This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a solid six-game Saturday evening slate on tap that has a relatively light injury report in terms of potential short-term absences. The schedule also features plenty of teams on the second night of back-to-back sets, including one that's a rematch of a Friday night matchup, which always adds an interesting strategy angle to our roster-building process.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, 11/23 @ 11:00 a.m. ET:
Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic (-9.5) (O/U: 207.5)
*Portland Trail Blazers at *Houston Rockets (-13) (O/U: 226.5)
Charlotte Hornets at *Milwaukee Bucks (-7.5) (O/U: 224.0)
Memphis Grizzlies (-5.5) at *Chicago Bulls (O/U: 240.0)
*Golden State Warriors (-3) at San Antonio Spurs (O/U: 227.5)
*Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers (-4) (O/U: 235.0)
*Denotes team on second night of back-to-back set
We have what shapes up as a fairly competitive night if spreads are any indication, with the second leg of the Trail Blazers-Rockets clash the one notable exception. The Pistons-Magic game is dinged by the absence of Cade Cunningham for Detroit, and it's interesting to note that even with Victor Wembanyama potentially sitting out for San Antonio, the Warriors are still only three-point favorites.
Projected totals are relatively encouraging, considering four of the six games are over 225 points. As the numbers indicate, the Nuggets-Lakers and Grizzlies-Bulls could ultimately prove to be our best sources of DFS production, especially considering those elevated totals are accompanied by narrow spreads.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Victor Wembanyama, SAN (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Wembanyama is sidelined for a fourth straight game, the rest of the Spurs starting five will see extra usage and Zach Collins could draw another start at center.
Cade Cunningham, DET (hip): OUT
With Cunningham out, Jaden Ivey could operate as the primary ball handler while the likes of Marcus Sasser and Wendell Moore could see extra minutes as well.
Ja Morant, MEM (hip): DOUBTFUL
Although Morant's doubtful status actually represents an upgrade, he's still likely to sit out and afford Scotty Pippen another start in the process.
Miles Bridges, CHA (knee): OUT
In Bridges' absence, Grant Williams should draw another start at power forward.
Other notable injuries:
- Aaron Gordon, DEN (calf): OUT
- Khris Middleton, MIL (ankle): OUT
- Tre Mann, CHA (back): OUT
- Zach Edey, MEM (ankle): OUT
- Robert Williams, POR (rest): OUT
- Scoot Henderson, POR (quadricep): OUT
- Deandre Ayton, POR (finger): DOUBTFUL
- Wendell Carter, ORL (foot): QUESTIONABLE
- Marcus Smart, MEM (illness): QUESTIONABLE
- Keldon Johnson, SAN (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
- Devin Vassell, SAN (knee): QUESTIONABLE
- Ausar Thompson, DET (illness): QUESTIONABLE
- Stephen Curry, GSW (knee): PROBABLE
- Anfernee Simons, POR (hand): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have five players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate: Nikola Jokic ($12,400), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,000), Anthony Davis ($11,400), Victor Wembanyama ($11,300) and LeBron James ($10,000).
Jokic returned to action Friday against the Mavericks and showed no rust, recording 65.4 FD points across 39 minutes. While that's a heavy workload to follow up just 24 hours later, the fact he'd gotten some rest built up during his three-game absence may help mitigate the effects.
Antetokounmpo has scored at least 62 FD points in four of the past five games, including a jaw-dropping 98.3 against the Pistons and 62 against this same Hornets squad he'll face Saturday.
Davis is averaging 59.3 FD points per game over the last four contests as he continues to show no ill effects from his nagging foot injury.
Wembanyama's status will have to be closely monitored considering he's listed as questionable and has missed the last three games.
LeBron posted 52.5 FD points his last time on the floor Thursday, and although he's taking more of a back seat to Davis these days on many nights, he's still averaging 51.9 FD points in his 10 November games.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
LaMelo Ball, CHA ($9,600)
Ball went off for 56.7 FD points against the Pistons on Thursday, the latest example of his ability to offer the production of a five-figure-salary player.
Franz Wagner, ORL ($9,400)
Wagner has also been flashing an expansive ceiling of late with two tallies of over 60 FD points and an average of 53.8 FD points in his last six contests, which should make him very popular at his salary Saturday.
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($8,900)
Sengun has had a couple of dips in his production of late but has still eclipsed 50 FD points in three of his last five contests, which should help keep him in plenty of lineups at his salary.
Nikola Vucevic, CHI ($8,000)
Talented centers are typically highly rostered on a smaller slate, and Vucevic comes in averaging 49.1 FD points over his last three games.
Tobias Harris, DET ($6,800)
Harris should have an excellent chance of overdelivering on his salary Saturday with Cunningham out, and the veteran already checks in averaging 32.2 FD points over his last eight contests.
Key Values
Jaden Ivey, DET at ORL ($6,500)
Speaking of players set to benefit from Cunningham's absence Saturday, Ivey is also a prime candidate considering he could even move into the point guard role in his teammate's absence. Ivey already checks in averaging a solid 31.6 FD points across his last 10 games despite shooting just 41.2 percent in that stretch, and he sports a team-high 33.0 percent usage rate and average of 42.3 FD points per 36 minutes with his teammate off the floor this season. The Magic are certainly a tough matchup all the way around, but the level of opportunity Ivey is projected for still keeps him very viable at his salary.
Tari Eason, HOU vs. POR ($6,400)
Eason came through handsomely as a value suggestion Friday against this same Trail Blazers squad, scoring over 40 FD points (40.3) for the third straight game in his second-unit role. There isn't a box on the stat sheet Eason doesn't regularly check off, and he's now averaging 35.3 FD points over just 24.4 minutes per game in his last eight contests while shooting 51.8 percent in that sample. Given his success Friday in this matchup and his very slight salary bump, Eason is right back in play Saturday.
Scotty Pippen, MEM at CHI ($5,400)
As mentioned earlier, Pippen is likely to draw another start at point guard Saturday with Ja Morant listed as doubtful. Pippen has generally responded well to his opportunities with the first unit, averaging 27.6 FD points per contest during his current seven-game starting stint despite shooting a poor 39.1 percent overall. Saturday's matchup certainly has the potential to coax solid production out of him, as the Bulls are allowing an NBA-high 31.8 offensive efficiency rating to point guards, along with a league-high 11.6 assists and 55.9 FD points per game to the position as well.
ALSO CONSIDER: Christian Braun, DEN at LAL ($6,300); Andrew Wiggins, GSW at SA ($5,800); Anfernee Simons, POR at HOU ($5,800); Harrison Barnes, SA vs. GSW ($5,000)
