This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
It's the last Friday night of the regular season, and the NBA is commemorating it in style with a massive 15-game schedule. However, FanDuel's main slate only consists of 11 games overall, which naturally still yields us a massive player pool. Yet, there's an injury report that's pretty sizable in its own right, as both postseason contenders and teams playing out the string being very flexible with their personnel deployment is part and parcel for the last couple of nights of the campaign.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Friday, 4/11 @2:30 a.m. EDT:
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons (-5.5) (O/U: 228.0)
Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers (-8) (O/U: 219.0)
Atlanta Hawks (-11) at Philadelphia 76ers (O/U: 239.5)
Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics (-19.5) (O/U: 213.5)
Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks (-10.5) (O/U: 226.0)
Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls (-16) (O/U: 235.0)
Miami Heat (-13) at New Orleans Pelicans (O/U: 215.0)
Toronto Raptors at Dallas Mavericks (-11) (O/U: 225.0)
Brooklyn Nets at Minnesota Timberwolves (-19) (O/U: 216.5)
Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets (-6.5) (O/U: 241.0)
Oklahoma City Thunder (-10.5) at Utah Jazz (O/U: 233.5)
The betting picture is unsurprisingly a wild one Friday, considering the amount of key players sitting and the number of non-contending teams not exactly fielding their top personnel at this point.
There are multiple games that might be stay-away spots in terms of high-salaried players because of playing time concerns in a projected blowout, which is likely to concentrate roster rates heavily on the games such as the Grizzlies-Nuggets clash, which also boasts the highest total of the ledger, or the Bucks-Pistons battle.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Donovan Mitchell, CLE (ankle): GTD
If Mitchell sits out again, Sam Merrill could draw another start at shooting guard.
Darius Garland, CLE (toe): GTD
If Garland logs another absence, Ty Jerome should draw a spot start at point guard.
Evan Mobley, CLE (rest): GTD
If Mobley sits out another game, Dean Wade should operate as the starting power forward.
OG Anunoby, NYK (thumb): GTD
If Anunoby misses another game, Precious Achiuwa is likely to draw the start at power forward.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC (lower leg): OUT
In Gilgeous-Alexander's absence, Ajay Mitchell and Adam Flagler are likely to handle the majority of point guard minutes.
Paolo Banchero, ORL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Bancehro can't play, Caleb Houstan and Jonathan Isaac should handle power forward minutes.
Jaylen Brown, BOS (knee): OUT
In Brown's absence, Sam Hauser will likely draw the start at small forward.
Other notable injuries:
Damian Lillard, MIL (calf): OUT
Jalen Williams, OKC (hip): OUT
Miles Bridges, CHA (hip): OUT
Chet Holmgren, OKC (back): OUT
RJ Barrett, TOR (rest): OUT
Jakob Poeltl, TOR (hand): OUT
Immanuel Quickley, TOR (rest): OUT
Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC (Achilles): OUT
Josh Hart, NYK (knee): OUT
Walker Kessler, UTA (concussion): OUT
Jamal Murray, DEN (hamstring): DOUBTFUL
Cameron Johnson, BKN (back): OUT
D'Angelo Russell, BKN (ankle): OUT
Kelly Olynyk, NOP (Achilles): OUT
Max Strus, CLE (knee): OUT
Jose Alvarado, NOP (calf): QUESTIONABLE
Yves Missi, NOP (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Quentin Grimes, PHI (shoulder): QUESTIONABLE
Franz Wagner, ORL (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Tyler Herro, MIA (thigh): PROBABLE
Anthony Davis, DAL (thigh): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have six players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Friday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($12,700), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,200), Cade Cunningham ($10,400), Josh Giddey ($10,300), Jayson Tatum ($10,200) and Anthony Davis ($10,100).
Jokic hasn't scored under 61 FD points since March 14, and he should have a chance to exceed that threshold again with enough minutes Friday.
Antetokounmpo has scored more than 50 FD points in five straight games and delivered triple-doubles in three of his last four, although he will be on his third game in four nights Friday.
Cunningham has upped his fantasy production and playing time in each game since returning from a multi-game absence due to a calf strain, most recently scoring 52.4 against the Knocks on Thursday night over 34 minutes.
Giddey put up a whopping 74.7 FD points against the Heat on Wednesday and draws a highly favorable matchup against the Wizards on Friday, both factors in his salary bump over the $10,000 mark.
Tatum will come in the benefit of some rest since he sat out Wednesday against the Magic, and he'll be taking the floor without Jaylen Brown.
Davis is expected to play through his lower-body injury but has had only one game befitting a five-figure salary thus far in Dallas – he's been at 42.9 FD points or lower in six of the last seven contests.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK ($9,900)
Towns scored 59.8 FD points over 42 minutes in OT against the Celtics on Tuesday and has exceeded 40 in four straight overall, which should keep him very popular Friday.
Trae Young, ATL ($9,600)
Young has eclipsed 44 FD points in seven of the last eight contests, affording him one of the safer floors in the slate.
Anthony Edwards, MIN ($9,400)
Edwards has scored 40.2 to 56 FD points in six consecutive games, including 55.5 in 37 minutes against the Grizzlies on Thursday.
Quentin Grimes, PHI ($8,900)
If Grimes is announced as available Friday, he should be in plenty of lineups after scoring 42.6 to 47.7 FD points in four of the last five games.
Ja Morant, MEM ($8,800)
Morant has delivered 44.2 to 49 FD points in five of the six games he's played since returning from a hamstring strain, which should keep his roster rate high at his salary Friday.
Key Values
Christian Braun, DEN vs. MEM ($6,800)
Braun has scored 32.4 to 45.6 FD points in four consecutive games, and he's averaging 37.6 over his last seven contests overall. The third-year guard has had a blistering hand over that latter stretch, shooting 62.4 percent, including 50.0 percent from three-point range. Braun has tallies of 25.8 and 37.4 FD points in his two previous meetings with the Grizzlies as well, and Memphis is ranked No. 21 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to shooting guards (24.4). The Grizzlies are also averaging an NBA-high 106.8 possessions per game, and they've conceded 36.2 percent three-point shooting on the season.
Alex Sarr, WAS at CHI ($6,400)
Sarr is wrapping up his rookie season in fine fashion, as he'll head into Friday's game averaging 32.8 FD points, 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per contest over his last 20 games. The big man has hit or eclipsed 41 FD points on five occasions in that span, a glimpse at the upside he boasts beyond his current salary. Sarr has already supplied 31.5 and 38.9 FD points in two of his three previous games against Chicago, and the Bulls check into Friday ranked No. 27 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (35.4) while also allowing 56.1 FD points per contest to the position in the last seven games.
Jaylin Williams, OKC at UTA ($4,800)
Williams will be set for a spot start and a ton of usage Friday in a very favorable matchup, which could make him one of the best fantasy-point-per-dollar plays of the night. The third-year center went off for 58.9 FD points the last time he got a starting opportunity on March 19 against the 76ers, a game he played with a very similar makeshift starting five to the one he'll take the floor with Friday. However, Chet Holmgren actually played in that contest, and he'll be out Friday along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso. Williams is averaging 45.4 FD points per 36 minutes with all those players off the floor, and he's facing a Jazz team ranked No. 28 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (35.8) and surrendering an NBA-high 63.2 FD points to the position in the last 15 games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Zaccharie Risacher, ATL at PHI ($4,700)
