This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
As is the case every year, the NBA primarily cedes the spotlight to the NFL on Super Sunday with only a pair of matinee battles. While both favorites have relatively comfortable projected advantages, the individual talent on the floor from all four teams could make each game closer than expected and could lead to a very entertaining afternoon of DFS action.
Slate Overview
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics (-6) (O/U: 223.5 points)
Minnesota Timberwolves (-6) at Indiana Pacers (O/U: 236.0 points)
The Celtics are the NBA's hottest team not named the Raptors entering Sunday,as they sport a seven-game winning streak. Boston has been especially impressive at home on its way to a 19-10 mark, so the Hawks - which will already be down a key starter in John Collins - will certainly have their work cut out for them. However, Atlanta has a 2-0 series lead on Boston this season, with the Hawks holding the Celtics to under 100 points on each occasion.
Both the Timberwolves and Pacers are carrying losing streaks, though Indiana's five-game skid trumps Minnesota's slump of two. There clearly is some offense expected, no surprise considering the T-Wolves have been a much more vulnerable defense on the road and the Pacers have allowed between 119 and 133 points in four of their most recent defeats.
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 is 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.
Trae Young, ATL (hip): PROBABLE
Assuming Young plays as expected, he should be in for a particularly elevated workload with John Collins already ruled out due to his foot injury.
John Collins, ATL (foot): OUT
In Collins' absence, Danilo Gallinari could draw the start at power forward.
Anthony Edwards, MIN (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Edwards were to sit out, Karl-Anthony Towns would be in line for even more usage than usual while Jaden McDaniels could draw a start at small forward.
Other notable injuries:
Malcolm Brogdon, IND (Achilles): QUESTIONABLE
Myles Turner, IND (foot): OUT
Isaiah Jackson, IND (ankle): OUT
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries on Sunday's slate – Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,300) and Jayson Tatum ($10,000).
Towns just dropped 57.6 FD points against the Bulls on Friday and faces a Pacers team that's given up an NBA-high 67 FD points per game to centers in the last seven games.
Tatum bounced back from a trio of sub-40-FD-point tallies to post 45.7 against the Nuggets on Friday, and he did score 54.2 against the Hawks in their first meeting this season. However, he was held to 5-for-17 shooting in the most recent encounter and carries a salary he hasn't delivered at least a 5x return on in the last six games.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Trae Young, ATL ($9,900)
Young shouldn't have any limitations due to his hip discomfort and has posted at least 47.7 FD points in three of his last five games. He will also play without Collins, a scenario in which he sports a 38.0 percent usage rate and averages 50.7 FD points per 36 minutes.
Tyrese Haliburton, IND ($9,000)
Haliburton made a great first impression on his new squad with 38.6 FD points across 39 minutes versus a tough Cavs defense and will be a featured player in a matchup with a projected elevated scoring total.
Jaylen Brown, BOS ($8,600)
Brown scored just 30.4 FD points Friday against the Nuggets due to a ragged shooting effort, but he eclipsed 40 in each of the two previous games and draws the best matchup in the Eastern Conference on paper for shooting guards in the Hawks.
Robert Williams, BOS ($7,900)
Williams has scored 37.1 to 52.2 FD points in four of his last five games, representing strong-to-excellent returns on his current salary.
Key Values
Buddy Hield, IND vs. MIN ($6,200)
Hield is another former King who got off to a good start in Indiana, recording 37.8 FD points against Cleveland. The veteran wing drew the start at small forward and should be back with the first unit Sunday facing a Timberwolves squad that's allowed the fourth-highest offensive efficiency to small forwards (24.9 percent) and the fourth-most FD points per game to the position (41.6). Minnesota is also yielding the sixth-highest three-point shooting percentage on the road (36.3), which could certainly give Hield's production a boost.
Oshae Brissett, IND vs. MIN ($5,800)
Brissett is the presumptive starting power forward now that Domantas Sabonis is in Sacramento, and the young big got his first-unit tenure off to an encouraging start Friday by producing 40.7 FD points in 38 minutes after totaling 29.2 in the previous game against the Hawks off the bench. The third-year forward should be in good position to generate another strong return on investment Sunday, as the T-Wolves are ranked in the bottom half of the league with 47.4 FD points per game alllowed to fours.
Kevin Huerter, ATL at BOS ($5,500)
Huerter has recently been a bit up and down in his production, but he just racked up 37.2 FD points in 31 minutes against the Spurs and also boasts tallies of 28.1 and 33.4 within the last six games. The Celtics rank just inside the bottom half of the league in offensive efficiency allowed to two-guards (21.2 percent) and have given up 38.7 FD points per game to the position in the last 15, which helps enhance Huerter's case. Moreover, he carries a solid 22.3 percent usage rate and averages 28.5 FD points per 36 minutes with Collins off the floor, leaving him poised to potentially deliver a nice return on his very reasonable salary.
