The first Friday night of the new calendar year brings us a slate befitting the day of the week, as there are a solid 10 games on the docket. We do have a pretty sizable injury report and multiple notable short- and longer-term absences at play, but the player pool is certainly deep enough to withstand it and still afford us plenty of options for both cash games and tournaments.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Friday, Jan. 2 @ 2:00 a.m. EST:
San Antonio Spurs (-6) at Indiana Pacers (O/U: 236.5)
Brooklyn Nets (-1.5) at Washington Wizards (O/U: 225.5)
Denver Nuggets at Cleveland Cavaliers (-13.5) (O/U: 236.5)
Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks (-7.5) (O/U: 245.5)
Orlando Magic (-4.5) at Chicago Bulls (O/U: 235.5)
Charlotte Hornets at Milwaukee Bucks (-6) (O/U: 232.5)
Portland Trail Blazers (-1) at New Orleans Pelicans (O/U: 243.5)
Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns (-12) (O/U: 227.5)
Oklahoma City Thunder (-9) at Golden State Warriors (O/U: 228.5)
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers (-4.5) (O/U: 238.5)
The betting landscape is fairly encouraging Friday, despite the pair of double-digit favorites. There are still plenty of games that are projecte dto be competitive, and many of those are accompanied by elevated totals that should help lead to plenty of very useful DFS scores. By the numbers, the Trail Blazers-Pelicans and Grizzlies-Lakers clashes could be the best game environments of the night.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Victor Wembanyama, SAN (knee): OUT
In Wembanyama's absence, Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk should handle the majority of center minutes while De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle should be among those to see the biggest usage boosts.
Trae Young, ATL (quadriceps): OUT
With Young out, Nickeil Alexander-Walker will draw a start at point guard, while Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels will benefit from increased usage.
Stephen Curry, GSW (ankle): OUT
In Curry's absence and that of Draymond Green (rest) and Jimmy Butler (illness), Brandin Podziemski should see the biggest boost in opportunity, while Moses Moody and Buddy Hield should also benefit.
Michael Porter, BKN (illness): QUESTIONABLE
If Porter is sidelined again, there will be plenty of usage available for the rest of the starting five, Drake Powell and Ziaire Williams could handle the majority of small forward minutes.
Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK (illness): QUESTIONABLE
If Towns is sidelined, the usage for Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby should see notable boosts.
Other notable injuries:
Nikola Jokic, DEN (knee): OUT
Josh Giddey, CHI (hamstring): OUT
Jimmy Butler, GSW (illness): OUT
Draymond Green, GSW (rest): OUT
Austin Reaves, LAL (calf): OUT
Franz Wagner, ORL (ankle): OUT
Aaron Gordon, DEN (hamstring): OUT
Coby White, CHI (calf): OUT
Jerami Grant, POR (Achilles): OUT
Kyshawn George, WAS (hip): OUT
Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC (calf): OUT
Josh Hart, NYK (ankle): OUT
Zach LaVine, SAC (ankle): OUT
Derik Queen, NOP (quadriceps): QUESTIONABLE
Grayson Allen, PHO (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Saddiq Bey, NOP (hip): QUESTIONABLE
Jamal Murray, DEN (ankle): PROBABLE
Miles Bridges, CHA (ankle): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries who have a chance to play on Friday's slate – Luka Doncic ($12,100), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,900), Jalen Johnson ($10,800) and Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,700).
Doncic has scored 44.5 to 57.5 FD points in each of his last three games and has scored at least 30 actual points in two of those contests, and he'll be an integral part of what should be one of the best game environments of the night.
Gilgeous-Alexander has eclipsed 53 FD points each of his last two games, and while the Thunder are solid home favorites, the game against the Warriors isn't projected to be a blowout.
Johnson could be taking the court without Trae Young and has scored over 52 FD points in four of the last five games.
Antetokounmpo has eclipsed 40 FD points in each of his first three games back from a calf injury and carries a very safe floor in a solid matchup against the Hornets.
Go to RotoWire's NBA Daily Starting Lineups and NBA News for up-to-the-minute information!
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Paolo Banchero, ORL ($9,700)
Banchero has scored 58 and 54 FD points in his last two games, which should help lock in his popularity at his four-figure salary.
Deni Avdija, POR ($9,600)
Avdija played only 31 minutes in the lopsided loss to the Thunder on Wednesday, but the fact he'd scored over 46 FD points in each of his previous four games and draws a highly appealing matchup against the Pelicans.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($9,400)
Mitchell racked up 61.5 FD points against the Suns on Wednesday – his second game over 60 FD points in the last four – and that should help ensure a high roster rate Friday.
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($9,300)
Brunson boasted a fantasy-point floor in the low 40s for essentially all of December, which should lock him into plenty of rosters Friday.
Jamal Murray, DEN ($9,100)
Murray will continue working without Nikola Jokic on Friday and already checks in with more than 42 FD points in five of the last six games.
Key Values
Mark Williams, PHO vs. SAC ($6,300)
Williams returned from a one-game absence against the Cavaliers on Wednesday but didn't hit any of his three shots from the field, leading to a quiet 17.8 FD points. However, the big man has shown plenty of upside this season, averaging 29.7 FD points per contest and even eclipsing 40 FD points on six occasions. Williams' best game of the season just happened to come against these same Kings as well, as he lit Sacramento up for 55.2 FD points over 29 minutes on Nov. 26. Sacramento continues to be highly targetable with centers, allowing an NBA-high 61.9 FD points per game to the position on the season, including 62.8 in the last 15. The Kings are also conceding the second-most points in the paint per road game (56.7), while Williams is scoring 75.6 percent of his points in that part of the floor.
Tre Jones, CHI vs. ORL ($6,200)
The Bulls will take the floor without Josh Giddey (hamstring) and Coby White (calf) again Friday, opening up another starting opportunity and plenty of minutes for Jones. The veteran guard already took ample advantage of such circumstances Wednesday, posting 39.4 FD points based on a 20-point, 12-assist double-double across 27 minutes. The fact Jones took just seven shot attempts is somewhat concerning, but he's a proven commodity considering he's averaging 32.1 FD points while shooting 52.9 percent across his 12 total starts this season. The Magic are also giving up the second-most points to point guards in the last 15 contests (28.5), adding to Jones' appeal.
Donovan Clingan, POR at NOP ($6,000)
Clingan continues to enjoy a breakout second season, now averaging 30.7 FD points on the strength of 10.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per contest. Clingan played just 17 minutes in a tough matchup against the Thunder on Wednesday, but he averaged 35.2 FD points across 27.9 minutes in the 17 games prior while shooting 58.0 percent, including 45.2 percent from distance. Clingan recorded 27 FD points in 27 minutes in his one prior meeting with New Orleans, and the Pelicans check in allowing the fourth-most points (25.9) and fifth-most rebounds (16.6) per contest to centers in the last seven games on the way to conceding 56.5 FD points per game to the position in that sample. Then, New Orleans is also yielding the most points in the paint per home game (55.3), while just under 60 percent of Clingan's scoring emanates from that part of the floor.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jaylon Tyson, CLE vs. DEN ($5,900); Ajay Mitchell, OKC at GSW ($5,800)
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