NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Friday Playbook

Harden is flirting with 40 minutes on a nightly basis and playing excellent basketball. He gets one of the best matchups on the board against the Hawks, who play at the 2nd fastest pace in the league and rank just 17th in DRtg. 

I am not sure what it is (injury?), but LaMelo is going through something. He has shot just 30.8% from the field over his last eight games and just 26.2% in his last two games. He is GPP only until he can get his shot right, but he is in a good spot against a depleted Spurs team. 

Haliburton has topped 49 fantasy points in five of his last seven games and has been much more consistent lately. Pascal Siakam is listed questionable on the injury report and Hali gets a matchup against the now tanking Sixers. Haliburton is a strong option if Siakam plays, and an elite option if Siakam sits. Hali has seen a 2.1% bump in usage and 4.4% bump in assist rate with Siakam off the floor this season. 

Donovan Mitchell has been ruled out and the Cavs still have the highest team total on the slate. Garland has seen a 3.3% bump in usage and a 4.5% bump in assist rate with Mitchell off the floor this season. He is one of the top options on the slate no matter what else breaks from a news standpoint. 

De'Aaron Fox has been ruled for the season, so we can expect a bump in role for several Spurs players. I do want to exercise some caution with vets like Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, as the Spurs have every reason to tank for draft position and evaluate young players for the remainder of the season. 

Donovan Mitchell has been ruled out and the Cavs still have the highest team total on the slate. Jerome has seen a team-leading 3.4% bump in usage with Mitchell off the floor this season and he should be in line for mid-20s minutes. 

The Lakers are only available on FD, but they are some of the best values on that slate. Luka Doncic and LeBron James are both out, so Austin Reaves should have a ridiculous role. Jordan Goodwin, Dalton Knecht, and Jarred Vanderbilt (in that order) would be my next priorities. The bigs outside of Vandy are hard to trust. 

The tank is on in Philly, with Joel Embiid and Paul George unable to stay healthy. Tyrese Maxey and Lonnie Walker have also been ruled out, while Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre, Andre Drummond and Justin Edwards are all listed questionable. Dowtin has played at least 26 minutes in each of the last two games and should have a significant role even if none of the questionable players get ruled out. 

Boston has four starters listed questionable on the injury report, so this may not be the difficult matchup it appears to be on paper for Herro. The Heat guard has routinely flashed a ceiling of 50+ fantasy points this season and he currently has a very attractive ownership projection. 

Memphis has a healthy implied team total of nearly 222 points in the best game environment of the night. Jaren Jackson is also listed questionable on the injury report. Bane has went off or 57+ fantasy three times already this month. 

The Lakers are only available on FD, but they are some of the best values on that slate. Luka Doncic and LeBron James are both out, so Austin Reaves should have a ridiculous role. Jordan Goodwin, Dalton Knecht, and Jarred Vanderbilt (in that order) would be my next priorities. The bigs outside of Vandy are hard to trust. 

Vassell should be relied upon heavily to score the basketball with De'Aaron Fox joining Victor Wembanyama on the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Vassell has surprisingly not seen a bump in usage rate with those two stars off the floor this season, but his 22.4% usage rate on the season ranks 2nd on the team among active Spurs. 

Castle was already taking on a larger role recently before news of the season-ending injury to De'Aaron Fox, and now he has a chance to be the focal point of the offense. Castle has seen a 2.2% bump usage with Fox and Wemby off the floor this season, and his 27.3% usage rate in that scenario leads the team. 

The tank is on in Philly, with Joel Embiid and Paul George unable to stay healthy. Tyrese Maxey and Lonnie Walker have also been ruled out, while Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre, Andre Drummond and Justin Edwards are all listed questionable. Butler played 35 minutes last game with all four questionable players active, so he should be looking at another game with a huge role. 

Kawhi has been seeing huge minutes recently, playing at least 36 minutes in six straight games. He gets an up-tempo matchup against the Hawks, who rank 2nd in pace and 17th in DRtg.  

The recent lack of ceiling for Franz was discussed in this space yesterday, as he was in an elite matchup. Cole Anthony was a surprise late scratch, yet Franz still only put up roughly 5x his salary. That is a fine performance, but we really need more from Franz for him factor into GPP-winning lineups. If Tatum and Brown both play for Boston the raw ceiling options at SF (aside from Kawhi Leonard) are not that strong, so Franz is currently in my player pool. He would be one of my first cuts if we get some beneficial injury news. 

Keldon has seen the biggest usage bump on the team (+3.8%) with Fox and Wemby off the floor this season. He also has been playing upper-20s minutes more frequently of late. 

De'Aaron Fox has been ruled for the season, so we can expect a bump in role for several Spurs players. I do want to exercise some caution with vets like Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, as the Spurs have every reason to tank for draft position and evaluate young players for the remainder of the season. 

The Lakers are only available on FD, but they are some of the best values on that slate. Luka Doncic and LeBron James are both out, so Austin Reaves should have a ridiculous role. Jordan Goodwin, Dalton Knecht, and Jarred Vanderbilt (in that order) would be my next priorities. The bigs outside of Vandy are hard to trust. 

Jeffries is a DK only play for me due to Lakers value on FD. He has started and played 32+ in each of the last two games, but he has posted just 0.63 FPPM this season. Hopefully, better value opens up and we do not need to go here. 

Boston has four starters listed questionable on the injury report, including Tatum himself. If Tatum plays and any of the others get ruled out, my interest in Tatum goes through the roof. 

LaMelo Ball has really been struggling with his shot making, and Miles Bridges has been there to pick up the slack. Bridges has attempted at least 19 shots in each of his last six games, and he has posted 54+ fantasy points in five of them. 

Paolo was one of my favorite plays on the slate yesterday and he came through with over 66 fantasy points. He is on a back-to-back and gets a much tougher matchup tonight, but the ceiling has been enormous recently. Paolo should come with minimal ownership on this slate with fellow PFs Miles Bridges and Evan Mobley in better spots in the same price range. 

Donovan Mitchell has been ruled out and the Cavs still have the highest team total on the slate. Mobley has seen a 2.2% usage bump and 7.0% assist rate bump with Mitchell off the floor this season.  

Eason played 26 minutes last game, but I still think 30 minutes is a reasonable expectation here (assuming the game stays somewhat close). He lost time due to foul trouble and two minutes due to garbage time in the last game. 

Sochan figures to be far less popular than some of his teammates due to uncertainty around his playing time. He has been a strong fantasy producer at times in his career, and there is a chance he could see extended minutes. 

The Lakers are only available on FD, but they are some of the best values on that slate. Luka Doncic and LeBron James are both out, so Austin Reaves should have a ridiculous role. Jordan Goodwin, Dalton Knecht, and Jarred Vanderbilt (in that order) would be my next priorities. The bigs outside of Vandy are hard to trust. 

Sengun has not posted a ceiling game in quite some time, but this is a serious mismatch against an under-sized Dallas team that has been playing PJ Washington and Kessler Edwards at the Center position. 

Zubac has been playing massive minutes and has consistently posted mid-40s fantasy points, with a ceiling of around 55 FP. He gets a good matchup in a huge up-tempo spot. 

This is a great spot for Williams with a significant lack of size on the opposing Spurs team. 

Donovan Mitchell has been ruled out and the Cavs still have the highest team total on the slate. Allen has seen a 2.7% usage rate bump and 2.4% assist rate bump with Mitchell off the floor this season. 

Extremely low floor, as we saw last game, but has also flashed significan ceiling. Orlando will need his size with Gobert back to full minutes on the other side.