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

NBA DFS Today w/ Tyler Wiemann

🏀Tyler’s NBA (and other sports) prop bets can be found on the LineStar YouTube Shorts page!🏀

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

Multiple blockbuster, out-of-nowhere trades have already reshaped the NBA landscape, and we’ve still got nearly 24 hours to go before tomorrow’s 3:00 PM ET trade deadline. Seven games hit the board tonight, setting up another hectic slate with plenty of uncertainty. A number of big names are sidelined – whether due to injury or recent trades – and there are several key questionable tags that will need to be monitored closely throughout the day. The matchups themselves look solid – there may not be many high totals, but also no double-digit spreads. Once again, it is advised to tread carefully on this slate and keep your eyes peeled for any and all types of news that comes down the wire. Best of luck!

Latest NBA Trade Reports

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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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: A. Gordon – OUT, C. Johnson – OUT, C. Braun – Probable

• Knicks: J. Hart – Questionable, M. McBride – OUT, M. Diawara – Questionable

• Timberwolves: A. Edwards – Questionable, J. Randle – Questionable

• Raptors: J. Poeltl – OUT, O. Agbaji – OUT/Traded

• Celtics: J. Brown – DOUBTFUL, N. Vucevic – OUT, S. Hauser – OUT

• Rockets: K. Durant – Probable, D. Finney-Smith – OUT

• Pelicans: None

• Bucks: G. Antetokounmpo – OUT, B. Portis – OUT, M. Turner – Probable, C. Anthony – Probable, G. Harris – OUT

• Thunder: S. Gilgeous-Alexander – OUT, C. Holmgren – OUT, Jal. Williams – OUT, I. Hartenstein – OUT, A. Mitchell – OUT, L. Dort – OUT, A. Caruso – OUT, O. Dieng – OUT/Traded

• Spurs: S. Castle – Questionable, D. Harper – Questionable, K. Olynyk – Questionable, L. Waters III – OUT, J. Sochan – OUT

• Grizzlies: J. Morant – OUT, Z. Edey – OUT, S. Aldama – Questionable, W. Clayton Jr. – OUT, K. Anderson – OUT, T. Hendricks – OUT, S. Pippen Jr. – DOUBTFUL (would be season debut)

• Kings: D. Sabonis – Questionable, K. Murray – OUT

• Cavs: J. Harden – OUT, E. Mobley – OUT, L. Ball – OUT/Traded

• Clippers: D. Garland – OUT, I. Zubac - 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 Amen Thompson, HOU | DK: $8.5k, FD: $9.2k | vs. BOS

Spending up at guard isn’t particularly appealing on this slate, but Thompson continues to make a compelling case based on his consistency and workload. In competitive games, he’s essentially locked into 40 minutes, and even in lopsided results, he often pushes past 35 minutes. While he’s not an elite per-minute producer, Thompson has been steady at 1.14 FPPM over his last five games and contributes across all five statistical categories. He also draws a sneaky-good matchup against a Boston team on the second leg of a back-to-back that has allowed the eighth-most FPPG to opposing starting point guards over the last 20 games. Thompson typically brings a 40-plus fantasy point floor, and even with Kevin Durant (ankle/probable) expected back, he still carries 50-point upside when his shot is falling.

PG Ty Jerome, MEM | DK: $5.5k, FD: $6.9k | at SAC

Jerome’s price tags have climbed quickly after two strong performances in his first two games of the season. Unless we get confirmation that his minutes restriction is being eased, the $6,900 tag on FanDuel is tough to justify, but $5,500 on DraftKings keeps him firmly in the mid-range conversation. He’s been limited to just 20 minutes in each outing, yet still managed 40.0 and 32.2 DKFP, which works out to an incredible 1.81 FPPM. That level of efficiency is unlikely to hold, but both games came against Minnesota, and he draws an even softer matchup tonight. Sacramento ranks 28th in overall DEFRTG and 29th in DvP versus starting PGs over their last 20 games. If Jerome can push closer to the mid-20s in minutes, he’s well-positioned to return another strong point-per-dollar result on DraftKings.

PG/SG Cason Wallace, OKC | DK: $4.8k, FD: $4.3k | at SAS

OKC is shaping up to be down to the league minimum of eight available players tonight, which puts multiple Thunder value pieces firmly in play. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay Mitchell, Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso, and Ousmane Dieng (traded) have all been ruled out, which will force the remaining rotation players into featured roles. Wallace stands out as one of the primary beneficiaries, and we’ve already seen him deliver ceiling games when OKC has been (nearly) this shorthanded earlier in the season. While the sample size is small, he’s averaged 1.09 FPPM with all those players off the floor. Even in a potential blowout (OKC +9.5), Wallace should be locked into a 30–35-minute workload. The matchup also checks out, as San Antonio has allowed the most FPPG to starting PGs over their last 20 games, making Wallace an easy value to get behind.

Other Guards to Consider

SG Donovan Mitchell, CLE at LAC

SG Anthony Edwards, MIN at TOR (Currently questionable – Boost if Randle is out)

PG Ryan Rollins, MIL vs. NOP

PG Trey Murphy III, NOP at MIL

PG De’Aaron Fox, SAS vs. OKC (Boost if Castle is out)

PG Payton Pritchard, BOS at HOU

PG Donte DiVincenzo, MIN at TOR (Boost if Edwards and/or Randle are out)

SG Isaiah Joe, OKC at SAS

SG/SF Herbert Jones, NOP at MIL

PG/SG Dylan Harper, SAS vs. OKC (Currently questionable – Boost if Castle is out)

PG/SG Bones Hyland, MIN at TOR (Only if Edwards is out)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

SF Kawhi Leonard, LAC | DK: $9.3k, FD: $9.5k | vs. CLE

With James Harden moved to Cleveland, the recently acquired Darius Garland (toe/out) still sidelined with an injury, and Ivica Zubac missing tonight’s game for personal reasons, Kawhi Leonard should be in line to dominate the usage. With Harden and Zubac off the floor this season, Kawhi has shouldered a huge 36.4% USG% and has averaged a stout 1.52 FPPM. He hasn’t been handling major minutes lately, but the Clippers have also been involved in a ton of fairly lopsided game scripts lately. If this game stays close, as the 2.5-point spread suggests, we could see a Kawhi ceiling performance.

SF/PF Kyle Kuzma, MIL | DK: $6.7k, FD: $6.6k | vs. NOP

If you’ve been playing NBA DFS for a while, you’ll know how tough it can be to trust Kyle Kuzma, but he’s been playing at a high level lately, and heads into this game averaging 1.20 FPPM and 39.9 DKFP/gm over his last five games. With Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) and Bobby Portis (hip) both out today, Kuzma’s role is solidified even further. With both of those players missing last night’s game, Kuzma popped for a 31/10/6 stat line and 57.0 DKFP. The matchup is also outstanding today as the Pelicans check in at 27th in DEFRTG and have allowed the 3rd-most FPPG to starting power forwards over their last 20 games. I’m not optimistic he goes for 50+ FP again, but 40+ FP is certainly on the table. That sort of upside is very appealing, given his mid-$6k salaries on both sites.

PF/C Jaylin Williams, OKC | DK: $5k, FD: $4.2k | at SAS

Back to the extremely thin Thunder rotation we go. Jaylin Williams should draw the start at either center or power forward tonight and is likely in line for a 30+ minute workload. He hasn’t been as efficient on a per-minute basis compared to previous seasons, but we also haven’t seen OKC this shorthanded in a game thus far. He has still averaged a respectable 0.93 FPPM over his last 20 games as a starter, and I’d expect him to average more than an FPPM tonight, even against a Wembanyama-led Spurs frontcourt. 30+ FP for Jaylin Williams is a strong likelihood if the minutes land where they’re expected.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF Scottie Barnes, TOR vs. MIN

PF Julius Randle, MIN at TOR (Currently questionable – Boost if Edwards is out)

PF Zion Williamson, NOP at MIL

SF/PF DeMar DeRozan, SAC vs. MEM

PF OG Anunoby, NYK vs. DEN

SF Jaylon Tyson, CLE at LAC

SF/PF Saddiq Bey, NOP at MIL

PF/C Naz Reid, MIN at TOR (Boost if Edwards and/or Randle are out)

SF Jaden McDaniels, MIN at TOR (Boost if Edwards and/or Randle are out)

PF/C Santi Aldama, MEM at SAC (Currently questionable)

SF/PF Aaron Wiggins, OKC at SAS

PF/C John Collins, LAC vs. CLE

SF/PF Gregory “GG” Jackson, MEM at SAC (Boost if Aldama is out)

PF/C Kenrich Williams, OKC at SAS

SF/PF Olivier-Maxence Prosper, MEM at SAC (Preferred if Aldama is out)

SF/SG Baylor Scheierman, BOS at HOU (Assuming he starts)

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Victor Wembanyama, SAS | DK: $10k, FD: $11.6k | vs. OKC

Wemby has had a tough time finding his usual amount of success against the Thunder, as he hasn’t scored more than 41 DKFP against them in four meetings this season. That being said, he played off the bench in three of those games, following a lengthy injury absence. And the depleted Thunder team he’ll be going up against tonight is essentially just a group of backups and role players. This is one game on the slate where a blowout is a legitimate concern (SAS -9.5), but if it stays somewhat competitive, Wemby should have his way against an OKC frontcourt that will essentially be comprised of Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams, and Branden Carlson. It’s a riskier investment, but there’s plenty of 60+ FP potential for Wemby in this spot.

C Branden Carlson, OKC | DK: $3.5k, FD: $3.7k | at SAS

I just threw a light diss on Carlson and the rest of the available OKC frontcourt players in the Wemby write-up, but that doesn’t mean he is a bad value option for DFS purposes. Carlson projects for 27.0 minutes for the thin OKC lineup tonight, and he’s shown quality per-minute production when given decent minutes this season. On the year, he’s at a respectable 0.96 FPPM. With all the current OKC injuries factored in, Carlson has improved that figure to 1.12 FPPM in an 84-minute sample size. Assuming he plays off the bench, Carlson will also receive solid minutes regardless of whether or not this game trends toward a blowout.

Other Centers to Consider

C Nikola Jokic, DEN at NYK

C Jarrett Allen, CLE at LAC

C Myles Turner, MIL vs. NOP

C Neemias Queta, BOS at HOU

C Maxime Raynaud, SAC vs. MEM (Only if Sabonis is out)

C Luka Garza, BOS at HOU

C Pete Nance, MIL vs. NOP

🔥 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!