This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have an unusually small slate for a Friday night with only five games on the slate. There's also some big names sporting questionable designations in addition to some who have already been ruled out, so the player pool could certainly become narrower.
Slate Overview
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Spreads and projected totals are across the spectrum Friday. There are a pair of lines above seven points as of early Friday, while the three remaining games sit at five points or fewer.
Meanwhile, we have one sub-220-point projected total, but that's offset by a pair of encouraging tallies over 230.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee): PROBABLE
Antetokounmpo is expected to take the floor and operate in his usual high-usage role.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE (groin): QUESTIONABLE
If Mitchell sits, Caris LeVert would be due for a return to the first unit while Darius Garland's and Jarrett Allen's usage would likely see a nice bump.
Myles Turner, IND (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Should Turner not be able to play, Isaiah Jackson and Goga Bitadze could handle most of the minutes at center.
Rudy Gobert, MIN (groin): QUESTIONABLE
If Gobert is held out, Naz Reid is likely to handle the majority of center minutes.
Other notable injuries:
Desmond Bane, MEM (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Tyrese Haliburton, IND (knee/elbow): OUT
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN (calf): OUT
Steven Adams, MEM (knee): OUT
Bobby Portis, MIL (knee): OUT
Andrew Wiggins, GSW (illness): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Friday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,500) and Ja Morant ($10,200).
Giannis has scored 45.4 and 55.8 FD points in his first two games back from a five-game absence due to knee soreness and faces a very appealing matchup against a Pacers team that's allowed a co-NBA-high 29.1 offensive efficiency rating to power forwards.
SGA went off for 60.5 FD points in his most recent outing and has gone for over 50 in three straight.
Morant posted 55.8 FD points in the narrow loss to the Warriors on Wednesday, his sixth time in the last seven where he's eclipsed 40. He's also facing a Timberwolves team he already produced 54 FD points against in one prior meeting this season.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Stephen Curry, GSW ($9,800)
Curry has posted between 41.7 to 56.3 FD points in the last four games and draws a favorable matchup versus the Raptors, factors which should keep him very popular on the mid-size slate.
Pascal Siakam, TOR ($9,600)
Siakam just managed 60.7 FD points in his most recent matchup versus the Kings, and he posted 51.8 and 46.4 FD points in the two previous outings.
Anthony Edwards, MIN ($9,200)
Edwards continues to thrive without Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup by producing over 40 FD points in seven of his last eight games, including 70.2 against the Rockets three games ago. He could also take the floor on Friday without Rudy Gobert (groin).
Bam Adebayo, MIA ($9,000)
Adebayo has dropped over 50 FD points in two of the last five games and has five double-doubles in the last seven.
Fred VanVleet, TOR ($8,700)
VanVleet is averaging 50.9 FD points in his last five appearances, a stretch where he's shooting 43.8 percent from three-point range.
Key Values
Victor Oladipo, MIA vs. ORL ($6,100)
Oladipo is averaging a solid 14.9 points, 4.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals across his last 13 games, where he's shot a respectable 45.2 percent and averaged 30.2 FD points. The veteran guard now draws a matchup against a Magic squad that's surrendered the fifth-highest offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players (44.9) and 48.0 percent shooting during that split. It's aso worth noting -- given Oladipo's long-range marksmanship -- that Orlando is surrendering the third-highest three-point shooting percentage (44.3) in the last three games.
Brandon Clarke, MEM at MIN ($5,600)
Clarke is in line for an extended run at center thanks to Steven Adams' knee injury, and he provided 33.6 FD points in his first start against the Warriors on Wednesday. He also boast tallies of 28.9 and 40 FD points in two games off the bench within the last 10 days and could face a Timberwolves frontcourt missing Rudy Gobert. Minnesota is already allowing over 55 FD points per game to centers in the last 15, along with the seventh-most rebounds per road game (54.0) for the season.
Pat Connaughton, MIL at IND ($5,300)
Connaughton is on a particularly productive run across his last nine games, averaging 11.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists, a sample where he's also shooting 41.3 percent from distance and averaging 24.7 FD points. He's encouragingly remained in the first unit despite Khris Middleton's return two games ago, and the Pacers check in giving up the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating to small forwards (23.4) for the season, along with the most FD points per game to the position in the last 15 games (46.9). Indiana is also yielding the third-most rebounds (54.6), third-highest three-point shooting percentage (38.6) and most assists (27.9) per road game, giving Connaughton no shortage of paths to fantasy success.
ALSO CONSIDER: Kyle Anderson, MIN vs. MEM ($6,400)
