This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a seven-game Saturday night main slate on tap, one highlighted by Heat-Bucks and Hawks-Nuggets battles. There are several very notable names on the injury report, but if a couple of questionable tags turn into confirmed absences, we could see the player pool robbed of some very appealing options.
Slate Overview
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The spreads and projected totals for Saturday night's games stand out for different reasons. There are five games with lines of five points or greater, but there are also four contests with projected totals of over 230 points.
Consequently, there could still be some prolific individual performances and a very high-scoring night from a DFS perspective overall.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (knee): PROBABLE
Antetokounmpo is once again expected to play through his probable tag and fill his usual ultra-high-usage role.
Luka Doncic, DAL (heel): OUT
In Donkic's absence, Spencer Dinwiddie, if he's able to play through his questionable tag, will likely operate as the primary ball handler and see a notable bump in usage. However, if Dinwiddie also sits, Frank Ntilikina could be in for a spot start.
Nikola Jokic, DEN (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
If Jokic were to sit out, Zeke Nnaji and DeAndre Jordan would likely handle the majority of center minutes, while the likes of Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon (ankle) and Michael Porter would be in line for much more offensive responsibility.
Stephen Curry, GSW (lower leg): PROBABLE
Curry is expected to work in his usual high-usage role and will have a chance to operate against a Mavericks backcourt missing Luka Doncic (heel).
Jalen Brunson, NYK (illness): QUESTIONABLE
If Brunson is out, Miles McBride likely draws a start at point guard, while the likes of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle would be due for much more scoring opportunities.
Other notable injuries:
Devin Booker, PHO (groin): OUT
Christian Wood, DAL (thumb): OUT
Kevin Porter, HOU (foot): OUT
Jusuf Nurkic, POR (calf): OUT
Bobby Portis, MIL (knee): OUT
Mitchell Robinson, NYK (thumb): OUT
Jalen Green, HOU (calf): QUESTIONABLE
Klay Thompson, GSW (illness): QUESTIONABLE
Draymond Green, GSW (calf): QUESTIONABLE
Aaron Gordon, DEN (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Spencer Dinwiddie, DAL (injury management): QUESTIONABLE
Nikola Vucevic, CHI (quadriceps): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have five players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Saturday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,000), Nikola Jokic ($11,700), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,200), Damian Lillard ($10,100) and Kawhi Leonard ($10,000).
Antetokounmpo just scored 76.8 FD points against the Clippers in his most recent game on the strength of a 54-point, 19-rebound double-double, and he's been over 55 FD points in five straight games overall.
Jokic will have to overcome his questionable designation, but if he does, he'll look to build on back-to-back performances where he's posted 71.1 and 65.8 FD points.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 47.6 to 62 FD points in six straight contests and draws a very favorable positional matchup against the Rockets on Saturday.
Lillard was just under 40 FD points on Friday night against the Wizards, and prior to that game, he'd averaged 55.4 FD points over his previous 13 contests.
Leonard has rediscovered his MVP form of years past recently, averaging 28.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals across his last 12 games, a stretch where he's averaging 49.8 FD points.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Stephen Curry, GSW ($9,900)
Curry dipped to 35.5 FD points against the Nuggets on Thursday, but he'd scored 41.7 to 64.6 FD points in seven games prior.
Trae Young, ATL ($9,400)
Young tallied 47.8 FD points versus the Jazz on Friday night and produced 48.1 and 50 FD points in two of the prior three contests as well.
Julius Randle, NYK ($9,200)
Randle will draw a favorable matchup versus the Clippers' frontcourt and comes in having scored 40.9 FD points or more in seven consecutive contests.
Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,400)
Adebayo has scored over 50 FD points twice in his last five games alone, giving him an excellent ceiling for his salary.
Chris Paul, PHO ($8,100)
Paul bounced back from a clunker against the Hawks two games ago to score 40.2 FD points versus the Celtics on Friday, and he'd also posted between 40.3 and 63.9 FD points in four of the previous six contests as well.
Key Values
Anfernee Simons, POR at CHI ($6,300)
Simons comes into Saturday's contest amid a hot stretch that's seen him average 31 FD points while shooting 55.4 percent, including 46.7 percent from three-point range, in his last six games. The fifth-year guard has eclipsed 30 FD points on five occasions during that span, and he's returned over 5x on his current salary in 24 games overall. Meanwhile, the Bulls have allowed 44.2 FD points to two-guards over the last 15 games, furthering Simons' case.
Jalen Duren, DET vs. PHO ($5,900)
Duren's impressive rookie campaign is in the midst of one of its most productive stretches, as the big man has scored 24 to 53.5 FD points in his last six games, a stretch during which he's eclipsed 30 FD points on four occasions. Duren put up 32.6 FD points across 32 minutes against the Hornets on Friday night. Yet, he's seen a $100 salary drop for a matchup versus a Suns team tied for the 12th-highest offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (32.2) while allowing over 53 FD points to the position in the last 15 games. Phoenix is also tied for ninth-most points in the paint allowed per road game (51.6), an area of the floor where 81.4 percent of Duren's scoring originates from.
Dorian Finney-Smith, DAL at GSW ($5,400)
Finney-Smith will take the floor without Luka Doncic (heel) on Saturday, and he has already scored between 33.4 and 38.9 FD points in three of his last four contests. Golden State is surrendering over 42 FD points to power forwards in the 15 games, along with 36.3 percent three-point shooting overall. Finney-Smith has also been a more productive player on the road and has already delivered over 5x return on his current salary on nine prior occasions in 39 games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jaden Ivey, DET vs. PHO ($6,200)
