The Layup Line: Wednesday, January 15th

  • By Gabriel Pérez-Grill

    Last Updated on January 15, 2025 11:00 am by Gabriel Pérez-Grill | Published: January 15, 2025

    Injury Report

    To stay up-to-date on all of the injury news with up-to-the-minute updates, make sure to check out our LIVE Injury Report!

    Tuesday-Wednesday B2B Teams:
    Hawks, Nets, Bulls, Mavs, Nuggets, Bucks, Pelicans, Sixers

    New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers

    Game Time: 07:00 pm ET

    DraftKings Lines

    NY -6 (-225), PHI +6 (+185)
    Game Total: 220

    Key Storylines

    Disappearing: The Knicks paid a heavy price for Mikal Bridges in the offseason, and Bridges has not played up to expectations so far. Putting aside the month of December in which Bridges appeared to have found his jumpshot again, Bridges has actually been quite bad. Bridges is shooting a career-worst 33% from beyond the arc on the season despite getting ton of open looks playing next to Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Another factor has been Bridges’ lack of aggressiveness attacking the basket on offense, averaging just 1.1 free throws per contest. Bridges is still a top-100 player in per-game value in 9-cat formats on the season, although his value is inflated by his low turnovers in 9-cat.

    Still Waiting: It has been a rocky start for Paul George in his first season as a Sixer. George suffered multiple injuries already this year which has not allowed him to rack up a stretch of games without a setback. George is the 64th-ranked player in per-game value in 9-cat formats, which is disappointing based on his ADP numbers. His rank has been carried mainly by a good steals output, averaging 1.8 per game. George’s remaining numbers across the board have been mediocre. While fantasy managers should feel underwhelmed, Joel Embiid continues to miss games, which does open up usage for George, making a top-50 finish to the season more than possible.

    Stream of the Game

    Kelly Oubre should be rostered in standard formats at this point. Should Oubre not be available, fantasy managers can pivot to Caleb Martin (who was out on Tuesday).

    Alternatives: Guerschon Yabusele (especially if Joel Embiid remains sidelined), Deuce (Miles) McBride, Precious Achiuwa. 

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    Boston Celtics @ Toronto Raptors

    Game Time:  7:00 pm ET

    DraftKings Lines

    BOS -14.5 (-1100), TOR +14.5 (+700)
    Game Total: 230

    Key Storylines

    Sneaky Buy-Low: Derrick White is in a shooting slump at the moment, shooting just 42% from the field over the past two weeks. White’s ability to generate defensive stats has kept his fantasy value in decent shape during this time, but it will just be a matter of time before White starts improving on his shooting splits again, making this a perfect opportunity to try to throw a top 40-to-50 player in order to try to acquire White.

    Beware of DNPs: The Raptors’ season is quickly going down the drain, as the team is really struggling despite finally being healthy again.
    Fantasy managers need to start expecting some of the Raptors’ key players to start missing games with “smaller” injuries sooner than later, as we have seen other teams such as the Jazz and the Nets already start doing this in order to improve their draft odds. Players such as Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Pöltl would be the main candidates, though Quickley is dealing with an actual injury at the moment.

    Stream of the Game


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    January 15, 2025, 1:59 am