The NBA is back with a nine-game DFS main slate after a fantastic night of basketball. We have a few intriguing matchups including Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers who will be without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley who are out with injuries. We also have Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets taking on the Shae Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder which is shaping up to be a great matchup.

NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!

Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based off their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!

 

Notable NBA Injury Updates

Out

Questionable

Teams on Back-to-Backs

2nd Leg

1st Leg

Pace Up Spots

Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.

*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.

Green = Fast Paced team

Blue = Neutral Paced team

Red = Slow Paced team

Notable NBA Game Totals

Top Tier Core Plays

Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic is a top option tonight as he should be every night. The ball goes through him in this offense, and the matchup against Chet Holmgren is fantastic. After getting ejected in Tuesday's game against the Bulls and destroying everyone's lineups, he bounced back with a 26-14-10 triple-double. This game should stay close throughout, boding well for the top tier DFS plays in this game. 

Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid is not listed on the injury report ahead of tonight's game. However, I would not be surprised if he sees a mid-day add to the injury report being the second leg of a back-to-back. If Embiid plays, he has a great case of being the top guy, as he just continues to feast on bad teams. This madman has scored over 60 fantasy points in nine straight games played. If he plays lock him in.

Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG, Cleveland Cavaliers

We found out recently that the Cavaliers are going to be without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley for a long period. That means we should get a lot of point-Donny. In four games without Garland this season Mitchell's usage moves from 31% to 35% and his PPG jump from 26 per game to 33 points per game. I expect Mitchell to be very aggressive tonight and have a big night and is locked into my lineup. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder

SGA is coming off a huge performance in his last game scoring a season-high 43 game points against the Kings. This game should be the best game of the night going back and forth, and you'd have to imagine SGA has had this one circled on his calendar. The last time this matchup happened, SGA had his worst game of the season going 2-16 from the floor and scoring just 24 fantasy points.

Mid-Tier Core Plays

Nikola Vucevic & Coby White, Chicago Bulls

Zach LaVine continues to be out with a foot injury, and the helps the likes of Nikola Vucevic and Coby White a lot. The Bulls have been using Vuc as the hub of the offense and letting him create from the block and elbow. Without Lavine this season in eight games Vuc goes from 15 points per game to 19 and takes three more shots per game. 

But it's Coby White he takes a huge jump. His usage goes from 19% to 22%, plus his points per game move from 13 to almost 26. He is also dishing out 2.5 more assists per game. White price has jumped into the 7K range which seems high, but it has paid off thus far.

Shaedon Sharpe, SG/SF, Portland Trail Blazers

Shaedon Sharpe is coming off an absolute clunker of a game. He finished just 1-12 from the floor finishing with just four game points. Sharpe was still active on the floor grabbing seven rebounds. We know one off-shooting night isn't going to to deter him from shooting the basketball in this one. In the last matchup against Dallas Sharpe finished 46 fantasy points and took 10 shots from behind the arc. Go back to the well with Sharpe tonight. 

Caleb Martin, PF, Miami Heat

Caleb Martin is coming off a monster game against the Bulls in the last outing. He finished with a 17-point 12-rebound double-double. With Martin playing 34 minutes in four straight games, he is a huge part of this rotation at the moment. Even with a low game total Martin has a solid floor of over 25 fantasy points, in which he has gone over in six straight games. Martin is a very solid option in this one along with his teammate Jaimie Jaquez Jr.

Caris LeVert, SG/SF, Cleveland Cavaliers

Like Donovan Mitchell Caris LeVert also gets a tick-up with Darius Garland being out in this one. We need to take advantage of his low price while we can still get it as it sits at just 6K tonight. In the four games without Garland this season, LeVert goes from a 21 to 27% usage rate and his PPG jumps from almost 14 to 21 points per game. Like Mitchell, he is locked in my lineup tonight.

Jonathan Kuminga, SF/PF, Golden State Warriors

Kuminga got the start with Draymond Green out indefinitely and faired pretty well. He finished with a 15-point five-rebound night finishing with at least 25 fantasy points in the third straight game. With Kuminga rolling heading into this one, and as he sits under 6K on DK I believe he will be a good play in a decent game environment against the Brooklyn Nets. 

Value Tier Core Plays

Naz Reid, PF/C, Minnesota Timberwolves

There isn't a ton of value in the low-priced value bin on this slate in my opinion so I had to cheat a bit. Naz Reid is priced at $5,00 on DK which is a little higher priced than we normally like for this section. Naz Reid has just been so safe over his past five games scoring at least 27 fantasy points in each and is coming off a 43 fantasy point performance. Play him in this one in a great game environment against the Pacers.

T.J. McConnell, PG, Indiana Pacers

Make sure to pay attention to the fantasy alarm discord as we update you throughout the day with injury news as Tyrese Haliburton is questionable. If he is out, McConnell becomes an auto-lock for me tonight. However, even if he plays McConnell has been very solid in limited action. He has played no more than 20 minutes in his last five games but has gone over 20 fantasy points in four of those games. McConnell is a solid play either way, but his ceiling depends on the health of Tyrese Haliburton.

Day'Ron Sharpe, C, Brooklyn Nets

Like McConnell, Sharpe doesn't get a lot of minutes, but he is efficient with those minutes. He has played 20 or more minutes in two of his past five games and in those games, he finished with over 30 fantasy points in each. He is a fantasy point-per-minute monster, so you can play him and hope Nic Claxton gets in foul trouble, and Sharpe gets extended run.

Toumani Camara, SF/PF, Portland Trail Blazers

Toumani Camara keeps starting for this Trail Blazers team, and he keeps producing at a solid clip. He is under 5K on DraftKings and has finished with 21 or more fantasy points in five straight games. In the last matchup against Dallas, he finished with a season-high 28.75 fantasy points. Go back to the well once again tonight with Camara.

Update: I do not love this play now with Jerami Grant coming back tonight. Still might be fine, but his ceiling takes a hit.

Kris Dunn, PG, Utah Jazz

With Jordan Clarkson, and Keyonte George both out with injuries in this one Kris Dunn should keep getting extended run. He played 26 minutes in the last game and finished with just 16 fantasy points. You would like to see better production than that but he has finished with at least 24 fantasy points in the two games before that. Dunna is a fine play at his price tonight.

Roster Lock Updates:

  • Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington out for Charlotte
  • Alex Caruso is out for the Chicago Bulls
  • Clint Capela is out for the Atlanta Hawks (Fire up Onyeka Okongwu) along with Bogdan bogdanovic
  • Tyrese Haliburton is out for the Pacers

The grid below will be updated based on breaking news as the day goes on.

Player Pool