Tag: Wednesday

This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.

We have a big slate on tap Wednesday night, and although the injury report is relatively light and therefore doesn’t make a big ripple in the player pool, there are some particularly big names whose status will bear monitoring. 

Slate Overview

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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Wednesday, 1/22 @ 11:30 a.m. ET:    

Phoenix Suns (-11.5) at Brooklyn Nets (O/U: 218.0)

Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks (-2.5) (O/U: 234.5)

Minnesota Timberwolves (-3) at Dallas Mavericks (O/U: 216.0)

Cleveland Cavaliers (-3) at Houston Rockets (O/U: 229.5)

Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans — POSTPONED

Charlotte Hornets at Memphis Grizzlies (-12) (O/U: 240.5)

Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder (-17) (O/U: 227.5)

Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings (-7) (O/U: 230.0)

Boston Celtics (-11) at Los Angeles Clippers (O/U: 218.5)

The betting landscape for Wednesday’s slate is a bit of a study in extremes, as there are four double-digit favorites, including the Thunder with a massive 17-point projected advantage over the Jazz. However, that still leaves us with five games that could turn out to be very competitive, with the Pistons-Hawks and Cavaliers-Rockets matchups especially standing out since they also have large projected totals.

On that front, the picture is pretty optimistic, considering five games have totals north of 227 points, and only two of those are attached to games that have expansive spreads. 

Injury Situations to Monitor   

For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire’s NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.

James Harden, LAC (groin): QUESTIONABLE

If Harden can’t play, Norman Powell will be the likeliest biggest beneficiary in terms of increased usage if he can play through his questionable tag, while Kevin Porter is likely to draw a start at point guard.

Jalen Williams, NOP (hip): QUESTIONABLE 

If Williams doesn’t play, Isaiah Joe could remain on the first unit and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will likely benefit the most from a usage standpoint.

Jalen Johnson, ATL (shoulder): QUESTIONABLE

If Johnson sits out, any of David Roddy, De’Andre Hunter or Vit Krejci could draw the start at power forward. 

Other notable injuries:

Luka Doncic, DAL (calf): OUT

Evan Mobley, CLE (calf): OUT

Kawhi Leonard, LAC (knee): OUT

Ivica Zubac, LAC (eye): OUT

Brandon Miller, CHA (wrist): OUT

Cam Thomas, BKN (hamstring): OUT

Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC (calf): OUT

Draymond Green, GSW (calf): OUT

Norman Powell, LAC (back): QUESTIONABLE

Lauri Markkanen, UTA (back): QUESTIONABLE

John Collins, UTA (hip): QUESTIONABLE

Bradley Beal, PHO (ankle): QUESTIONABLE

Trae Young, ATL (Achilles): PROBABLE

Elite Players

We have five players with five-figure salaries on Wednesday’s slate – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,600), Domantas Sabonis ($10,500), Jayson Tatum ($10,300), LaMelo Ball ($10,200) and Cade Cunningham ($10,000).

SGA could take the floor without Jalen Williams once again and has scored over 54 FD points in three straight, including 58.6 against the Nets on Monday without Williams available. However, OKC is a massive 17-point favorite, which implies Gilgeous-Alexander could see less than a full workload.

Sabonis has at least 50 FD points in four of the last six games and is facing a Warriors team he put up 48.1 FD points against across only 29 minutes on Jan. 5.

Tatum has a pair of tallies of over 50 FD points in his last five games alone, and he’ll face a Clippers team that could potentially be without James Harden and Norman Powell in addition to Ivica Zubac.

Ball has scored between 43.7 and 65.5 FD points in five consecutive games and draws a favorable matchup against the Grizzlies.

Cunningham has flashed a floor of 45 FD points in five of his last six games and will be a central figure in what could be one of the most DFS-friendly game environments of the night against the Hawks.

Expected Chalk

Other likely chalk plays include:

Kevin Durant, PHO ($9,600)

Durant scored 64.9 FD points two games ago and has a very favorable matchup against the Nets, which should keep him very popular. 

Trae Young, ATL ($9,400)

Young will be in what should be a highly favorable game environment for DFS production and has exceeded 56 FD points in three of his last five games, factors that should lock in a high roster rate at his salary.

Alperen Sengun, HOU ($9,200)

Sengun saw a dip to 27.1 FD points in his most recent game after six straight games with more than 40 FD points, but he should remain very popular in what projects to be a highly competitive game against the Cavaliers.

Anthony Edwards, MIN ($9,200)

Edwards has scored between 41.6 and 63.7 FD points in four of the last five games and has at least 32 actual points in three of those contests.

Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($8,900)

Mitchell has scored 49.5 to 56.1 FD points in three of the last four games and will be a key figure in what could be one of the most competitive games of the night.

Key Values  

Jalen Duren, DET at ATL ($6,300)

Duren is coming off having scored a season-high 52.3 FD points against the Rockets on Monday, a game that featured his third straight double-double and four steals. The talented big man is enjoying a stellar January overall, averaging 11.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 blocks and 33.8 FD points across 11 games despite playing a modest 25.9 minutes per contest. The Pistons-Hawks game has a narrow spread and high projected total as well, and Atlanta checks in ranked No. 21 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (33.8) while also allowing 56.3 FD points per contest to the position. The Hawks are also giving up the fifth-most points in the paint per game in the last three (53.3), an area of the floor where 82.5 percent of Duren’s scoring originates from.

Naz Reid, MIN at DAL ($5,900)

Reid has had some ups and downs this season, but he enters Wednesday on an extended stretch of impressive production that dates back to New Year’s Eve. The veteran big man has averaged 31.6 FD points in his last 12 games, getting to that figure via 17.4 points (on 52.8 percent shooting, including 52.9 percent from distance), 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks across 27.3 minutes per contest. Reid just scored a season-high 29 points against the Grizzlies on Monday, and he’s eclipsed 30 FD points in six of his last seven games. He has a tally of 25.8 FD points across 26 minutes versus the Mavs this season, and Dallas ranks No. 20 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (33.7) while allowing 56 FD points per game to the position.

Jaylin Williams, OKC vs. UTA ($5,400)

Williams will continue filling in for Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) on Wednesday, and the 2022 second-round pick will check in having scored 31.5 and 36.1 FD points in his last two games, with both those being starts. Williams has eclipsed 20 FD points in five games overall this season (three times off the bench), and his three efforts of greater than 31 FD points have all come within the last 10 days. The Jazz make for a great target as well, considering Utah is allowing a Western Conference-high 36.5 offensive efficiency rating and 60.2 FD points per game to centers.

ALSO CONSIDER: Tari Eason, HOU vs. CLE ($5,700); Jaden McDaniels, MIN at DAL ($5,400); Moses Moody, GSW at SAC ($4,200)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it’s possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Juan Carlos Blanco plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: jcblanco22, FanDuel: jc_blanco22, DraftPot: jc_blanco22, FantasyDraft: jc_blanco22, OwnThePlay: jcblanco22.