This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
After a busy Friday night, we're down to a modest three-game main slate Saturday. We'll therefore be dealing with a reduced player pool that will make it a bit more challenging to differentiate in tournaments, but there are still enough viable options across the salary cap with six teams in action to make for a fun night DFS play.
Slate Overview
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We have a pair of point spreads under five points on FanDuel Sportsbook as of early Saturday, while the third game, the Raptors-Celtics clash, carries a higher -8 figure attached to Boston. Therefore, we should have a reasonably good chance of competitive games across the board.
Totals are a bit less encouraging, as only the Miami-Atlanta game has a number we can really look forward to from a DFS perspective – 228.5 points. The other two contests check in at 221 and 223.5, which portend games that lean toward slightly more defense-centric affairs.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Jimmy Butler, MIA (knee): PROBABLE
Butler appears on track to play and should enjoy elevated usage due to Tyler Herro's absence.
Tyler Herro, MIA (ankle): OUT
In Herro's absence, Duncan Robinson and Josh Richardson should see the majority of minutes at shooting guard.
Other notable injuries:
Al Horford, BOS (knee): GTD
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Jayson Tatum ($10,600) and Donovan Mitchell ($10,000).
Tatum still found his way to a double-double and 37.5 FD points on Friday against the Nets despite going scoreless in both the first and third quarters. He's been at 50 or more on three occasions already and could see his numbers shoot back up in a solid matchup against the Raptors.
Mitchell is averaging a stellar 50.8 FD points per contest and hadn't been under 41.1 yet this season until falling just short at 39.5 against the Thunder on Wednesday. He'll be well rested Saturday and should play a key role in a game against the Warriors that could go wire to wire.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Scottie Barnes, TOR ($9,700)
Barnes is arguably deserving of a higher salary, considering he's averaging 51 FD points per game and has posted 67.2 and 59.3 FD points in the last two contests.
Trae Young, ATL ($9,500)
Young is coming off his best game of the season against the Magic on Thursday, when he amassed 63.8 FD points.
Stephen Curry, GSW ($9,300)
Curry has been under 40 FD points in three straight games, but he should naturally remain very popular, especially on such a small slate.
Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,800)
Adebayo should be due for a usage boost with Tyler Herro (ankle) sidelined and he already comes in having scored 50.3, 67.8 and 52.7 FD points in three of his last four games.
Jimmy Butler, MIA ($8,400)
Butler should also benefit from Herro's absence, and despite Butler's own underwhelming numbers thus far, he could well outpace his salary Saturday in the game with the highest projected total of the three.
Key Values
Jalen Johnson, ATL vs. MIA ($6,500)
Johnson has taken a step up early this season with John Collins now in Utah, averaging 33.1 FD points per game. The young big appears secure in the starting power forward role for the time being, and he'll come into Saturday having posted 32.8 to 46.9 FD points in his last three games. The Heat have allowed a robust 49.5 FD points per game to power forwards as well, making Johnson a very appealing option despite his ongoing bump in salary.
Kyle Lowry, MIA at ATL ($5,400)
Lowry is yet another Heat player that should see some benefit from Herro's absence, and he's already been trending upward coming into Saturday anyhow. The veteran just scored 42.7 FD points against the Grizzlies on Wednesday when Herro suffered his injury, and he'd been over 20 FD points in four consecutive games prior as well. With some additional usage likely coming his way and the Hawks allowing the third-most assists (9.7) per contest to point guards, Lowry makes sense at his very reasonable salary.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, ATL vs. MIA ($5,300)
Bogdanovic has been thriving as a source of second-unit offense for the Hawks, and he'll check into Saturday having scored 28 to 32.3 FD points in his last three games. The veteran sharpshooter is actually a tick less efficient than usual early in the season, making his numbers all the more impressive. The Heat could be the cure for what ails him, as they're allowing 50.2 percent shooting to second-unit players, including 44.3 percent from three-point range. Miami is also surrendering 42.4 FD points per game to two-guards overall, and Bogdanovic has scored 22.1 FD points or more in all but one of his first eight games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Klay Thompson, GSW vs. CLE ($5,400); Duncan Robinson, MIA at ATL ($4,400)
