It is hump day and we have a nice hoops slate of eight games for DFS tonight! Really enjoy these slates around the six-to-ten game range that supply us with plenty of options to choose and dig through. We have lots of excellent game environments for tonight's slate including the San Antonio Spurs traveling into the Motor City to take on the Detroit Pistons, the lowly Washington Wizards traveling into Indiana to take on the Pacers, and my personal favorite - the Philadelphia 76ers traveling into Hotlanta to take on the Atlanta Hawks! Let's chat about the player options for tonight!

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 on their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!

Here's the NBA DFS Podcast for today's slate. Like the video and subscribe to our channel!

Notable NBA Injury Updates

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PACE: (Last 15 Games)

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

 

NBA Game Totals

 

Top Tier Core Plays

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

SGA is just about a top play on any and every slate and although I would much rather lean on him as a cash play at his price, he is still worth in GPP because he really doesn't ever garner much rostership unless it is a smaller slate. However, this is an eight-game slate and if you like him tonight, which everyone should as he can likely nail you down 50+ fantasy points most nights, I would not fault you for running him.

Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings

Sabonis is coming off a massive game here of nearly 78 fantasy points against the Pistons last night. He did see 38 minutes in that game, and that potentially could be a cause for concern, however, this spot is just another fantastic one against the frontcourt of the Hornets, who are still without starting center Mark Williams. Sabonis has recorded 77.5, 60.5, and 76 fantasy points in three of his last four games.

Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

Trae is probable to play here tonight at home vs the Sixers and I think many may not go here, but the fact of the matter is this Sixers team is not nearly as good on defense without Joel Embiid, who is already ruled out tonight. Trae has played extremely well lately when on the floor, averaging roughly 50 fantasy points on his home floor, and there is a chance that Dejounte Murray doesn't play in this one. Really like this spot for Trae at home.

Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

On the flip-side of Young, Maxey is the cover of today's playbook and he should be in for an absolute monster game here tonight against this very poor defending Hawks team. Maxey sees a huge usage bump of nearly 6% without Embiid on the floor, while averaging roughly 45 fantasy points in that scenario as well. This game has just a 1-point spread and a really nice total at 244, which checks in as the second-highest of the slate. We know Atlanta has given up some huge games to PGs this season, and this is Maxey's time to shine once again.

 

Mid-Tier Core Plays

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

Couldn't find much of a better spot here for Wemby than against the 3-win Pistons. Even though Jalen Duren has been holding down the frontcourt somewhat modestly for the Pistons, this is such a mismatch for any center to be honest. The main draw-back here is that we know he is likely only going to see 25 minutes, however, we have seen Wemby crack 45-50 fantasy points multiple times this season in only 25 minutes or less.

Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

If you want a little bit of a safer play at the center spot that we know should likely play in excess of 35+ minutes, than we can always go down to Bam here against OKC. This is also a favorable spot here for the big man and I really do like his match up against Chet. Bam is a force on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball and the Heat are without Butler, Caleb Martin, and Kyle Lowry tonight, so they will be short-staffed once again here.

Terry Rozier/Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets

Rozier has basically been a one-man wrecking crew in terms of fantasy lately for the lowly Hornets, but with the Kings on a back-to-back here tonight I really like his chances of having another smash game. Rozier has been extremely good lately and against some tougher match ups like Denver and most recently a 58-fantasy point effort against the Bulls, who are very stingy typically against backcourt players. Bridges has been fantastic also with the Hornets dealing witn injuries. Bridges has topped 37 fantasy points in his last four-straight games. Great spot for both Rozier and Bridges

Tyler Herro, Miami Heat

Herro continues to be a monster without Butler in the fold. With Butler, Martin, and Lowry off the floor this season, Herro tops the Heat in usage rate at nearly 29% and an average of 42 fantasy points roughly. This will likely be one of his tougher tests of the season, as OKC has been very good against opposing PGs. Likely a GPP only play for me, but he does have 40-45 point upside on any night with the Heat being short-staffed, and we know he will play big minutes.

Devin Vassell, San Antonio Spurs

Vassell has once again quickly become the go-to player for the Spurs since regaining his starting role. Now, we can more than bank on Vassell being one of the last players on the floor for the Spurs, and he has played over 30 minutes most nights lately. Not only that, but we have seen three games out of his last six go for 44+ fantasy points and this match up is very ideal with the Pistons down Cade Cunningham in the backcourt.

 

Value Tier Core Plays

Coby White, Chicago Bulls

Even though this game hosts likely the worst possible game environment on the night, the best way to attack the Rockets is the backcourt, and White has been pretty good lately for fantasy purposes. Even with Vucevic and LaVine back in the mix, White has recorded 43, 44, and 47 fantasy points over his last three contests and is hitting a stride after a multi-game slump.

Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

Will be looking to get a few pieces from this ATL/PHI game as it is my favorite game of this slate. Johnson will absolutely look to pick up some more usage in the event that Murray does happen to sit, but regardless of either outcome he will be a go-to for the Hawks, as he has been since returning from his wrist injury a couple of weeks ago. As mentioned above, with Embiid out, the paint is open for business against the Sixers. Johnson has touched at least 34+ fantasy points in four of his last five contests.

Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers

Much like Maxey, Harris sees this second highest usage rate on the team without Embiid at an average of 24.8%. He is also averaging nearly 39 fantasy points in this situation and he is slated to return to action tonight after missing the Sixers last contest. Fully expect him to see 35+ minutes in this one and the game environment is excellent as stated many times above.

Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons

Ivey sees a nearly 3.5% usage bump, while averaging nearly 37 fantasy points this season with Cade off the floor. Last game with Cade missing his first game in a while this season, Ivey spouted off for 40 fantasy points on 22 points, five board, six dimes, and two steals across 33 minutes of action. Great spot here against the Spurs at home.

Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers

With Haliburton down for 1-2 weeks, there will be a few Pacers that will need to step up and take some control of this offense and I think Mathurin showed last game he is ready for that task as the highest-usage player on this second unit. Ben went for 40 fantasy points against the Celtics at home with 26 points, four boards, three assists, and two steals spread across 29 minutes of action. He saw 35 minutes the direct game prior against the same Celtics team and recorded 33 fantasy points. Tonight, he gets the lowly Wizards at home.

Tyus Jones, Washington Wizards

Tyus has burned me lately by backing him, but with this game hoisting the highest total on the board and him coming off a nice game of 38 fantasy points against a good backcourt defensive team like OKC, I am ready to be hurt once again. Nonetheless, Tyus is seeing 26+ minutes a night and we know that the Pacers have given up some big games to opposing backcourts.

Paul Reed, Philadelphia 76ers

We all know that Reed is generally a fantasy point per minute guy and he gets a great match up here with the Hawks. We should play it with caution as we know how playing Reed has gone this season, but the fact of the matter is that he should see the most minutes with Embiid out at center and he has actually averaged 36 fantasy points per 36 this season without Embiid, however, he likely wont play 36 minutes. Regardless, he is more of a cash play than a tournament play.

Nick Smith, Charlotte Hornets

As the Hornets continue to deal with injuries, players from the bench are continuing to be given opportunities. Smith did just that last game as he saw a season-high 32 minutes of action, and as a result recorded 26.5 fantasy points on a 15 points, four board, three dimes, and a steal stat-line against a good Bull's backcourt defense. It is risky, so more of a tournament play, but if he is going to see 30+ minutes at his price he is worth a flier.

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Player Pool

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