ESPN's fantasy basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you set your lineups for that night's games. Here you'll read our best advice for the night, including a selection of players you can stream as well as game-by-game injury reports.
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Top streamers | Best bets | DFS picks | Odds & Injury report
What you need to know for Friday's games
Because of the NBA Cup, the league's schedule this week was pretty unusual. Typically, the NBA plays a lot of games on Wednesday and very few on Thursday. However, this week, things were reversed with only two games on Wednesday and a whopping 12 on Thursday. The upshot of this, coming into Friday, is that since 24 teams were in action yesterday, half of the 10 teams playing today will be on the second leg of a back-to-back: the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
Keep an eye out for news on whether any of those teams will sit some of their star players as a result. For example, Trae Young of the Hawks returned from an extended injury absence yesterday with a minutes restriction and played only 20 minutes. It wouldn't be surprising if he sat on Friday.
Victor Wembanyama returned for the Spurs last Saturday, but has been coming off the bench on a minutes restriction all week, and today's game marks the first back-to-back possibility. Plus, both the Spurs and the Knicks played both in Tuesday's NBA Cup Final and then again on Thursday, meaning they're the only two teams in the league on their third game in four nights. Additionally, the Knicks' game on Thursday was a grueling affair that came down to the wire, with Jalen Brunson hitting a game-winning shot in the waning seconds for a one-point victory.
So, with player availability for Friday worth keeping an eye on, let's dig deeper into the action to identify some fantasy streamers, betting angles and DFS value plays for tonight's slate.
Friday's fantasy stream team
Tyler Kolek, PG, Knicks (rostered in 1.4% of ESPN leagues): Prior to Tuesday night's NBA Cup final, Kolek had not played more than 17 minutes in any game nor notched double-digits in any box score category. He had a "coming out party" in that final, notching 14 points, five boards and five assists in 20 minutes. He followed things up on Thursday with 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 26 minutes and could continue to have an expanded role on Friday.
Ajay Mitchell, PG, Thunder (45.9%): Mitchell's role shrunk when the Thunder started getting healthier, particularly when Jalen Williams returned from injury. That said, Mitchell still maintains a large role in the rotation and dropped 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes off the bench on Thursday. The Thunder are in the second half of a back-to-back, facing a Minnesota Timberwolves squad against which Mitchell dropped 13 points in 24 minutes last month.
Jaylon Tyson, SG, Cleveland Cavaliers (29.9%): Tyson maintains a large role for the Cavaliers, particularly when at least one starter is sidelined as Evan Mobley is now. Tyson has scored double figures in eight straight games, averaging 17.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 2.3 3PG in that stretch.
Snellings' favorite bets for Friday
Tyrese Maxey OVER 27.5 points (-114)
Last month, we pointed out the non-intuitive trend that Maxey actually scores more in games with Joel Embiid (34.4 PPG in nine games) than without him (29.6 PPG in 14 games). In either case, Maxey rarely drops below this 27.5 point line. He has scored at least 28 points in 17 of 25 games this season, including four of his last five. Maxey missed two games last week due to illness, but is not on the injury report for tonight's game.
Jaylon Tyson OVER 15.5 points (-107)
Tyson is facing the Chicago Bulls for the second straight game under similar circumstances. He continues to get more run with Mobley out and should play starter minutes. The Bulls defense is very friendly to opposing forwards, top 5 in most points allowed to both small and power forwards. Tyson dropped 21 points against this team on Wednesday and is averaging 17.9 PPG over his last eight games.
Jaylen Brown OVER 29.5 points (-112)
Brown has scored at least 30 points in five straight and eight of his last nine games overall. He is the focal point of the Celtics attack, but has enough shooters surrounding him to give him space to work and consistently go over this scoring mark. On Friday, he faces a Heat team that plays the fastest pace in the NBA, which should give him plenty of scoring opportunities.
Top Daily Fantasy values of the day
Play Daily Fantasy NBA at DraftKings
$8,100-plus salary
Jalen Johnson, PF, Hawks ($10,000): Johnson is a walking triple-double these days, having scored at least 70 fantasy points in five of his last eight games. He could have a larger offense-creation role today than yesterday if Trae Young sits out the second half of the back-to-back.
Jaylen Brown, SF, Celtics ($9,500): Brown has scored at least 51 fantasy points in eight of his last nine games.
$6,100-$8,000 salary
Paul George, SF, Philadelphia 76ers ($6,900): George seems to be playing himself into form after missing much of the start of the season. He's scored at least 20 points in three of his last five games, including two in a row.
Coby White, SG, Bulls ($6,900): White has scored at least 20 points in every game he's played this season except one, giving him a high floor. He dropped 25 points against these same Cavaliers in their game on Wednesday.
$3,500-$6,000 salary
Jaime Jaquez Jr., SF, Heat ($5,900): Jaquez has been starting in place of Tyler Herro (toe), a role in which he consistently drops at least 25 fantasy points, with the upside to go for over 40.
Devin Vassell, SG, Spurs ($5,300): Vassell is a consistent contributor to the Spurs' deep attack and has ramped up of late, notching at least 35 fantasy points in two of his last three games and three of his last six.
Tyler Kolek, PG, Knicks ($4,000): Kolek has broken out this week, getting extra opportunity and taking advantage of it to the tune of 28.2 and 45.5 fantasy points in his last two games.
Projections and Injury Reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
7 p.m. ET
Line: Heat +6.5 (-115) | Celtics -6.5 (-105)
Money line: Heat +210 | Celtics -258
Total: 232.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Celtics by 6.1, straight up 67%, 232.9 total points.
Injury Report:
Heat: Terry Rozier, (OUT - Not Injury Related); Pelle Larsson, (GTD - Ankle); Tyler Herro, (GTD - Toe); Nikola Jovic, (OUT - Elbow)
Celtics: Jayson Tatum, (OUT - Achilles); Josh Minott, (GTD - Back); Ron Harper Jr., (GTD - Knee); Sam Hauser, (GTD - Ankle)
Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks
7 p.m. ET
Line: 76ers +4.5 (-102) | Knicks -4.5 (-118)
Money line: 76ers +164 | Knicks -198
Total: 228.5 (-108 O, -112 U)
BPI Projection: Knicks by 4.4, straight up 63%, 236.6 total points.
Injury Report:
76ers: Hunter Sallis, (GTD - Shoulder); Joel Embiid, (GTD - Illness); Kelly Oubre Jr., (OUT - Knee); Trendon Watford, (OUT - Thigh)
Knicks: Josh Hart, (GTD - Abdomen); Karl-Anthony Towns, (GTD - Knee); Miles McBride, (GTD - Ankle); Mitchell Robinson, (GTD - Ankle); Landry Shamet, (OUT - Shoulder)
San Antonio Spurs at Atlanta Hawks
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Spurs -2.5 (-108) | Hawks +2.5 (-112)
Money line: Spurs -135 | Hawks +114
Total: 241.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Spurs by 1.3, straight up 54%, 240.0 total points.
Injury Report:
Spurs: None reported
Hawks: N'Faly Dante, (GTD - Concussion); Kristaps Porzingis, (OUT - Illness)
Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Bulls +7.5 (-115) | Cavaliers -7.5 (-105)
Money line: Bulls +235 | Cavaliers -290
Total: 240.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Cavaliers by 9.5, straight up 75%, 242.9 total points.
Injury Report:
Bulls: Noa Essengue, (OFS - Shoulder); Ayo Dosunmu, (GTD - Thumb); Lachlan Olbrich, (GTD - Quadriceps)
Cavaliers: Donovan Mitchell, (GTD - Illness); Luke Travers, (GTD - Hamstring); Larry Nance Jr., (OUT - Calf); Max Strus, (OUT - Foot); Sam Merrill, (OUT - Hand); Evan Mobley, (OUT - Calf)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves
9:30 p.m. ET
Line: Thunder -7.5 (-118) | Timberwolves +7.5 (-102)
Money line: Thunder -325 | Timberwolves +260
Total: 230.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Thunder by 8, straight up 72%, 230.9 total points.
Injury Report:
Thunder: Nikola Topic, (OUT - Groin); Thomas Sorber, (OFS - Knee); Jaylin Williams, (GTD - Heel)
Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards, (GTD - Foot); Mike Conley, (OUT - Achilles)