This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
As has often been the case this season, we have a compact slate on tap Sunday evening/night. There is positive news from a DFS perspective with three games projecting higher-than-average totals and all but one also with a narrow point spread. The injury report is relatively light in terms of likely/confirmed absences, which should give us a solid player pool to work with.
Slate Overview
Milwaukee Bucks (-2.5) at Indiana Pacers (O/U: 217.5 points)
Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors (-1.5) (O/U: 209.5 points)
Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies (-1.5) (O/U: 225.5 points)
Detroit Pistons at Los Angeles Lakers (-10.5) (O/U: 216.5 points)
There's a chance all four matchups will turn into wire-to-wire affairs considering the Lakers have shown little ability to blow out teams this season, so we could be in for some elevated individual scores from big-name, high-salary players on heavy workloads.
Kings-Grizzlies is intriguing due to Ja Morant (knee) being out of the picture while the Pistons-Lakers rematch from last Sunday could see Isaiah Stewart and LeBron James share the floor again following their ugly incident. However, James is listed as questionable with his lingering abdominal issue.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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 is 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.
Anthony Davis, LAL (head)/ Status: PROBABLE
Davis is expected to take the floor against the Pistons and could see elevated usage if LeBron James (abdomen) sits.
LeBron James, LAL (abdomen)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
If James can't go, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook should see even more elevated usage than usual.
Ja Morant, MEM (knee)/ Status: OUT
In Morant's absence, Tyus Jones may take over starting point guard duties while the likes of Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson could all receive additional responsibility.
Jaylen Brown, BOS (injury management)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
If Brown sits out, Josh Richardson is expected to enter the starting five while Jayson Tatum should continue to enjoy elevated usage with Dennis Schroder (ankle) also gone.
OG Anunoby, TOR (hip)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
If Anunoby is sidelined for another contest, Scottie Barnes is likely to continue filling at small forward.
Harrison Barnes, SAC (foot)/ Status: DOUBTFUL
In Barnes' likely absence, Buddy Hield should remain in the starting five.
Other notable injuries:
Richaun Holmes, SAC (illness)/ Status: OUT
Robert Williams, BOS (illness)/ Status: OUT
Dennis Schroder, BOS (ankle)/ Status: OUT
Killian Hayes, DET (thumb)/ Status: PROBABLE
Gary Trent, TOR (calf)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
Brook Lopez, MIL (back)/ Status: OUT
Kelly Olynyk, DET (knee)/ Status: OUT
Khem Birch, TOR (knee)/ Status: OUT
Frank Jackson, DET (ankle)/ Status: PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Sunday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500), Anthony Davis ($10,300) and LeBron James ($10,000).
Giannis has scored no fewer than 52.1 FD points and as many as 73.5 in five of the last six games, and his matchup against the Pacers is one he already produced 62.5 on Oct. 25.
Davis has posted 57.6 and 76.0 FD points – the latter coming against the same Pistons he'll face tonight - in two of his last three contests and could potentially take the floor without LeBron James (abdomen), which would certainly boost his value.
James' questionable status will require monitoring, but he should carry a bit of extra motivation facing Detroit after being ejected last weekend.
Expected Chalk
In addition to the players just mentioned, other likely chalk plays include:
Jayson Tatum, BOS ($9,700)
Tatum has dropped 42.4 FD points or more in five of the last six outings and could be without both Dennis Schroder (ankle) and Jaylen Brown (injury management), all factors that should make him extremely popular.
Russell Westbrook, LAL ($9,600)
Westbrook could be taking the floor without LeBron James (abdomen) and has scored between 54.8 to 61.6 FD points in three of his last four games, so he should be on plenty of rosters.
Fred VanVleet, TOR ($8,400)
VanVleet has produced at least 40 FD points in three of the past five and offers one of the safer floors of any guard on this small slate.
Domantas Sabonis, IND ($8,300)
Sabonis has experienced his ups and downs, but is coming off outputs ranging from 39.4 to 45 FD points in his last four appearances.
Key Values
Dillon Brooks, MEM vs. SAC ($5,800)
Ja Morant's absence is going to help several Grizzlies to varying degrees, and his backcourt mate should be a primary beneficiary. Brooks already comes into tonight having scored 24.2 to 37.8 FD points in five of the last six games - including 19.5 in only 19 minutes against the Hawks on Friday. He boasts a 36.6 percent usage rate and is averaging 40.7 FD points per 36 minutes with Morant off the floor this season while the Kings come in giving up an NBA-high 45.8 FD points per contest to shooting guards.
Buddy Hield, SAC at MEM ($5,800)
Hield makes for a viable play on the other side of the matchup and is projected to see additional responsibility with Harrison Barnes expected to miss again due to his foot injury. Hield has produced 32.8 and 44.8 FD points in two of his last three while delivering over 5x on current salary eight times this season. He also sports a 26.1 percent usage rate and averages 35.3 FD points per 36 minutes with both Barnes and Richaun Holmes off the floor, and the Grizzlies rank in the bottom-three in FD points per game allowed to both shooting guards (43.8) and small forwards (42.3).
Malik Monk, LAL vs. DET ($4,800)
Monk has come off the bench to contribute 29.1 to 31.8 FD points in his last three appearances while averaging a robust 36 minutes in the process. The fifth-year guard makes for an intriguing play at his salary versus a Pistons team ranked in the bottom half in offensive efficiency to second-unit players (40.6 percent) and having conceded the second-highest offensive efficiency to backcourt players (51.4 percent). It's also worth noting Detroit is allowing the fourth-highest three-point shooting percentage of any team on the road (38.6), while Monk is shooting 40.0 percent from distance in the aforementioned three-game sample while taking 4.6 attempts from behind the arc this year.
ALSO CONSIDER: Desmond Bane, MEM vs. SAC ($5,400)
