This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Saturday night brings a seven-game slate with a later tip-off of 8pm ET, and it's a highly appealing one from a DFS perspective. There are four games between teams with winning records, which always ups the chances of several high-salary players seeing a full complement of minutes. Moreover, the injury report is particularly onerous in terms of big names, meaning we'll have a strong player pool to work with.
Slate Overview
Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls (-3) (O/U: 221.0 points)
Minnesota Timberwolves at Miami Heat (-6) (O/U: 224.5 points)
Indiana Pacers at San Antonio Spurs (-5.5) (O/U: 234.5 points)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat (-5.5) (O/U: 209.5 points)
Milwaukee Bucks (-1.5) at Golden State Warriors (O/U: 232.0 points)
Toronto Raptors at Denver Nuggets (-5.5) (O/U: 225.0 points)
Sacramento Kings at Utah Jazz (-10) (O/U: 231.5 points)
Washington Wizards (-7) at Portland Trail Blazers (O/U: 218.5 points)
The overall lack of big spreads underscores how tightly contested the night's action could be. Half of the 14 teams in action will be on the second night of back-to-back sets, but there are still plenty of elevated projected totals that also lend credence to the notion we could see several big individual performances.
In terms of best potential game environments, one that involves two losing teams, the Pacers and Spurs, might be one of the top ones. The Bucks-Warriors and Raptors-Nuggets clashes also could evolve into high-scoring affairs, and given the multiple star players involved in those games, there will be a chance to see big dividends from several high-salary options.
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.
Anfernee Simons, POR (quadriceps): OUT
In Simons' absence, Brandon Williams should see another start at point guard.
Zach LaVine, CHI (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If LaVine were to sit out, Matt Thomas and Malcolm Hill could see the majority of shooting guard minutes, while the usage of the remaining members of the starting five should see a bump.
Nikola Vucevic, CHI (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
If Vucevic were to sit out, Tristan Thompson would likely draw a spot start at center.
Malcolm Brogdon, IND (concussion): OUT
In Brogdon's absence, Tyrese Haliburton could move over to point guard, while Chris Duarte may shift into a starting shooting guard role.
Other notable injuries:
Damian Lillard, POR (abdominal): OUT
Jusuf Nurkic, POR (foot): OUT
Jarrett Allen, CLE (finger): OUT
Caris LeVert, CLE (foot): DOUBTFUL
Lonzo Ball, CHI (knee): OUT
Will Barton, DEN (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Justise Winslow (Achilles): QUESTIONABLE
Draymond Green, GSW (back): OUT
Myles Turner, IND (foot): OUT
Malachi Flynn, TOR (hamstring): OUT
Aaron Gordon, DEN (foot): QUESTIONABLE
OG Anunoby, TOR (finger): OUT
Bojan Bogdanovic, UTA (leg): QUESTIONABLE
Terence Davis, SAC (wrist): OUT
Elite Players
We have five players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,200), Nikola Jokic ($12,100), Dejounte Murray ($10,800), Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,600) and Stephen Curry ($10,000).
Antetokounmpo already put up 69.5 DK points against the Warriors in one prior game this season, and he's scored over 60 DK points in five of the last six games.
Jokic scored 59.3 DK points in his one prior game versus the Raptors this season and is averaging 63.1 DK points at home this season. He's also scored over 70 in three of the past four games, including a 95-DK-point tally versus the Pelicans.
Murray posted only 31 DK points against the Pacers in the first meeting between the teams this season, but that came over 26.2 minutes and featured 60.0 percent shooting.
Towns put up 28 DK points across 28.3 minutes in the first game against the Heat, and he's scored over 50 in three of the last four games. However, Miami is allowing the lowest offensive efficiency to centers (28.0 percent).
Curry shot only 36.4 percent in his first game against the Bucks this season but he did bounce back from a pair of sub-40-DK-point tallies to compile 55.3 DK points against the Nuggets on Thursday.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
DeMar DeRozan, CHI ($9,500)
DeRozan could potentially be taking the floor without LaVine and Vucevic, a scenario in which he's sporting a 41.5 percent usage rate and averaging 52.3 DK points per 36 minutes.
Tyrese Haliburton, IND ($9,000)
Haliburton posted 54 DK points across 37 minutes in his one prior game versus the Spurs, a game in which he shot 63.2 percent. He's also scored at least 43 DK points in nine of his last 10 games.
Donovan Mitchell, UTA ($8,600)
Mitchell is averaging 47.8 DK points in three games against the Kings this season and Sacramento is allowing Western Conference-high 36.6 percent three-point shooting on the road.
Jimmy Butler, MIA ($8,500)
Butler recorded 44 DK points against the Cavaliers in his return from a one-game absence and is now averaging 44.4 per game at FTX Arena this season.
Evan Mobley, CLE ($7,500)
Mobley continues to hold down starting center duties with Jarrett Allen (finger) sidelined and has scored 45 to 55 DK points over his last three games in that capacity.
Key Values
Jordan Poole, GSW vs. MIL ($5,700)
Poole comes into Saturday's clash on a tear that's seen him average 23.8 points (on 61.1 percent shooting, including 59.0 percent from distance), 5.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals over his last five games. The third-year guard is averaging a solid 31.4 minutes during that span despite logging just one start in that sample, and he faces a Bucks team that's allowing 38.0 percent three-point shooting in the last three. Poole has scored 34.3 to 49.8 DK points in his last five games as well, outstanding returns on his current salary.
Mike Conley, UTA vs. SAC ($5,400)
Conley's salary is particularly eye-opening, and the drop it's seen is admittedly because of some recent clunkers. However, the veteran scored 30.8 DK points on Friday night versus the Spurs, and prior to three sub-20-DK-point tallies that preceded that performance, he'd posted 22.8 to 41 DK points in 12 of the prior 13. Conley has also averaged 30.5 DK points in three games against Sacramento this season, shooting 56.1 percent, including 63.2 percent from behind the arc, in that sample. The Kings are allowing the eighth-highest offensive efficiency to point guards (26.4 percent), along with 48.7 DK points per game to the position in the last 15 games.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, WAS at POR ($4,900)
KCP is well known for the significant variance in his production, but he's been on an extended run of solid performances since Bradley Beal was lost for the season with a wrist injury. The veteran wing is averaging 17.2 points (on 47.7 percent shooting, including 49.2 percent from three-point range), 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals over his last 11 games, a sample in which he's scored at least 32.5 DK points on five occasions, including three straight. The Trail Blazers seemingly make for excellent targets as well, as Portland is playing with an injury-decimated roster and is allowing the fifth-most DK points per game to shooting guards (44.5). What's more, the Blazers are giving up NBA-high 37.7 percent three-point shooting at home, a weakness Caldwell-Pope is well-equipped to exploit.
ALSO CONSIDER: Hassan Whiteside, UTA vs. SAC ($4,200)
