This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
It's been a wild week in the NBA schedule-wise, and it continues Saturday evening with a modest three-game slate following a 12-game ledger Friday night. There are two games with narrow spreads and a very light injury report, which are strong points given how few matchups there are.
Slate Overview
Dallas Mavericks (-1.5) at Charlotte Hornets (O/U: 225.5 points)
Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers (-8) (O/U: 216.0 points)
Los Angeles Lakers at Washington Wizards (-1.5) (O/U: 230.5 points)
Four of the six teams in action Saturday night are on the second game of back-to-back sets, and the Lakers were involved in an overtime clash, which could naturally lead to some fatigue. None of the three games shape up as particularly appealing from a DFS perspective, but the Mavericks-Hornets clash could feature some scoring considering Charlotte's defensive deficiencies.
Injury Situations to Monitor
NOTE: Injury reporting is especially fluid in the NBA, where the status of multiple players can change during the course of a day. Therefore, although the following serves as a foundation for the latest injury report as of the time the article is written, check back throughout the course of the day with RotoWire for the latest news regarding the status of all players on that night's slate, including those carrying injury designations that aren't listed in this section.
Cade Cunningham, DET (illness): QUESTIONABLE
If Cunningham were to sit out again, Saddiq Bey would likely see another boost in usage after racking up 51 points in Cunningham's absence Thursday versus the Magic.
Carmelo Anthony, LAL (illness): GTD
If Anthony sits out, Stanley Johnson and Trevor Ariza could see boosts in playing time off the bench.
Other notable injuries:
Anthony Davis, LAL (foot): OUT
Gordon Hayward, CHA (ankle): OUT
Jarrett Allen, CLE (finger): OUT
Talen Horton-Tucker, LAL (ankle): GTD
Reggie Bullock, DAL (personal): GTD
Tim Hardaway, DAL (foot): OUT
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Luka Doncic ($11,800) and LeBron James ($11,300).
Doncic endured a nightmarish shooting performance Friday night against the 76ers with a 5-for-20 tally from the field, but he'd scored 53.5 to 68.3 DK points in the three previous games. He's also averaged 54.3 DK points in 25 road games.
James played 45 minutes Friday night against the Raptors and netted 61.3 DK points, so although he could be somewhat sluggish Saturday, it's worth mentioning that he posted 71.3 DK points in one prior game against the Wizards.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Darius Garland, CLE ($9,100)
Garland has scored 42 to 72.3 DK points in his last six games and has averaged 40 DK points in two prior games versus the Pistons.
LaMelo Ball, CHA ($8,800)
Ball should be popular after scoring 42.8 to 55 DK points in the last three games, but he has a tough matchup against a Mavs team ranked No. 6 in offensive efficiency allowed to point guards.
Russell Westbrook, LAL ($8,700)
Westbrook's struggles this season have been well-documented, but he's coming off a triple-double against the Raptors on Friday that netted 56 DK points and should be popular on such a small slate.
Kyle Kuzma, WAS ($8,000)
Kuzma hung 35.3 DK points on his old Lakers squad the first time he faced them this season and is coming off having scored 39.8 DK points in his most recent game, which should put him in plenty of lineups Saturday.
Saddiq Bey, DET ($6,800)
Bey's aforementioned 51-point tally against the Magic on Thursday and the possibility Cunningham misses another game should help make him very popular Saturday.
Key Values
Jalen Brunson, DAL at CHA ($6,300)
Brunson scored 29 DK points in 25 minutes against the Hornets the first time he faced them this season, and he's shooting 50.3 percent, including 42.6 percent from three-point range, in 34 road games this season. Brunson just scored 34.8 DK points against the 76ers on Friday night as well, his sixth tally over 30 in the last 12 games. The Hornets are also allowing the sixth-most DK points per game to shooting guards (42.9), along with the most made threes per game to the position (3.9).
Dorian Finney-Smith, DAL at CHA ($5,500)
Finney-Smith's production has taken a dip in three of the last four games, as he's failed to eclipse 20 DK points in each of those instances. However, the veteran has been relatively solid otherwise since just before the All-Star break, scoring over 25 DK points on seven occasions over an eight-game period before this current slump began. Finney-Smith could be in a very good position to bounce back Saturday night as a value tournament play, considering he put up 26 DK points versus the Hornets the first time he saw them this season and Charlotte is allowing Eastern Conference-high 28.6 percent offensive efficiency to power forwards, along with the fourth-most DK points per game to the position for the season (47.9).
Corey Kispert, WAS vs. LAL ($3,800)
Kispert's salary is particularly noteworthy considering he's scored 20.8 to 28.3 DK points in four of the last five games. The rookie has also shot 56.9 percent, including 46.9 percent from behind the arc, in his last six, and he tallied 26 DK points versus the Lakers five games ago in Los Angeles. Kispert gets another crack at what could be a tired team Saturday night, one that's allowed over 42 DK points per game in the last seven to small forwards.
