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

Honestly, when looking at Trae Young, the playmaking has gone to a new level this year and the shot volume has been fine, he just hasn't made shots. This is a shot-making spot as the Lakers rank 27th in DRtg. He has a 27% USG and is averaging 1.3 FP/min. There's 60 FP upside here.

The whole field is gravitating towards Haliburton and I completely understand it. The Pacers are in a tailspin, this game has a 248.5 implied point total, and they get the Bulls on the second leg of a back-to-back. Bulls are first in pace & 26th in DRtg. Haliburton's great here.

The range of outcomes on Simons makes him a tournament play only, but he's firmly in my player pool because of his ceiling. Simons has a 25.7% USG this year and it's nearly 27% without Scoot Henderson (who's QUEST). Utah ranks 29th in DRtg.

It's impossible to ignore Russell without Austin Reaves. He was mega chalk the other day and let everyone down, but don't let those results factor into today. Without Reaves this year, he has a 3.7% USG bump, which leads the team, 25% USG and averages 1.04 FP/min.

Conley is safe. The last two games have been blowouts and he hasn't gotten there, but the four games prior Conley played 30+ minutes, which wasn't the case earlier in the year. Nice final piece in.

Good positional eligibility, really good ceiling, really good game environment. A lot to like for tournaments.

To chase or not to chase? He's going to play 30 minutes regardless of who's in/out and this game has elite upside. If I'm playing him I'm not banking on a 27-point triple-double.

It's a great game environment for the Hawks and Bogdanovic and although he hasn't been great this year, he's been very serviceable sitting at a 20% USG and .9 FP/min off the bench. The Hawks have 117 implied points.

Without Kristaps Porzingis this year, Jayson Tatum has a 32% USG and averages 1.47 FP/min. He's been cleared of his knee injury and is three games removed from 66 FP. Great tournament option.

I'm pretty surprised to see the ownership where it is, but then I think about the price and the upside and I'm brought back to reality. Without Clarkson and Filipowski, he's a 23% USG and 1 FP/min player and that's truly been during a bad season considering what type of player Markkanen has been the past few seasons.

Hunter's offense has been elite off the bench for Atlanta lately posting 20+ points in four of five and 18+ in all of them. He's put up 26+ DKP in four of the five and currently sits at 1.05 FP/min for the season. With how well he's played he's consistently gotten to around 30 minutes.

The ownership on Johnson is partly recency bias and partly how cheap he is. He's nearly at 21% USG and is at .91 FP/min and both take a spike if Wemby's not on the floor.

Absolutely nobody is playing Giannis Antetokounmpo today. Khris Middleton is back and he faces Boston. There's always something to be said about playing a low-owned superstar in tournaments.

Elite basketball player doing elite basketball things. 23% USG, 1.3 FP/min and nobody wants to play him despite his team having an elite team total in the second-highest implied game total on the board. OK.

Siakam's usage has taken a big dip the last two games and Indiana's offense has struggled, so expect that to change tonight. The Bulls have nobody that can match Siakam's size at the PF spot and this is a great spot for him. Even with recent struggles, Siakam's still a 1.07 FP/min player this year.

Whether Wemby's been active or not, Jeremy Sochan has been incredible this year. He's been a 23% USG, 1.14 FP/min player. He played 36 (!!!) minutes and started last night in his second game back from injury. The price is too cheap.

There's been a noticeable drop off with Jerami Grant's numbers this year. Grant was a 26% USG player last year and this year he's at 21%. He's also only at .87 FP/min, but this spot against Utah provides the potential for a glimpse of the old version. Last year's version. Great price, great matchup.

Nothing has truly gone right for Indiana lately but Obi Toppin has looked very good off the bench. Over the last three games, Toppin has posted USG rates of 25.5, 32.7, and 24% and has topped 22 minutes in three of them. GPPs only.

Despite everything looking so bad for the Lakers and Anthony Davis lately, he is in a big-time get right spot. The pace increase is significant for the Lakers and despite his struggles, Davis still averages 30.4% USG and 1.5 FP/min, both leading the team.

Nikola Vucevic is putting the league on notice. He's been an absolute BUCKET scoring 39 points last night and 32 three games ago against Boston. He continues to flash an incredibly safe 40-FP floor while also flashing a 60-FP ceiling. He's over 25% USG and 1.4 FP/min without Coby White (QUEST) this year.

Center's a good position and in this price range, everyone's gonna pass on Kessler for Myles Turner, Deandre Ayton, and Rudy Gobert. All three of those guys are 2x his ownership or more. Since coming back from injury on 11/23, Kessler's been a 1.1 FP/min on DK and 1.2 FP/min on FD. Interesting GPP pivot coming off b2b 35+ minute games and 28+ in six straight.

I find it incredibly interesting that nobody wants to play Al Horford tonight. Not because I think he's the best play on the board or anything, but he's 4.9K, PF/C elg, his team has one of the best-implied totals on the board, and Kristaps Porzingis is out. My brow is raised.