This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're set for a compact three-game main slate Saturday night that features Blazers-Grizzlies rematch from Friday night and another pair of noteworthy Western Conference clashes to close out the night. The injury report is thankfully light, thereby mostly preserving what is already a thin player pool. However, there are a couple of big names whose status will particularly bear monitoring.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, 3/2 @1:00 a.m. ET:
*Portland Trail Blazers at *Memphis Grizzlies (-1.5) (O/U: 209.5)
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers (-1.5) (O/U: 229.5)
Houston Rockets at Phoenix Suns (-9.5) (O/U: 231.5)
*denotes team on second night of back-to-back set
There's certainly a scenario where all three games are competitive Saturday night, as even the Rockets-Suns clash appears to have a good chance of being closer than what oddsmakers are projecting. The Blazers-Grizzlies clash, a matchup of two injury-riddled, non-contending teams playing each other for the second consecutive night, isn't likely to offer much in the way of meaningful DFS scores, but the Nuggets-Lakers marquee matchup has plenty of potential for the players involved and LeBron James' likelihood of reaching the 40,000-point career milestone.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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LeBron James, LAL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
James seems very likely to play given the aforementioned record within his reach, but if he were to sit, Taurean Prince would likely draw a start at small forward.
Jamal Murray, DEN (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Murray sits out, Reggie Jackson will be due for a spot start at point guard, while Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. will see even more usage than usual.
Jaren Jackson, MEM (quadriceps): GTD
If Jackson sits out, Lamar Stevens and Trey Jemison will likely handle the majority of minutes at center.
Other notable injuries:
Scoot Henderson, POR (thigh): GTD
Malcolm Brogdon, POR (elbow): GTD
Deandre Ayton, POR (hand): GTD
Eric Gordon, PHO (groin): QUESTIONABLE
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DEN (personal): QUESTIONABLE
Anthony Davis, LAL (Achilles): PROBABLE
Bradley Beal, PHO (hamstring): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($12,300), Anthony Davis ($11,400) and LeBron James ($10,200).
Jokic has three tallies of over 66 FD points in his last five games and figures to be a central figure in the road showdown with the Lakers. Moreover, he could see even more usage than usual if Jamal Murray sits out with his ankle injury.
Davis is coming off having scored 75 FD points in the OT clash against the Wizards on Thursday night and has at least 50 in four of his last five games overall. He also posted 67.3 across 38 minutes versus Denver the last time he saw the Nuggets on Feb. 8.
James should have an extra level of motivation with him being just nine points short of becoming the first player to hit the 40,000-point mark, and he's also checking in with four consecutive 50+ FD-point tallies.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Kevin Durant, PHO ($9,700)
Durant should be particularly popular on a small slate and is a virtual lock for about 40 FD points at minimum.
Devin Booker, PHO ($9,500)
Booker is another big-name player whose rostering rate always rises on a small ledger, and he also just put up 52.9 FD points across 39 minutes against this same Rockets team on Thursday.
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($8,200)
Sengun turned in a dud against Phoenix on Thursday, but he'd scored 52.2 FD points the game prior and typically sports a floor in the low 30s in terms of FD scores.
D'Angelo Russell, LAL ($7,800)
Russell provided 39.7 FD points against the Wizards in Thursday's OT win and has scored at least 36.6 in five of his last six games overall.
Key Values
Michael Porter, DEN at LAL ($6,800)
Porter will undoubtedly be popular after going off for 57.7 FD points against the Heat on Thursday, but he could certainly be a worthwhile consideration again Saturday in what should be a highly competitive game. Porter also exceeded 50 FD points four games ago against the Trail Blazers, and he turned in 41.6 FD points against this same Lakers squad that last time he faced them Feb. 8. Los Angeles comes in allowing a Western Conference-high 25.3 offensive efficiency rating to small forwards as well, along with the second-most FD points per game to the position in the last 30 contests (44.7). Moreover, if Murray does indeed sit out with the ankle issue that limited him to 14 minutes against the Heat on Thursday, Porter will be even more appealing.
Grayson Allen, PHO vs. HOU ($5,600)
Allen is a quintessential tournament play, although he's been able to garner more consistency than in years prior this season. The veteran sharpshooter has flashed his ceiling with scores of 43.2 and 30.4 FD points in two of the last three games, and he's averaging 25.5 FD points on 40.0 percent three-point shooting since the start of February. The Rockets have been particularly susceptible to small forwards and three-point shooting of late as well, surrendering 44.8 FD points per contest to the position and a 40.4 percent success rate from distance.
Lamar Stevens, MEM vs. POR ($4,900)
Stevens continued to offer solid production Friday against the Blazers, posting 25.2 FD points across 20 minutes. That marked his sixth game of over 20 FD points in the last seven contests, with the young big having proven a very good fit in Memphis thus far. Stevens could once again take the floor without Jaren Jackson on Saturday, but even if his teammate suits up, the former should be in good position to offer a solid return against a Blazers team allowing the ninth-highest offensive efficiency rating to frontcourt players (86.4) and second-most FD points per game to centers in the last 15 contests (62.3).
