Following the conclusion of an exciting Play-In Tournament on Friday night, we're finally set for the start of the playoffs Saturday with a quartet of first-round games. Injuries loom very large, as there are some massive names already ruled out, along with a trio of other stars that carry uncertain availability.
Slate Overview
For the latest spreads and over/unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, April 18 at 9:00 a.m. EDT:
- Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers (-8) (O/U: 219.5)
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets (-6.5) (O/U: 231.5)
- Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks (-5.5) (O/U: 216.5)
- Houston Rockets (-5) at Los Angeles Lakers (O/U: 208.5)
As should be the case throughout the postseason, we're dealing with a set of games that are expected to be very competitive. The absences of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are leading to the one road favorite of the day, but otherwise, there aren't any surprises in either spreads or projected totals. However, if either Kevin Durant or Anthony Edwards can't play through their questionable tags, their respective teams' lines will naturally shift.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Kevin Durant, HOU (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Durant can't play through his right knee bruise, the rest of the starting five will naturally be in store for a significant bump in usage, while Tari Eason could enter the first unit.
Anthony Edwards, MIN (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Edwards can't play through his knee issue, Ayo Dosunmu or Bones Hyland would likely draw the start at shooting guard, while the rest of the first unit will see a big increase in opportunity.
Immanuel Quickley, TOR (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
If Quickley ultimately sits out, Jamal Shead may be in for a spot start at point guard.
Other notable injuries:
Luka Doncic, LAL (hamstring): OUT
Austin Reaves, LAL (oblique): OUT
Peyton Watson, DEN (hamstring): OUT
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate: Nikola Jokic ($12,700), LeBron James ($10,600) and Jalen Johnson ($10,200).
Jokic averaged 74.1 FD points against the Timberwolves in four regular-season meetings, never falling below 60 in any of those contests while shooting 65.3 percent, including 50.0 percent from behind the arc.
LeBron will be in store for much more usage than usual in the absence of Doncic and Reaves, and he finished the regular season averaging 47.0 FD points over the final eight games in which he played a normal allotment of minutes.
Johnson was impressive against the Knicks in the regular season with an average of 47.0 FD points across three games, a span in which he shot 45.5 percent from three-point range.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Scottie Barnes, TOR ($9,700)
Barnes averaged 47.9 FD points over three games against the Cavaliers this season and averaged 41.4 FD points over his last 12 games.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($9,600)
Mitchell is off the injury report after missing the last two games of the regular season due to an ankle injury, and he averaged 41.5 FD points over his last 15 games.
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($9,500)
Sengun will be even more popular if Kevin Durant is forced to sit out, but the former should be highly rostered in any circumstance after wrapping up the regular season with an average of 46.3 FD points in the last 11 games.
James Harden, CLE ($9,400)
Harden scored 50.4 FD points in his one game against the Raptors this season and was over 44 FD points in seven of the last 11 games in which he played at least 28 minutes.
Jamal Murray, DEN ($9,300)
Murray is clear of the injury report after missing the last two games of the regular season with a shoulder injury, and he averaged 45.0 FD points in his last 11 contests of the campaign.
Key Values
OG Anunoby, NYK vs. ATL ($6,500)
Anunoby finished the regular season on a high note, averaging 33.1 FD points on the strength of 18.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks across his last eight games in which he played over 30 minutes, shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range in the process. The versatile big man also had an excellent track record against the Hawks, as he averaged 37.8 FD points against Atlanta in three games. Anunoby topped out at 45.5 FD points in that sample, and the Hawks finished the regular season surrendering the fourth-most rebounds per contest to power forwards in the last 15 games (11.1). Anunoby is likely due for a boatload of minutes in the postseason given his value on defense and ability to shoulder heavy workloads, making him a very appealing option at his salary.
Jabari Smith, HOU at LAL ($6,200)
Smith enjoyed a career-best season as a scorer, and he was a very steady fantasy contributor throughout the campaign while matching a career high success rate in three-point shooting (36.3 percent). The versatile forward averaged 31.0 FD points over his final 16 games as well, and he put up 32.3 FD points against the Lakers across three games while shooting a blistering 53.7 percent. Smith flashed some nice upside for his salary by hitting or exceeding 35 FD points on 20 occasions during the regular season, and the shorthanded Lakers could prove ill-equipped to contain him again with so many other weapons on the Rockets to worry about.
Donte DiVincenzo, MIN at DEN ($5,500)
DiVincenzo's production can undeniably have its ups and downs, but the veteran guard's salary partly factors that volatility in. The versatile point man should be up for plenty of minutes in a game Minnesota is an underdog in, and his usage will naturally see a nice increase if Anthony Edwards is ruled out. DiVincenzo mustered tallies of 36.6 and 34.1 FD points in his final two games against the Nuggets during the campaign, and he exceeded 25 FD points in seven of the final 12 contests of the season in which he played a customary number of minutes.
ALSO CONSIDER: Cameron Johnson, DEN vs. MIN ($5,400); Ayo Dosunmu, MIN at DEN ($5,200)
