This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a solid eight-game slate Friday, and fortunately only a handful of big names are on the injury report. That sets us up well for a robust player pool to work with that affords us flexibility at each position and throughout the salary scale.
Slate Overview
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In addition to a relatively light injury report, we also have the benefit of a slate of games that are almost all projected to be close. As of Friday morning, there's only one spread of more than 7.5 points on FanDuel Sportsbook and four of them actually lists lines of 2.5 points or fewer.
In terms of projected totals, there's also the positive of six games with figures of at least 230.5 points, including a rare 251.5 attached to the Kings-Hawks matchup. The abundance of predicted high-end offensive environments certainly suits us well for DFS purposes and offers plenty of avenues to focus on when building tournament lineups.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Joel Embiid, PHI (ankle): OUT
With Embiid still out, Paul Reed should get another start at center after posting 41.5 FD points against the Magic on Wednesday.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE (illness): QUESTIONABLE
If Mitchell misses a fifth straight game, Craig Porter should continue to handle lead point guard duties.
Jayson Tatum, BOS (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Tatum can't go, Jaylen Brown (back), Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis would be set for significant bumps in usage while Al Horford could draw a start at power forward.
Jaylen Brown, BOS (back): QUESTIONABLE
If Brown doesn't play, Jayson Tatum (ankle) would see an increase in his already robust usage if available while Sam Hauser or Al Horford could slot into the starting five.
Other notable injuries:
Gordon Hayward, CHA (calf): OUT
Evan Mobley, CLE (knee): OUT
Aaron Gordon, DEN (face): OUT
De'Andre Hunter, ATL (knee): OUT
Markelle Fultz, ORL (knee): OUT
Mark Williams, CHA (back): GTD
Bradley Beal, PHO (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (calf): PROBABLE
Nic Claxton, BKN (illness): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have nine players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Friday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,400), Nikola Jokic ($12,200), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,700), Kevin Durant ($10,500), Domantas Sabonis ($10,400), De'Aaron Fox ($10,300), Trae Young ($10,200), Donovan Mitchell ($10,000) and Scottie Barnes ($10,000).
Assuming Giannis can push through his calf injury, he'll look to hit or exceed 60 FD for the third straight game against a Cavs frontcourt still missing Evan Mobley.
Jokic has eclipsed 60 FD from three of his last five outings and has produced at least a double-double in each during that sample. He also draws a particularly favorable positional matchup against the Thunder.
SGA should naturally play a prominent role in what could be a wire-to-wire affair with the Nuggets and is on a torrid run of production that's seen him top 60 FD in three of the last five appearances.
Durant just went off for 69 FD against the Rockets on Wednesday, but could be welcoming Bradley Beal back into the lineup Friday.
Sabonis should play a key role in the matchup with the largest projected total and has scored 53.9 FD or more across three of five games.
Like Sabonis, Fox should be in prime position to go off due to the game situation and the fact he's exceeded 50 FD points in four of the last six.
Young will be the focal point of the Hawks' attack on the other side against Fox and just saw a seven-game streak of tallies greater than 50 FD points snapped.
Mitchell will have to overcome the illness that has cost him four straight outings. But if he does suit up, he should walk right back into an ultra-high-usage ball-handling role with Darius Garland (jaw) still out.
Barnes has been offering rich stat lines all season and checks in having scored between 50.5 to 59.4 FD across four of five.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Jayson Tatum, BOS ($9,700)
If Tatum plays through his ankle issues, he should be in plenty of lineups as usual after posting 66.4 FD against the Pistons on Thursday without Jaylen Brown in the lineup - a scenario that could repeat itself Friday.
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($8,900)
Brunson has been over 50 FD in two of the past three games while flashing a ceiling well north of 60 FD on multiple occasions this season.
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($8,900)
Sengun is coming off over 60 FD from two of his last three outings, which should keep him very popular Friday.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI ($8,400)
With Joel Embiid still out, Maxey should be in plenty of lineups despite having posted a somewhat disappointing 29.1 and 35.2 FD points in the first two games of his teammate's absence.
Tobias Harris, PHI ($7,900)
Harris has scored between 36.4 to 54.1 FD from the last three games and should receive plenty of clicks on his name with Embiid still sidelined.
Key Values
Jalen Johnson, ATL vs. SAC ($6,100)
Johnson made his return Wednesday from an extended absence due to a wrist injury and showed virtually no rust by posting 27.8 FD points over 29 minutes. His ability to log a solid workload right out of the gate is certainly encouraging, and offers very cost-effective exposure to the game with the highest projected total of the night. Johnson draws a good positional matchup considering the Kings are allowing the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating to power forwards (30.6) and 47.6 FD to the position on the year. The fact fellow forward De'Andre Hunter (knee) remains out only serves to brighten his outlook.
Cameron Johnson, BKN at WAS ($5,800)
Johnson has been cleared for Friday after sitting out Wednesday against the Bucks for knee injury management, and he sports a salary that could well be overdelivered on against a Wizards squad that plays at a very fast pace and generally struggles to limit production across the board. Washington is allowing the fourth-highest offensive efficiency to power forwards (31.4) and even more vulnerable to the position of late while giving up an NBA-high 31.0 points and an Eastern Conference-high 54.6 FD during the last seven games. Johnson has been in strong form throughout December as he's shooting 50.4 percent, including 45.7 from three-point range.
Malik Monk, SAC at ATL ($5,300)
Monk has been up and down in his production of late, but makes for an intriguing tournament option given the offensive expectations in the Kings-Hawks and his own upside. The veteran has scored over 25 FD in 15 of 28 games and checks in at a 26.9 FD average in December while shooting 40.0 percent from behind the arc. The Hawks are allowing 47.4 percent shooting to second-unit players and 48.2 overall, including 40.3 percent from deep to shooting guards. They've also given up an Eastern Conference-high 44.8 FD points to the position on the season.
ALSO CONSIDER: De'Anthony Melton, PHI at HOU ($6,900); Craig Porter, CLE vs. MIL ($6,500); Day'Ron Sharpe, BKN at WAS ($5,400)
