This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a compact five-game slate on tap Saturday night, one that features a trio of marquee matchups. There are numerous big names on the injury report, however, so there will be plenty of monitoring of the news required as part of the lineup-building process.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, 2/3 @1:00 a.m. ET:
*Golden State Warriors at *Atlanta Hawks (-2.5) (O/U: 246.5)
*Sacramento Kings at Chicago Bulls (-1.5) (O/U: 228.5)
Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks (-6) (O/U: 227.5)
Cleveland Cavaliers (-10) at *San Antonio Spurs (O/U: 231.0)
Milwaukee Bucks (-4) at Dallas Mavericks (O/U: 249.5)
*denotes team on second night of back-to-back set
Saturday night's betting lines portend favorable conditions for DFS, considering the majority of narrow spreads combined with elevated totals. The presence of two games with numbers well north of 240 points is particularly noteworthy, but it bears noting one of those games, the Warriors-Hawks clash, involves two clubs on the second night of back-to-back sets.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Anthony Davis, LAL (hip/groin): QUESTIONABLE
If Davis can't suit up for a second straight game, Jaxson Hayes is likely set for another start at center.
LeBron James, LAL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If James isn't able to play for a second straight game, Rui Hachimura will likely draw a start at power forward.
Kyrie Irving, DAL (thumb): DOUBTFUL
Irving's likely absence Saturday should afford Tim Hardaway another start at shooting guard.
Jarrett Allen, CLE (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Allen can't suit up, Evan Mobley would likely shift over to center in his stead.
Coby White, CHI (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If White isn't able to play, Ayo Dosunmu is likely to draw a spot start at point guard, while the rest of the starting five should be in for elevated usage.
Other notable injuries:
Julius Randle, NYK (shoulder): OUT
Zach LaVine, CHI (foot): OUT
Keldon Johnson, SAN (elbow): GTD
Saddiq Bey, ATL (ankle): GTD
Dereck Lively, DAL (nose): DOUBTFUL
OG Anunoby, NYK (elbow): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have eight players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Saturday's slate – Luka Doncic ($12,600), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,000), Anthony Davis ($11,100), Donovan Mitchell (10,500), Domantas Sabonis ($10,400), LeBron James ($10,300), Victor Wembanyama ($10,200) and Trae Young ($10,000).
Doncic has been cleared from his ankle injury after a one-game absence and will likely take the floor without Kyrie Irving again, and he's coming off having scored over 70 FD points in five of his last six games.
Antetokounmpo has over 47 FD points in every game since Dec. 19, giving him one of the safest floors of any player on the slate.
Davis' status will bear monitoring considering he's missed two straight games with his Achilles and groin injuries, and if he does suit up, it's worth noting he's only offered over 5x his current salary in one out of his last five contests.
Mitchell was down to 36.3 FD points Friday and is playing on his third game in four nights Saturday, but he's also eclipsed 50 FD points in four of the previous six games.
Sabonis continues to maintain a streak of generating at least a double-double that now sits at 30 games, and he checks in having scored 54.7 to 63.9 FD points in his last three games.
LeBron appears to be trending toward playing after attending the Lakers' morning shootaround Saturday, and if he does, he could be taking the floor without Anthony Davis.
Wembanyama is in what is the most productive stretch of his brief career, having scored over 48 FD points in eight straight, including at least 50 in three of the last four.
Young is coming off having posted 60.7 FD points against the Suns on Friday and has over 50 FD points in three of his last four games overall. He'll also be an integral part of what could be one of the highest-scoring games of the night against the Warriors.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($9,800)
Brunson continues to score over 45 FD points with regularity, and the fact he comes in having done so in four straight should keep him very popular at his salary.
Stephen Curry, GSW ($9,200)
Curry is always highly rostered on a smaller slate, and his marquee matchup against the Hawks plus his pair of tallies of over 55 FD points in the last three games should help ensure that even further.
De'Aaron Fox, SAC ($8,900)
Fox just scored 51.1 FD points against the Pacers on Friday and eclipsed the 50 mark on another occasion in the last four games, which makes his salary stand out.
Damian Lillard, MIL ($8,800)
Lillard's upside and the marquee matchup against the Mavericks should both serve to keep him very popular Saturday.
Isaiah Hartenstein, NYK ($7,500)
Hartenstein continues to deliver in his role as the top center, having posted 39.4 and 45.8 FD points in his last two games.
Jonathan Kuminga, GSW ($7,400)
The combination of Kuminga's salary and his tallies of 43.1 to 49.8 FD points in four of his last five games should make him extremely popular Saturday.
Key Values
Andrew Wiggins, GSW at ATL ($6,200)
Wiggins had been stuck in what was essentially a season-long funk until recently, when he bounced back to average 31.4 FD points on the strength of 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.0 blocks in a seven-game period between Jan. 12 and Jan. 30. Wiggins did see a downturn to 20.4 FD points against the Grizzlies on Friday, but he carries a reasonable enough salary to roll the dice on him in tournaments Saturday in a favorable matchup. The Hawks are one of the league's more defensively challenged teams and are tied for the ninth-highest offensive efficiency rating surrendered to small forwards (23.9), along with the fifth-most FD points per contest to the position in the last seven (44.0). Atlanta is also giving up a league-high 40.2 percent success rate from three-point range at home, furthering Wiggins' prospects.
Alex Caruso, CHI vs. SAC ($5,800)
Caruso could be in for some extended usage Saturday if Coby White isn't able to play through his questionable tag, but he's a solid play irrespective of his teammate's availability. The veteran is enjoying a career-best season on the offensive end and is averaging 30.3 FD points over his last nine games on averages of 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.4 steals while shooting 47.9 percent, including 41.5 percent from behind the arc. The Kings are getting to the end of an extended road trip and are on the back end of the back-to-back after a track meet of a game against the Pacers on Friday, and Sacramento is also allowing 41.1 FD points per contest to two-guards in the last 30 games, along with Western Conference-high 39.2 percent three-point shooting overall.
Rui Hachimura, LAL at NYK ($5,400)
Hachimura appears to have a good chance to take the floor without at least one of Anthony Davis or LeBron James on Saturday, and he already comes in having scored 25.8 to 31.6 FD points in three straight contests. The floor-stretching veteran has scored in double digits in six consecutive contests overall, and he now faces a Knicks team that remains short-handed in the frontcourt with Julius Randle still sidelined by his shoulder injury.
ALSO CONSIDER: Precious Achiuwa, NYK vs. LAL ($6,400); Ayo Dosunmu, CHI vs. SAC ($6,300); Onyeka Okongwu, ATL vs. GSW ($5,700); Brandin Podziemski, GSW at ATL ($5,200)
