This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a second straight seven-game main slate Saturday night, one that thankfully features just a couple of noteworthy injuries. The player pool should therefore be ample, and there are several games that project to be especially competitive.
Slate Overview
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As was the case with Friday night's slate, we have a near-even split between games with narrow spreads and those projected to be a bit less competitive. As of Saturday morning, we have three contests sitting with figures of 4.5 points or fewer and no game with a double-digit number attached.
Projected totals are largely in the 220s, but there are two games that stand out from the norm — Hawks-Pelicans (234.5) and Hornets-Pacers (240).
Injury Situations to Monitor
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De'Aaron Fox, SAC (ankle): OUT
Fox's absence should lead to a second straight start for Davion Mitchell at point guard and elevated usage for the rest of the first unit.
Brandon Ingram, NOP (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Ingram sits out another game, Matt Ryan and Jordan Hawkins should be direct beneficiaries.
Other notable injuries:
Markelle Fultz, ORL (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Nic Claxton, BKN (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Derrick White, BOS (personal): OUT
Cameron Johnson, BKN (calf): OUT
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($12,000), Anthony Davis ($11,600), Jayson Tatum ($10,300) and LeBron James ($10,000).
Jokic went off for 65.3 FD points Friday night against the Mavericks, his third tally of more than 60 already this season. While there could be some fatigue on the second night of the back-to-back set, it's early in the season and the big man still carries an abundance of upside.
Davis has rattled off tallies of at least 58.5 FD points in four straight games following a quiet Opening Night, and he draws a highly favorable matchup against the Wizards frontcourt Saturday.
Tatum has been in MVP-worthy form early in the season, shooting a career-best 56.3 percent, including 40.6 percent from three-point range. He's scored at least 40 FD points in each contest thus far and will enter Saturday's matchup against the short-handed Nets frontcourt with two full days of rest.
LeBron has continued to defy Father Time early in the new campaign and just scored 64.9 FD points against the Clippers on Wednesday night. He'll also have the benefit of two full rest days going into Saturday's contest.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Domantas Sabonis, SAC ($9,900)
Sabonis has scored 46.2 FD points or more in three of his first four games and will once again take the floor without Fox, boosting his already elevated usage.
Tyrese Haliburton, IND ($9,500)
Haliburton posted 41.9 FD points Friday in his return from a one-game absence, giving him four consecutive tallies of over 40 FD points to start the season.
Trae Young, ATL ($8,900)
Young isn't often carrying a salary below $9K and has scored over 40 FD points in three of his last four games, the combination of which should keep him very popular.
CJ McCollum, NOP ($8,100)
McCollum should remain a popular play irrespective of Ingram's availability, considering he's averaging 42.3 FD points over his first five games.
Key Values
Jabari Smith, HOU vs. SAC ($6,000)
Smith has gotten his season off to a solid start, and he comes into Saturday's contest having produced 36.1 and 31.2 FD points in his last two games. The second-year forward is shooting an improved 44.7 percent this season after only draining 40.8 percent of his attempts as a rookie, and he's taking just under 12 shots per game. The opposing Kings have struggled early in limiting the fantasy production of power forwards, allowing the second-highest offensive efficiency rating to the position (35.3), along with 48.3 FD points per contest to fours.
Davion Mitchell, SAC at HOU ($5,400)
Mitchell should once again fill a starting role at point guard Saturday in Fox's ongoing absence, a role in which he generated 29.6 FD points across 29 minutes against the Warriors on Wednesday. The second-year guard has gotten the season off to a rough start shooting-wise (38.9 percent shooting), but he's draining a solid 36.4 percent of his three-point attempts and should have plenty of minutes to work with Saturday. The Rockets also check in ranked No. 27 in offensive efficiency allowed to point guards (32.5) and are giving up 49.2 FD points per game to the position as well, strengthening Mitchell's case as a strong value option.
Payton Pritchard, BOS at BKN ($3,900)
I originally had Derrick White penciled in as one of my three value options, but with the veteran ruled out due to personal reasons, I'll pivot to the player that could be the most direct beneficiary of his absence. Pritchard is already coming off having scored 33.3 FD points over 26 minutes against the Pacers on Wednesday, and he posted a solid tally of 16.4 against the Wizards the game prior without scoring a single point. Pritchard's shot hasn't even come close to getting going yet, but the Nets have allowed 39.5 percent three-point shooting at home in the early going and 47.6 FD points per game to two-guards, making Pritchard a potentially rewarding fantasy-point-per-dollar play with what should be a minutes allotment in the mid-to-high 20s, at minimum.
ALSO CONSIDER: Dillon Brooks, HOU vs. SAC ($5,400); Saddiq Bey, ATL at NOP ($5,000)
