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 📰

The group play stage of the NBA Cup in-season tournament rolls on! Both DraftKings and FanDuel have excluded the two 10 p.m. ET games from their main slates, but we’re still left with a loaded nine-game slate to dig into. It sets up as a fun night of basketball with several high totals and competitive spreads on the board. Let’s dive in and see if we can crack the code tonight. 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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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.}

• Celtics: X. Tillman - OUT

• Magic: None

• Cavs: D. Hunter - Probable, D. Wade - OUT, L. Ball -OUT

• Wizards: K. George - Questionable, B. Coulibaly - OUT

• Raptors: None

• Hawks: T. Young - OUT, L. Kennard - Questionable

• Pistons: T. Harris - OUT, C. LeVert - Questionable

• Nets: C. Thomas - OUT

• Rockets: S. Adams - Questionable

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

• Hornets: L. Ball - Doubtful, C. Sexton - Doubtful, B. Miller - OUT

• Heat: B. Adebayo - OUT

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

• Grizzlies: None

• Bulls: A. Dosunmu - Questionable

• Bucks: K. Porter Jr. - OUT, T. Prince - OUT

• Jazz: None (Reminder: Walker Kessler is out for the season, so he’ll be excluded from future injury reports)

• Timberwolves: T. Shannon Jr. - 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 Josh Giddey, CHI | DK: $9.3k, FD: $9.4k | at MIL

Giddey has been on an absolute heater, averaging a triple-double over his last five games (24.4 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 10.0 APG) while scoring an elite 1.64 FPPM. Giddey has consistently put up strong peripherals while also being a solid scorer, but whether he can maintain this level of play is fairly unlikely. Still, he’s worth keeping on the radar until he cools off, and he can certainly still return value on his current DFS price points without dropping another triple-double. This game also features two evenly matched teams that play at an above-average pace, resulting in a high 240.5 over/under and narrow spread (CHI +4.5).

SG Norman Powell, MIA | DK: $6.7k, FD: $6.5k | vs. CHA

Powell popped for a couple of 48+ FP games within his first three starts this season, then missed three games with a groin injury, but has now been back in action for the Heat’s last two games. Powell hasn’t stuffed the stat sheet in these last two games, but he has still gone for 21+ points while leading the team in usage. But there is reason to have higher expectations for Powell today. That reason is Bam Adebayo sitting out this game due to a toe injury. Powell has averaged a quality 1.18 FPPM when sharing the court with Adebayo this season, but that has jumped significantly to 1.76 FPPM when Adebayo has been off the floor. Powell should be the unquestioned top scoring option for Miami this evening, and the matchup is great. The Heat and Hornets are 1st and 6th in pace, respectively, and Charlotte checks in at 25th in DEFRTG. The Hornets are shorthanded, as they’ll likely be without LaMelo Ball and Collin Sexton (both doubtful) as well as Brandon Miller (shoulder/out). So there is potential for a blowout. But, as a reminder, score differential matters quite a bit in the NBA Cup tiebreaking rules, so starters will often still play full minutes in these NBA Cup games even if the score becomes lopsided.

PG/SG Tyrese Martin, BKN | DK: $4k, FD: $4.3k | vs. DET

This Nets team has been tough to watch, but that doesn’t mean they have to be ignored in the realm of NBA DFS. Brooklyn will be without their highest usage player, Cam Thomas (hamstring/out), this evening. That will likely bump Tyrese Martin into the starting rotation, making him an appealing value option. Martin has only averaged 0.54 FPPM with Cam Thomas on the floor this season, but that increases to a much more respectable 0.95 FPPM with Thomas on the sidelines. Martin’s usage rate also goes from 10.2% up to 21.3% in those same splits. Thomas played just six minutes before exiting Wednesday’s game, and Martin went on to play 27 minutes off the bench while scoring a season-high 16 points and 28.75 DKFP/27.0 FDFP. It’s not an exciting play, but Martin is a sensible value play to keep on the radar today.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Cade Cunningham, DET at BKN

SG Donovan Mitchell, CLE at WAS

SG Anthony Edwards, MIN vs. UTA

SG Stephon Castle, SAS vs. HOU

PG Keyonte George, UTA at MIN

SG RJ Barrett, TOR at ATL

PG Ryan Rollins, MIL vs. CHI

PG/SG Tre Mann, CHA at MIA

PG Bub Carrington, WAS vs. CLE (Preferred if Kyshawn George is out)

SG/SF Ziaire Williams, BKN vs. DET

PG/SG Cam Spencer, MEM vs. DAL

PG Jamal Shead, TOR at ATL

PG/SG Dru Smith, MIA vs. CHA

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL | DK: $11.6k, FD: $12k | vs. CHI

Value won’t be too difficult to come by on this slate, so getting up to the pricey Giannis Antetokounmpo may end up being a high priority. Giannis has only put up one truly monster performance so far this season, but he’s also averaging a career-high 32.3 PPG while bringing in 12.6 RPG and dishing 6.3 APG. As noted, this is looking like perhaps the best DFS environment on the slate, given its high total and close spread, and the matchup is pretty strong for Giannis. The Bulls are allowing the 6th-most PPG in the paint (54.0), and this could also be a spot where Antetokounmpo could pick up multiple blocks (CHI: 5.6 opp BLK/gm, 7th-most). I believe the Greek Freak could also have a little extra juice in the tank tonight, with this being an NBA Cup game at home. Some star players may not care too much about this in-season tournament, but I don’t get that feeling from Giannis.

PF Andrew Wiggins, MIA | DK: $6.9k, FD: $6.4k | vs. CHA

Wiggins should be another beneficiary of Bam Adebayo's absence this evening. His usage rate has gone from 19.0% when sharing the court with Adebayo, all the way up to 30.6% USG% with Adebayo off. His FPPM also increases from 0.82 to 1.45 in the same splits. These are, of course, still some small early-season sample sizes, but they’re very much still worth pointing out. Also, with Bam exiting the last game after playing just eight minutes, Wiggins went on to post a season-high 42.0 DKFP/43.3 FDFP, which I don’t believe is a pure coincidence. He’ll have plenty of 40+ FP upside again tonight, so we’ll take a shot on him out of the $6k range.

PF/C Noah Clowney, BKN | DK: $3.9k, FD: $4.2k | vs. DET

Clowney has earned starts in the Nets’ last two games and, considering Brooklyn notched their first win of the season in one of those games, I’d imagine he’ll continue to operate as a starter for the time being. Clowney isn’t a great FPPM scorer, averaging 0.67 FPPM on the season. But that has bumped up to 0.84 FPPM in these last two games as a starter. Clowney scored 15+ points in both of those games; his offensive usage could bump up a bit with Cam Thomas sidelined, and he projects for 30.0 minutes tonight. At these current prices, he’ll bring ample 6x potential to lineups as a value play this evening.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF Evan Mobley, CLE at WAS

PF Jalen Johnson, ATL vs. TOR

SF Jaylen Brown, BOS at ORL

PF Scottie Barnes, TOR at ATL

SF Kevin Durant, HOU at SAS

PF Michael Porter Jr., BKN vs. DET

SF/SG Jaime Jaquez Jr., MIA vs. CHA

SF/SG Kon Knueppel, CHA at MIA

SF/PF Tari Eason, HOU at SAS

SF Terance Mann, BKN vs. DET

SF/PF Ronald Holland II, DET at BKN

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Jalen Duren, DET | DK: $7.5k, FD: $7.2k | at BKN

You never truly know what you’re going to get out of Jalen Duren on any given night. He could foul out in 20 minutes or, like we saw on Wednesday, he could drop a 50 (fantasy point) burger with 20+ points and 20+ rebounds. He has been benefiting from Tobias Harris (ankle/out) being sidelined for the last two games. That has bumped Isaiah Stewart into the starting lineup. Stewart often subs in to replace Duren at center, but the two have been playing alongside each other sans Harris, and that has led to 34+ minutes for Duren in each of the last two games. Duren is averaging an excellent 1.47 FPPM on the season, but has played 26.4 Min/gm. Now that he’s more likely to handle a more traditional starter’s workload, with minutes in the low-30s, as long as he stays away from foul trouble, he sets up as an appealing option out of the $7k range. Needless to say, the matchup is also outstanding. The Nets are dead last in DEFRTG, 25th in Rebounding%, allow the 3rd-most PPG in the paint (55.5), and rank 27th versus starting centers this season.

C Daniel Gafford, DAL | DK: $5k, FD: $5.4k | at MEM

It doesn’t seem as if Anthony Davis (calf/doubtful) will be active tonight, setting him up for a fourth straight absence. Dereck Lively II (knee/out) will also miss a sixth straight game. That will leave Gafford as the starting center for the Mavs once again tonight. Gafford is still having his minutes monitored a bit, but he has played 25 minutes in back-to-back games and could be due for a slight increase in his fourth game of the season. But, even if he still hovers at that 25-minute mark, that’s enough time for Gafford to pay off his current DFS salaries. He’s averaging 1.18 FPPM through three games this season, and, in the past, we’ve seen him hit well above that FPPM range. The matchup is rock-solid with Memphis allowing the 5th-most PPG in the paint (54.2) while also ranking 20th in Rebounding% and 22nd in DvP versus starting centers.

Other Centers to Consider

C Victor Wembanyama, SAS vs. HOU

C Alex Sarr, WAS vs. CLE (Boost if Kyshawn George is out)

C Jarret Allen, CLE at WAS

C Jusuf Nurkic, UTA at MIN

C Nic Claxton, BKN vs. DET

C Kel’el Ware, MIA vs. CHA

C Ryan Kalkbrenner, CHA at MIA

C Jalen Smith, CHI at MIL

🔥 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!