ESPN's basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you lock in daily fantasy and betting decisions for that night's games. Here you'll find our top insights for the slate, including players to target for your daily fantasy rosters, along with game-by-game injury reports.
What you need to know for Wednesday
The NBA season is off and running! Yesterday, we saw three big games to bring the season in with a bang, with big performances already on display. Paul George was amazing in a losing effort in his Boston Celtics debut, dropping 38 huge points before the Detroit Pistons stormed back and took the win. The new-look 76ers took out the defending champion New York Knicks on Ring night, while the Oklahoma City Thunder controlled "Game 8" of their classic series against the San Antonio Spurs.
Now, we're ready for Night 2. We have our first full slate of the season with 11 games on tap. There will be action from every direction, with five games in the early window, three in the middle time slots and three late games on the West Coast. We get to see the new-look Miami Heat featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo face off against the equally intriguing Minnesota Timberwolves, fresh off trading for LaMelo Ball. We get to see Kawhi Leonard make his debut for the Toronto Raptors...again...as they host the Chicago Bulls. We get to see the start of Cooper Flagg 2.0 as he leads the Dallas Mavericks against the Houston Rockets. And much, much more. I can't wait.
As always, we'll use this space to get you ready for the action by identifying potential fantasy streamers and betting angles of interest. Let's get into it.
Fantasy stream team -- widely available players worth adding
Kyshawn George, SG/SF, Washington Wizards (rostered in 38.8% of ESPN leagues)
George is a bit of a forgotten man in the WIzards lineup, overshadowed by the two new All Stars and the number one overall pick that will be making their debuts together tonight. But George is coming off a very promising sophomore season, and has the type of all-around game that can benefit from playing with a great point guard like Trae Young and should fit into the gaps that the rest of the lineup doesn't fill. He should produce the kind of category-filling numbers that are very beneficial, particularly in category leagues.
Jalen Suggs, PG/SG, Orlando Magic (31.1%)
Health has been an issue for Suggs, limiting him to only 92 of a possible 162 games in the last two seasons. But he is healthy coming into the season, which means his defensive in-your-face style should be on full display tonight. Suggs averaged a career-best 1.8 SPG and 5.5 APG last season, and he is always a solid double-figures scorer that can also knock down a couple of 3-pointers on a nightly basis.
Aaron Gordon, PF, Denver Nuggets (47.6%)
Gordon struggled with injury last season that held him to only 36 games, but he still put together a solid stat line with plus scoring, rebounding and 3-point numbers for a power forward. Now healthy, he should be back catching lobs from Nikola Jokic and making his all-around contributions that can be valuable to both the Nuggets and your fantasy squads.
Dre's bets to make on Wednesday
Josh Giddey Double-Double, Yes (-104): Giddey averaged almost a triple-double last season at a rounded 17 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds per game. He will carry an even larger responsibility this season, particularly as a table-setter for this Bulls' offense. He has a reasonable chance to average that triple-double in the near future, so on most nights it's a good bet that he'll reach a double-double.
Anthony Edwards 4+ 3-pointers (+125): Edwards led the NBA in 3-pointers taken and made two seasons ago, and over the last two campaigns has averaged 3.8 3PG in 140 games. And he did so while only getting assisted on about half (50.9%) of his 3-point makes. As the de facto lead guard for the Timberwolves, he often had to create his own looks. This season, he'll be playing next to an elite floor general in Ball who was instrumental in setting up 3-point looks for his Hornets teammates like Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel last season. With Ball diming him up in addition to his own creation abilities, I expect Edwards to take and make more threes this season than ever before.
Cooper Flagg 22+ points (-112): Flagg is set to make a leap as a sophomore, particularly as a scorer. As a rookie, his then head coach Jason Kidd asked Flagg to become the point guard for the Mavericks. Flagg tried to do so, to his credit, but his best skill is being a scorer. This season, the new coaching regime wants Flagg to maximize his scoring. And Kyrie Irving is back to run the point and create offense for Flagg and the rest of the Mavericks. Flagg's scoring should increase markedly, starting with tonight.
Jalen Green 20+ points (-116): Green battled a hamstring injury for most of last season, leading to his lowest scoring season since his rookie campaign at 17.8 PPG. In the three full seasons before, Green averaged 20.9 PPG with Houston. Last season, his first with the Phoenix Suns, he started getting healthy down the stretch and averaged 22.9 PPG in the 16 games starting March 6. He should be a big scorer this season, and he's facing a Portland Trail Blazers team tonight without a lot of size on the wing. The 6-foot-8 Green should be able to get plenty of good looks tonight.
Projections and Injury Reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic
7 p.m. ET
Line: Hawks +2.5 (-112) | Magic -2.5 (-108)
Money line: Hawks +110 | Magic -130
Total: 233.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Magic by 0.9, straight up 53%, 228.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Hawks: RayJ Dennis (GTD); Mouhamed Gueye (GTD)
Magic: Anthony Black (GTD); Jonathan Isaac (GTD); Noah Penda (GTD)
Milwaukee Bucks at Washington Wizards
7 p.m. ET
Line: Bucks +4.5 (-105) | Wizards -4.5 (-115)
Money line: Bucks +145 | Wizards -175
Total: 238.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Wizards by 4.9, straight up 65%, 233.7 total points.
Injury Report:
Bucks: None reported
Wizards: Jamir Watkins (OUT); Alex Sarr (GTD); Anthony Davis (GTD); Trae Young (GTD)
Minnesota Timberwolves at Miami Heat
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Timberwolves +1.5 (-112) | Heat -1.5 (-108)
Money line: Timberwolves +102 | Heat -122
Total: 240.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Heat by 0.5, straight up 52%, 232.8 total points.
Injury Report:
Timberwolves: Donte DiVincenzo (OUT)
Heat: Myron Gardner (GTD)
Charlotte Hornets at Brooklyn Nets
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Hornets -1.5 (-108) | Nets +1.5 (-112)
Money line: Hornets -118 | Nets -102
Total: 219.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Hornets by 3.2, straight up 60%, 222.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Hornets: Grant Williams (GTD); Kon Knueppel (GTD)
Nets: None reported
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Bulls +10.5 (-112) | Raptors -10.5 (-108)
Money line: Bulls +340 | Raptors -440
Total: 237.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Raptors by 9.2, straight up 76%, 229.0 total points.
Injury Report:
Bulls: Zach Collins (GTD)
Raptors: Brandon Ingram (OUT); Alijah Martin (GTD); Chucky Hepburn (GTD)
Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies
8 p.m. ET
Line: Jazz +1.5 (-108) | Grizzlies -1.5 (-112)
Money line: Jazz +110 | Grizzlies -130
Total: 242.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Jazz by 0.7, straight up 52%, 239.7 total points.
Injury Report:
Jazz: Jaren Jackson Jr. (GTD)
Grizzlies: Santi Aldama (GTD); Scotty Pippen Jr. (GTD); Walter Clayton Jr. (GTD); Zach Edey (GTD); Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (GTD)
Indiana Pacers at New Orleans Pelicans
8 p.m. ET
Line: Pacers -3.5 (-108) | Pelicans +3.5 (-112)
Money line: Pacers -155 | Pelicans +130
Total: 239.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Pacers by 3.6, straight up 61%, 233.5 total points.
Injury Report:
Pacers: None reported
Pelicans: Micah Peavy (GTD); Trey Alexander (GTD)
Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets
8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Mavericks +9.5 (-105) | Rockets -9.5 (-115)
Money line: Mavericks +340 | Rockets -440
Total: 230.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Rockets by 7.7, straight up 72%, 225.3 total points.
Injury Report:
Mavericks: Dereck Lively II (GTD); Kyrie Irving (GTD)
Rockets: None reported
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers
10 p.m. ET
Line: Warriors +6.5 (-108) | Lakers -6.5 (-112)
Money line: Warriors +190 | Lakers -230
Total: 234.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Lakers by 9.9, straight up 77%, 227.1 total points.
Injury Report:
Warriors: Kristaps Porzingis (GTD); Jimmy Butler III (OUT); Moses Moody (OUT)
Lakers: None reported
Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers
10 p.m. ET
Line: Suns +2.5 (-108) | Blazers -2.5 (-112)
Money line: Suns +120 | Blazers -142
Total: 230.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Blazers by 2.7, straight up 58%, 224.4 total points.
Injury Report:
Suns: Mark Williams (OUT); CJ Huntley (GTD)
Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe (OUT)
Sacramento Kings at LA Clippers
10:30 p.m. ET
Line: Kings +5.5 (-118) | Clippers -5.5 (-102)
Money line: Kings +154 | Clippers -185
Total: 227.5 (-108 O, -112 U)
BPI Projection: Clippers by 4.5, straight up 64%, 229.4 total points.
Injury Report:
Kings: None reported
Clippers: Jordan Miller (OUT); Bradley Beal (GTD); Yanic Konan Niederhauser (OUT)