This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
With the NBA idle on Christmas Eve, we're treated to a 10-game Saturday night main slate that has the feel of a typical big mid-week or Friday night ledger. There are plenty of big names populating the injury report, so it's a night to keep a close eye on the news leading up to lineup lock.
Slate Overview
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Despite the fact there are 10 games on the slate, there are no double-digit spreads as of Saturday morning, certainly an encouraging sign for the chances of a competitive night that will help lock in the minutes of big-name players.
There's even a brighter outlook on the projected total front, where only two games have figures below 230, and four of the eight contests above that figure are actually at 238 points or greater. That portends not just a high-scoring night, but one where there could be enough standout individual performances to require a score of 350 and above in tournaments to take down some serious winnings.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Luka Doncic, DAL (quadriceps): OUT
The absence of Doncic and another potential one for Dante Exum (lower leg) will likely thrust Jaden Hardy into the main ball-handling role Saturday and will lead to significant usage bumps for whoever is in the starting five.
Kyrie Irving, DAL (heel): OUT
Irving's absence should open the starting shooting guard role for either Seth Curry or Tim Hardaway.
Anthony Davis, LAL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Davis can't suit up Saturday, Jarred Vanderbilt (Probable-heel) could draw a start at center while the rest of the starting five would be in for elevated usage.
LeBron James, LAL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If James can't suit up, Rui Hachimura (Questionable-wrist) or Christian Wood could draw the start at power forward while the rest of the first unit will see big bumps in usage.
Tyrese Haliburton, IND (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Haliburton can't play, T.J. McConnell is likely to draw the start at point guard and the rest of the starting five will be in for big increases in opportunity.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE (illness): OUT
In Mitchell's absence, Craig Porter and Caris LeVert are likely to handle the majority of point guard duties.
Zion Williamson, NOP (illness): QUESTIONABLE
If Williamson can't play, Naji Marshall is likely to draw the start at power forward while the rest of the first unit sees a big bump in usage.
Other notable injuries:
Dante Exum, DAL (lower leg): GTD
Talen Horton-Tucker, UTA (foot): QUESTIONABLE
LaMelo Ball, CHA (ankle): OUT
Evan Mobley, CLE (knee): OUT
Darius Garland, CE (jaw): OUT
Zach LaVine, CHI (foot): OUT
Draymond Green, GSW (suspension): OUT
Shaedon Sharpe, POR (groin): OUT
Josh Giddey, OKC (ankle): OUT
Dereck Lively, DAL (ankle): OUT
Tari Eason, HOU (lower leg): OUT
Keldon Johnson, SAN (back): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have seven players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Saturday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($12,200), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,800), Anthony Davis ($11,200), Tyrese Haliburton ($10,400), LeBron James ($10,300), Victor Wembanyama ($10,200) and Trae Young ($10,000).
Jokic has scored 62 and 69.7 FD points in his last two games and draws a premium matchup against the Hornets, but he'll be on his third game in four nights.
SGA just went off for 63.6 FD points in his most recent game Thursday against the Clippers, his fourth time exceeding 60 in the last seven games.
If Davis plays through his ankle issue, he'll be looking to extend a streak of games with more than 50 FD points to 11 contests.
There's a case to be made for Haliburton's salary being a bit on the overinflated side, considering he's scored 46 FD points or fewer in six straight. He also faces a tough matchup Saturday against the Magic but naturally retains no shortage of upside.
If LeBron can play through his ankle issue, he'll look to extend a streak of games with at least 54.5 FD points to five games.
Wembanyama dipped to 33.5 FD points in his most recent game, but he's already demonstrated a 70 FD-point ceiling and is facing a Mavericks team decimated by injury.
Young eclipsed 50 FD points for the sixth straight game against the Heat on Friday, but he'll be on the third game in four nights Saturday.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Ja Morant, MEM ($9,700)
Morant has been terrific in his first two games of the season, and his average of 46.6 FD points thus far should keep him very popular Saturday.
Terry Rozier, CHA ($9,600)
Rozier is averaging 40.9 FD points per game for the season but has been even better recently, putting up at least 45.1 FD points in five of his last six games.
Scottie Barnes, TOR ($9,500)
Barnes put together another highly diversified stat line Saturday that netted 44.4 FD points, and he's scored at least that amount in five straight games.
Fred VanVleet, HOU ($9,100)
VanVleet played limited minutes Friday against the Mavericks but had scored over 60 FD points in each of the previous two games.
Key Values
Cole Anthony, ORL at IND ($6,500)
The Pacers have been a great target for DFS purposes this season thanks to their league-high pace and often questionable defense, so Anthony, who's already delivered plenty of starting-quality production off the bench this season, is firmly in play at his salary. The veteran has scored 32.3 and 46.2 FD points in his last two games, and he's already posted over 30 FD points on 12 occasions overall in 27 contests. He put up 24.5 in 25 minutes against Indiana in the first meeting this season as well, and Indiana comes in allowing the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating to point guards (29.2), along with 49.6 percent shooting, including 40.9 percent from three-point range, to second-unit players.
Tim Hardaway, DAL vs. SAN ($6,500)
Hardaway turned in a relatively disappointing night Friday while drawing a start in the Mavericks' injury-decimated first unit, but his 20.1 FD points are relatively acceptable considering he played only 26 minutes in the blowout loss to Houston. Hardaway's prospects look brighter Saturday, considering the matchup against the Spurs is much more favorable all the way around and should lead to a more conventional minutes load, not to mention he's likely to be rostered fairly lightly on the large slate after last night's results. The veteran should be back on the first unit Saturday with Dallas still missing its backcourt, and the Spurs come in allowing 38.3 percent three-point shooting to two-guards, along with an NBA-high 45.2 FD points per game to the position.
Saddiq Bey, ATL vs. MEM ($6,000)
Bey never seems to be too highly rostered, yet he continues to mostly churn out strong results during his starting stint in place of Jalen Johnson (wrist). Bey broke out for 35 FD points Friday against the Heat on the strength of a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double and is averaging a solid 27.8 FD points in his last 12 games overall. That stretch includes four games with at least 30.9 FD points, giving him plenty of upside at his salary against a Grizzlies team allowing 48.1 percent shooting, including 43.8 percent from three-point range, to power forwards, along with 51.4 FD points to the position in the last seven contests.
ALSO CONSIDER: Brandin Podziemski, GSW vs. POR ($6,200); Caris LeVert, CLE at CHI ($6,600); Craig Porter, CLE at CHI ($5,400)
