This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
After a two-game slate Thursday, we're set for another expansive Friday night consisting of In-Season Tournament Group Play matchups. While we'll have a massive player pool considering 22 teams will be in action, the injury report unfortunately reads like a who's who of the NBA's elite and that will make it especially pertinent to monitor news up until lineup lock.
Slate Overview
For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
For a slate this big, we're actually subject to a more larger spreads than ideal with seven sporting figures of at least seven points on FanDuel Sportsbook as of Friday morning.
However, projected totals are more favorable for DFS as there are actually four games with figures of 236 points or higher, which is definitely not normal this early in the season.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Joel Embiid, PHI (hip): QUESTIONABLE
If Embiid can't suit up, Paul Reed and Mo Bamba would be in line to handle center duties while the rest of the starting five would see notable bumps in usage.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (calf): QUESTIONABLE
Should Antetokounmpo not be able to go, rookie Andre Jackson could potentially start at power forward while the rest of the starters - particularly Damian Lillard - will earn more responsibilities.
LeBron James, LAL (calf): QUESTIONABLE
If James is sidelined, Taurean Prince could likely be up for a start while Anthony Davis would particularly be up for an increase in opportunities.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
If Mitchell is unavailable Friday, Caris LeVert would be due for a start and the likes of Darius Garland and Max Strus would get more responsibilities than normal.
Jaylen Brown, BOS (illness): QUESTIONABLE
If Brown sits out, Sam Hauser is likely to remain in the starting five while Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday would be in line to shoulder even more responsibility than usual.
DeMar DeRozan, CHI (personal): QUESTIONABLE
Should DeRozan not be able to play, Ayo Dosunmu is likely due for a start at small forward while Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic would be among the prime beneficiaries in terms of additional usage.
Other notable injuries:
Anthony Davis, LAL (hip): PROBABLE
Devin Booker, PHO (calf): PROBABLE
Keldon Johnson, SAN (knee): PROBABLE
Bradley Beal, PHO (back): DOUBTFUL
O.G. Anunoby, TOR (finger): DOUBTFUL
Kristaps Porzingis, BOS (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Darius Garland, CLE (neck): QUESTIONABLE
Gordon Hayward, CHA (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
RJ Barrett, NYK (illness): QUESTIONABLE
CJ McCollum, NOP (chest/lung): OUT
Jamal Murray, DEN (hamstring): OUT
Devin Vassell, SAN (thigh): OUT
Jalen Duren, DET (ankle): OUT
Malcolm Brogdon, POR (hamstring): OUT
Terry Rozier, CHA (groin): OUT
Elite Players
We have seven players with five-figure salaries on Friday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($12,800), Joel Embiid ($12,200), Anthony Davis ($11,300), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,800), Jayson Tatum ($10,700), Domantas Sabonis ($10,300) and LeBron James ($10,100).
Jokic will continue taking the floor without Jamal Murray (hamstring) and has produced six consecutive tallies over 63 FD points, making him worthwhile even at his extremely elevated salary.
Assuming Embiid plays through his hip issue, he'll be coming off a more subdued effort (by his standards) of 42.3 FD points, though he'll at least have a day of rest after appearing in three games across four nights to open the week.
Davis could be taking the floor without LeBron James (calf) and produced 62.6 and 55.7 FD points before posting just 26.8 over 34 minutes in a blowout loss to the Kings on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo (calf) will have to clear his injury designation, and he'll be trying to eclipse 60 FD points for the fourth time in the last six outings in a favorable matchup against the Hornets.
Tatum could be without Jaylen Brown (illness) for a second straight game, a scenario where he tallied 50.6 FD points against the 76ers on Wednesday.
Sabonis has seen his salary get back into five figures thanks to eclipsing 50 FD points in four straight, including a tally of 66.7 in 38 minutes against the Lakers on Wednesday.
James will have to overcome his questionable designation, which he was able to do Wednesday against the Kings and amass a season-high 67 FD points.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Kevin Durant, PHO ($9,900)
Durant's average of 47.7 FD points and ultra-secure/elevated floor should keep him very popular Friday.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($9,900)
If Mitchell is announced as being available, he should be in plenty of lineups given his average of 48.2 FD points.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI ($9,700)
Maxey should be very popular irrespective of Embiid's availability considering his average of 47.6 FD points, which mainly consists of five tallies over 50 so far this season.
Devin Booker, PHO ($9,600)
Booker scored 41.3 FD points in only 25 minutes against the T-Wolves on Wednesday in his return from a five-game absence.
LaMelo Ball, CHA ($9,500)
Ball is back to offering an excellent floor now that he's healthy and enters having eclipsed 50 FD points in two straight, and that should draw plenty DFS players to him at this salary.
Key Values
Mitchell Robinson, NYK at WAS ($6,000)
Robinson is once again churning out some very balanced stat lines that have him sitting on an average of 28.5 FD points and that have led to him eclipsing 30 five times. The veteran big man does carry some production fluctuation thanks in large part to his inconsistent scoring contributions, though Friday's matchup could turn into one of his better performances. The Wizards check in allowing an NBA-high 41.2 offensive efficiency rating to centers along with a league-high 17.2 rebounds to the position. Those figures have helped Washington yield a league-high 61 FD points per game to fives, and the fact the team also gives up the second-most points in the paint per contest (57.8) bodes well considering 86.1 percent of Robinson's scoring comes from that part of the floor.
De'Anthony Melton, PHI at ATL ($5,600)
Melton will make for an even more appealing play if Embiid sits, but he remains a viable value option even with the big man available. With Kelly Oubre still sidelined, Melton has already received increased responsibility and has posted 40.3 and 25.9 FD points during his last two games. The wing has taken double-digit shot attempts in both and now faces a Hawks team that's surrendered 50.5 percent shooting to the two-guard position, including a blistering 48.5 from three-point range. Melton is shooting a career-best 41.8 from behind the arc and is also an excellent candidate to exploit the fact Atlanta is conceding an NBA-high 2.6 steals to the position.
John Collins, UTA vs. PHO ($5,300)
Collins' salary is especially eye-catching considering some of the production he's produced so far for the Jazz, including tallies of 30.6 and 40 FD points from his last two outings. The big man has four others over 30 and he posted a solid 26.5 in 28 minutes against the Suns during their first meeting this season. Phoenix is also allowing the second-highest offensive efficiency rating to fours (30.4) and the third-most FD points per game (50.5) to the position.
ALSO CONSIDER: Keegan Murray, SAC at SAN ($6,600); Goga Bitadze, ORL at CHI ($5,100); Reggie Jackson, DEN at NOP ($5,000)
