This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Saturday night brings us a bit of a breather in terms of slate size after a busy week, as there are a modest five games on tap. There appear to be some mismatches on paper, but the games with the two narrowest spreads seem likely to live up to the expectations of closely contested affairs based on the similar talent levels of the teams involved. The injury report is relatively light, as would be expected with just 10 teams in action, and a couple of the handful of big names on it appear to at least have a 50/50 chance of playing.
Slate Overview
Phoenix Suns (-8) at Washington Wizards (O/U: 219.5 points)
Miami Heat (-3.5) at Charlotte Hornets (O/U: 226.5 points)
New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers (-2) (O/U: 214.5 points)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Sacramento Kings (-6.5) (O/U: 216.5 points)
Milwaukee Bucks (-10) at Portland Trail Blazers (O/U: 228.0 points)
Three of the teams in action are on the second night of back-to-back sets, and the fact the Hornets are one of them plays a part in their somewhat surprising status as home underdogs. The one double-digit spread of the night as of Saturday morning, that attached to the Bucks, is also partly rooted in a rest advantage. Milwaukee has had the prior three days off, while Portland is playing its third game in four nights and also just traded away two starters in Norman Powell and Robert Covington.
The Knicks-Lakers clash in Los Angeles has the most name value in terms of the matchup, but neither New York nor Los Angeles has come anywhere close to living up to preseason expectations. Both teams are below .500 entering the interconference clash, and the luster is further reduced by the fact LeBron James is expected to sit out once again due to his knee swelling.
Injury Report
NOTE: Injury reporting is especially fluid in the NBA, where the status of multiple players can change during the course of a day. Therefore, although the following serves as a foundation for the latest injury report as of the time the article is written, check back throughout the course of the day with RotoWire for the latest news regarding the status of all players on that night's slate, including those carrying injury designations that aren't listed in this section.
LeBron James, LAL (knee): DOUBTFUL
In James' likely absence, Stanley Johnson is expected to remain in the starting lineup, while the usage of Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis should remain particularly elevated.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC (ankle): OUT
In SGA's ongoing absence, Tre Mann is likely to draw another start at point guard.
Jimmy Butler, MIA (toe): PROBABLE
Butler appears to be strongly trending toward suiting up Saturday.
Bradley Beal, WAS (wrist): OUT
In Beal's ongoing absence, Aaron Holiday could draw another start.
De'Aaron Fox, SAC (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Fox sits out an eighth straight game, Davion Mitchell should remain in the starting lineup.
Other notable injuries:
Carmelo Anthony, LAL (hamstring): OUT
Marvin Bagley, SAC (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Damian Lillard, POR (abdominal): OUT
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, OKC (foot): OUT
P.J. Tucker, MIA (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Max Strus, MIA (quadriceps): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,100), LeBron James ($11,000) and Anthony Davis ($10,100).
Antetokounmpo should be particularly well-rested after having the last three days off and is coming off having scored 75.8 DK points against the Wizards in his most recent game. He's also averaging 57 DK points over his last four games overall.
James is doubtful to play as noted previously, although his status naturally bears monitoring for any potential changes throughout the day.
Davis has scored 57.8 and 63.3 DK points in his last two contests and sports a 30.1 percent usage rate while averaging 50.7 DK points per 36 minutes with LeBron off the floor this season.
Expected Chalk
In addition to the players just mentioned in the prior section, other likely chalk plays include:
Chris Paul, PHO ($9,800)
Paul has scored between 49 and 64 DK points in the last four games and has been over 50 DK points thrice within the last eight contests overall, which should make him very popular Saturday.
Devin Booker, PHO ($9,400)
Booker has been almost as hot as his backcourt mate Paul and has four tallies of 48 DK points or more in the last six games.
LaMelo Ball, CHA ($9,300)
Ball has scored over 50 DK points in three of his past five games, which, when combined with his name value, should keep him in plenty of lineups Saturday despite a dud Friday night against a tough Cavs defense.
Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,900)
Adebayo should be even a bit more popular than usual on the small slate following Jarrett Allen's 29-point, 22-rebound double-double against the Hornets on Friday night, and Bam's own 32-point, 11-rebound effort two games ago against the Raptors.
Julius Randle, NYK ($8,700)
Randle went off for 49.5 DK points on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies and is facing his original squad, which will likely be without LeBron's defense and which he posted 49.5 DK points against in just 33 minutes in the first meeting this season.
Key Values
Luguentz Dort, OKC at SAC ($6,400) (Update: With Dort now ruled out, consider one of the two options in the "Also Consider" section below as an alternative)
Dort now owns a 26.7 percent usage rate and is averaging 33 DK points per 36 minutes with Gilgeous-Alexander off the floor after scoring 35.5 to 46.5 DK points in the first three games of the latter's current absence. Dort has also posted tallies of 31.3 and 47.5 DK points in the two contests prior, making him an excellent potential fantasy-point-per-dollar play Saturday. The Kings have already conceded an average of 34.1 DK points to Dort in two previous encounters this season as well, and Sacramento is yielding 46.2 DK points per game to power forwards over the last 15 contests while also surrendering the fourth-highest three-point shooting percentage (36.0) overall.
Mitchell Robinson, NYK at LAL ($5,500)
Robinson's production is always subject to some fluctuation, but he enters Saturday's solid matchup against the Lakers having scored 32.3 and 45.3 DK points in his last two games. The big man put up a whopping eight blocks against the Grizzlies his last time out Wednesday, and he's now averaging an impressive 1.6 per game on the season. Zooming out to an 11-game sample, Robinson is averaging 11.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks across 26.1 minutes per contest, eclipsing a 5x return on his current salary on six of those occasions. Meanwhile, the Lakers have been especially vulnerable to centers of late, yielding 57.5 DK points per game to the position in the last seven and the third-most rebounds per home game overall (55.6).
Davion Mitchell, SAC vs. OKC ($5,300)
Mitchell has been excellent during his current five-game starting stint, averaging 19.4 points, 5.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds per contest across 34.2 minutes per game. Mitchell has 30.8 DK points or more in four of those contests as well, and there's at least a 50/50 chance he remains in the first unit again Saturday night with De'Aaron Fox questionable for the contest. Mitchell is averaging 29.7 DK points per 36 minutes with his teammate off the floor, and the Thunder come in allowing the most DK points per game to point guards in the last 15 contests (56.3). What's more, even if Fox does play Saturday, it's certainly possible he's on a minutes restriction, and Mitchell has averaged a solid 24.6 minutes per contest when coming off the bench this season.
Also Consider: Evan Fournier, NYK at LAL ($5,600); Tre Mann, OKC at SAC ($4,100)
