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! 

Note that the Hawks, Nuggets, Pistons, Grizzlies, Knicks and Spurs are all on Friday-Saturday back-to-backs, meaning their injury reports will be provided during the day on Saturday, so look out for updates and the spreads/lines may change as well.

Philadelphia 76ers @ Brooklyn Nets

Game Time: 6:00 pm ET

DraftKings Lines

PHI -7.5 (-298), BKN +7.5 (+240)
Game Total: 214.5

Key Storylines

Trust Career Samples: I pointed out earlier in the week that Paul George will not remain a 40% (approximation) shooter from the field and that makes him a buy-low. I did say that perhaps we cannot expect the same highs of years past, but even a top-50 George is nice value. He had 30-8-5 and four threes on 11-of-20 FG on Wednesday night vs. the Kings, then on Thursday he shot 7-of-12 from the field en route to 19 points. He is slowly getting back on track. 

D’Loading: Anyone resilient enough to hold on to Russell through his ups and downs in L.A. can now reap the benefits. Congrats on your commendable patience. I want to monitor how Ziaire Williams (knee) fits into the equation and how things shake out after Noah Clowney left early on Wednesday and then missed Thursday’s game with a hip injury. Clowney heads into this game as questionable. Cam Johnson is doubtful after twisting his ankle on Thursday. Cam Thomas is questionable with a left hamstring strain (the injury that sidelined him recently) for a game which isn’t on a back-to-back, so that does worry me a bit as they’ve clearly been trying to ease him in back off the bench, so something may be lingering. 

Stream of the Game

I like some Ben Simmons in this one, especially as a couple guys could be out.

Alternatives:

Noah Clowney (questionable) if he plays
Caleb Martin
Keon Johnson
–deep league line–
Guerschon Yabusele (12-team if Embiid – questionable – sits)
Andre Drummond
Ziaire Williams
Jalen Wilson
Day’Ron Sharpe

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Detroit Pistons

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET

DraftKings Lines

MIN -6.5 (-258), DET +6.5 (+210)
Game Total: 218.5

Key Storylines

Let Him Play Ones: Anthony Edwards complained about the double-teams he has faced recently, which is fair, as the team’s lack of spacing is partially responsible for that. However, the Mavs threw bodies at him in the WCF as well and Edwards needs some growth as a passerto consistently punish teams more severely for that.I am not expecting him to be Luka Doncic when it comes to that, but it is one of the reasons why I did not believe in him as a first-rounder. All that aside, Rudy Gobert has been losing a few minutes with more Naz Reid lineups to try to ease those spacing issues as the Wolves attempt to rely on their point-of-attack defense more. Gobert should be fine long-term, but if it continues, he could be more top-100 than top 70-to-80. 

Trolled by JB: The fact that Ausar Thompson played fewer minutes in the first game that Jaden Ivey missed compared to what he had played in recent games before is a bit frustrating. The Pistons started Wendell Moore Jr., but he only played 15 minutes. I am not expecting this to be the only lineup JB Bickerstaff tries, so you might as well hold Thompson to see what happens on Saturday. Tobias Harris also seems to be stepping into that No. 2 option mantle, which is good for the managers who were patient with him. Maybe the Thompson lowered minutes are also linked to the B2B so that he can play both legs. So We should also see what happens under normal circumstances.

Stream of the Game

Jaden McDaniels is always worth a stream, assuming players like Malik Beasley and Donte DiVincenzo are rostered.

Alternatives:

Mike Conley
Isaiah Stewart
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Ausar Thompson
Tim Hardaway Jr.
Wendell Moore Jr. in deep formats? This could easily become Ron Holland or someone else though.

Phoenix Suns @ Indiana Pacers

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET

DraftKings Lines

PHX +1.5 (+102), IND -1.5 (-122)
Game Total: 234

Key Storylines

Beal questionable: Grayson Allen will return from a five-game absence and he may slot into the starting lineup right away if Beal is sidelined. It might be worth a speculative add in advance if you’re looking for some explosive upside for threes. Ryan Dunn is the other starting candidate with Royce O’Neale (ankle) sidelined for a bit. 

Hali-lulajah: Tyrese Haliburton is now top-20 for 9-cat on the season and is generally back to being a first-round or near-first-round-level player in recent times. It isn’t quite the elite top 5-to-6 value we expected, but we’ll take it. 

Stream of the Game

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