything he can to carry the load with Paul George still out and Joel Embiid seeing limited minutes, leading Philly to a solid 5–2 start. Embiid will rest tonight on the second leg of a back-to-back, and Jared McCain (15 minutes in his season debut yesterday) will also sit. Those absences -- especially Embiid’s -- funnel even more usage toward Maxey. He’s been excellent across the board, averaging 34.4 points, 8.4 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.2 stocks per game, good for 1.41 FPPM. The matchup against Cleveland isn’t ideal — the Cavs rank sixth in defensive rating and have been tough on opposing point guards — but their top-10 pace does provide a nice tempo boost for the slower-paced Sixers (21st). Philadelphia enters as a 10.5-point underdog, and if they’re going to hang around, it’ll almost certainly require another monster effort from Maxey.

PG/SG Keyonte George, UTA | DK: $7.1k, FD: $7.4k | at DET

George has been on a heater and enters tonight averaging 44.7 DKFP/42.9 FDFP over his last five starts. He has scored at least 25 points in four of those last five games, and the one game he didn’t, he flirted with a triple-double, posting a 17/8/9 line against the Suns. His DFS prices continue to creep up, but they’re still below his current level of production. The Jazz are 9.5-point underdogs this evening, but even in multiple blowout losses this season, George’s final stat lines have still been strong, and his minutes haven’t taken a huge hit.

PG Jose Alvarado, NOP | DK: $3.3k, FD: $3.8k | at DAL

Alvarado hadn’t been much of a factor in the Pelicans' rotation this season, that is, until yesterday’s game, when he popped for an 18/3/6 stat line (with two steals) across 31 minutes and posted 36.25 DKFP/35.6 FDFP. The Pelicans would go on to win their first game of the season, with Alvarado’s spark off the bench being a big reason. So it would make sense for the Pels to stick with what works and give Alvarado another solid dose of minutes this evening, even if it’s not 30+ minutes. The team does need other players to step up, with Zion Williamson (hamstring/out) expected to miss the next few games. But, more importantly, as far as Alvarado’s playing time is concerned, is the addition of Jordan Poole (knee/questionable) to the injury report. If Poole is out, Alvarado emerges as an even stronger value play, but he’s worth consideration even if Poole suits up this evening. No issues with the matchup as the Mavs are 4th in pace and have ranked 27th versus bench PGs this season.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Cade Cunningham, DET vs. UTA

PG Jalen Brunson, NYK vs. MIN (Boost if Towns is out)

PG Jamal Murray, DEN vs. MIA

SG Trey Murphy III, NOP at DAL

PG/SG D’Angelo Russell, DAL vs. NOP

PG Jeremiah Fears, NOP at DAL

SG Klay Thompson, DAL vs. NOP

PG/SG Cam Spencer, MEM vs. HOU

PG/SG Bruce Brown, DEN vs. MIA

FanDuel Main Slate Only

PG Luka Doncic, LAL vs. SAS

PG/SG Stephon Castle, SAS at LAL

PG Russell Westbrook, SAC vs. GSW

PG/SG Dennis Schroder, SAC vs. GSW

PG/SG Brandin Podziemski, GSW at SAC (Boost if Butler is out)

PG/SG Marcus Smart, LAL vs. SAS (Boost if Reaves is out)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

PF Pascal Siakam, IND | DK: $9.5k, FD: $9.6k | vs. BKN

The Pacers are the most banged-up team in the league right now, and Siakam is the lone star-caliber body left standing. He’s been thrust into a huge role lately and owns a 31.8% USG% over his last five games. For comparison, Siakam held a 24.7% USG% last season. In those last five games, Siakam is averaging 27.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 2.4 STL+BLK/gm, and 1.40 FPPM. The Pacers (-6.5) will find themselves as rare favorites today, and Siakam should be in line for another stat-stuffing performance against the Nets, who are easily the worst defensive team in the NBA with a 128.5 DEFRTG.

PF/C Isaiah Stewart, DET | DK: $5.2k, FD: $5k | vs. UTA

With Tobias Harris (ankle/out) missing his first game of the season on Monday, Isaiah Stewart was promoted into the starting rotation, and he certainly made the most of it. Stewart popped for a 26/14/4 stat line, which included four blocks, across 34 minutes, resulting in 59.5 DKFP/59.8 FDFP. That’s obviously going to be a tough act to follow, but Stewart has averaged a strong 1.23 FPPM on the season. And, with Harris out again tonight, Stewart should garner another start and play around 30 minutes. The Jazz have also ranked 21st versus starting PFs this season, and Stewart’s upside is too high to ignore at these price points.

PF/C Derik Queen, NOP | DK: $3.7k, FD: $4k | at DAL

The Pelicans will need some reserve bigs to fill in for the injured Zion Williamson and Yves Missi. Both of those players were also sidelined in yesterday’s game, and, while Queen only played 18 minutes, he stuffed the stat sheet in a hurry, posting a 12/8/7 stat line, with four steals, resulting in 39.0 DKFP/41.4 FDFP. It’d be nearly impossible to replicate that sort of success in under 20 minutes of playing time. But, at these price points, we wouldn’t need Queen to go crazy like he did yesterday. And, considering he has averaged 1.24 FPPM over his last five games, as long as he plays around 20 minutes tonight, Queen will likely end up as a strong value option. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he gets bumped closer to 25 minutes.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF Julius Randle, MIN at NYK (Preferred if Edwards remains out)

PF Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK vs. MIN (Currently questionable)

SF Jaylen Brown, BOS vs. WAS

SF PJ Washington, DAL vs. NOP

SF OG Anunoby, NYK vs. MIN (Boost if Towns is out)

SF Kelly Oubre Jr., PHI at CLE

SF Aaron Nesmith, IND vs. BKN

SF/PF Jarace Walker, IND vs. BKN

SF Terance Mann, BKN at IND

SF/PF Saddiq Bey, NOP at DAL

FanDuel Main Slate Only

SF/PF Jonathan Kuminga, GSW at SAC (Boost if Butler is out)

SF/PF Jake LaRavia, LAL vs. SAS (Preferred if starting again)

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Nikola Jokic, DEN | DK: $12k, FD: $12.3k | vs. MIA

Despite the fact that Jokic has not taken on massive usage (23.5% USG% this season) like other superstars, he is still averaging an elite 1.87 FPPM and has poured in a triple-double in five of Denver’s seven games. Jokic is coming off a season-high 34 points on Monday, so it’s not as if he’s unable to contribute significantly as a scorer. But, even in games where he ends up hovering around 20 points, his unique ability to rack up double-digit rebounds and assists will always leave him with a one-of-a-kind floor. Also, as we’ve seen in previous seasons, Jokic tends to be at his best at home. That trend seems to be emerging once again as he is averaging 2.08 FPPM in three home games, versus 1.69 FPPM in three road games. We can expect another likely Joker triple-double performance tonight against the Heat, who have been a tougher matchup for centers in the past, but this year they’re playing a different brand of basketball and rank 1st in the NBA in pace. As a result, this game owns a slate-high 241.5 over/under, and the Nuggets lead all teams with a 125.5 implied point total.

C Daniel Gafford, DAL | DK: $4.7k, FD: $5k | vs. NOP

Gafford got a late jump on the season due to an ankle injury, but he made his debut on Sunday, which comes at a good time as the Mavs are currently playing without Anthony Davis and Derick Lively II. Gafford was limited to 17 minutes in his season debut, but that jumped to 25 minutes in the Mavs’ game on Monday. Gafford has always been a strong FPPM scorer, and he has posted 1.33 FPPM over his last 20 NBA starts. So, as long as he handles around 25 minutes again tonight, he’s a great bet to pay off these current salaries. The matchup is also excellent as the Pelicans are 29th in DEFRTG, 25th in PPG allowed in the paint, dead last in Rebounding%, and 29th in DvP versus starting centers. Not having Zion Williamson or Yves Missi (both are out) certainly doesn’t help their frontcourt defense either.

Other Centers to Consider

C Alperen Sengun, HOU at MEM

C Jalen Duren, DET vs. UTA

C Alex Sarr, WAS at BOS

C Nic Claxton, BKN at IND

C Jusuf Nurkic, UTA at DET

C Isaiah Jackson, IND vs. BKN

C Neemias Queta, BOS vs. WAS

PF/C Trendon Watford, PHI at CLE

FanDuel Main Slate Only

PF/C Victor Wembanyama, SAS at LAL

C Quinten Post, GSW at SAC (Only if Horford is out again + Post starts)

🔥 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!