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 Saturday
The NBA celebrates Halloween by featuring teams named after birds, bugs, bears, wolves, and even a type of music during today's seven-game slate.
A spooky element of Saturday's schedule is the heavy influence of injuries, even though it is still October. The Minnesota Timberwolves, for instance, are without offensive anchor Anthony Edwards for multiple months and are consequently massive underdogs against the San Antonio Spurs tonight. The Utah Jazz are without two important big men, while a hamstring injury to Ja Morant will change the Portland Trail Blazers' rotation in this matchup with Utah.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been hit with waves of impactful injuries, the latest being All-Star pivot Chet Holmgren, who is sidelined for at least two months with a knee issue. Ajay Mitchell has already surfaced as a fantasy force in place of Jalen Williams, while a rookie center is relevant for today's game against the Houston Rockets.
This game in Houston (218.5) and tonight's meeting between the Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets (215.5) both sport distinctly low point totals, serving as clear outliers among the other contests.
We can still identify helpful fantasy players and prop plays from these games, but the lower offensive ceilings should be noted when building DFS lineups. Through the lens of point totals, today's game in Charlotte is projected to have 12% fewer total points scored than tonight's meeting between the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks.
With an eye toward uncovering compelling betting angles and fantasy decisions, let's take a look at the day ahead in the NBA.
Fantasy stream team
Players available in at least 50% of leagues
Isaiah Hartenstein, C, Oklahoma City Thunder (rostered in 23.5% of ESPN leagues)
It's not often we promote with several big men from the same team, but Holmgren's absence creates a major void for high-value two-way minutes. Hartenstein won't produce the block rate of his injured peer, but awesome rebounding and fun passing results are on the way now that he's the primary big in the rotation.
Jeremiah Fears, SG/PG, New Orleans Pelicans (41.6%)
Finding paths to this game could prove rewarding. The massive point total is supported by fast pace and poor defensive metrics between these teams. Fears, fittingly, has no fear when it comes to creating his own shot. A growing skill set setting up others helps to flesh out his fantasy profile. Even with Atlanta's talented defensive guards, Fears should see enough volume to deliver.
Tari Eason, SF/PF, Houston Rockets (14.5%)
A glue guy coming into his own, Eason is playing more minutes with Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun ailing. Capable of putting up center-like block numbers while cleaning the glass like a big man, as well, Eason's potential to produce a busy statistical line is impressive.
Aday Mara, C, Oklahoma City Thunder (12.5%)
It could take time for Mara to earn real playing time in a frontcourt rotation that somehow still has depth despite the absence of Holmgren. Mara does serve a unique role that Holmgren vacates; elite rim protector. For those seeking blocks and high-percentage offense, Mara might help right away. If he can top 20 minutes agains the Rockets, fantasy value should emerge.
Jim's bets to make on Saturday
Odds by DraftKings
and subject to change.
VJ Edgecombe OVER 6.5 rebounds (-119)
The Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the New York Knicks last night to open up the NBA Cup tournament. Joel Embiid wasn't very sharp, but his presence was important and notable in that he is set to sit at least one leg of back-to-back contests this season. It's unclear if the team has a fixed plan for managing LeBron James in such scenarios, but we can assume Edgecombe plays massive minutes in Charlotte either way. The second-year player was among the best rebounding guards in the entire league as a rookie and now walks into at least 10 potential rebounds in his role crashing the boards for Nick Nurse. It also helps that Nurse plays his starters more than any other coach in the league.
Jalen Johnson OVER 8.5 assists (+102)
This do-it-all forward paces his team with 13.2 potential assists per game. Lately, he's topped 15 in several games thanks to a rare ability to control possessions from end to end. The Pelicans are porous on defense and could struggle to contain Johnson in transition, where he's known to pile up dimes. The huge point total offers room for Johnson to even flirt with triple-double results.
Cameron Boozer OVER 8.5 rebounds (+100)
The Sacramento Kings, even with Domantas Sabonis active, are 28th in rebounding percentage. Boozer, meanwhile, is already a double-double machine early into his career. With Memphis poised as sizable home favorites against a team with a shot-happy rookie prone to creating added rebounding chances, Boozer is in a great spot to clean the glass.
Projections and Injury Reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz
3 p.m. ET
Line: Blazers -8.5 (-110) | Jazz +8.5 (-110)
Money line: Blazers -340 | Jazz +270
Total: 232.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Blazers by 3.4, straight up 61%, 235.3 total points.
Injury Report:
Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe (OUT); Chris Youngblood (GTD); Robert Williams III (GTD); Ja Morant (OUT)
Jazz: Lauri Markkanen (GTDGTD); Jusuf Nurkic (OUTOUT); Trey Alexander (OUTOUT); Jaren Jackson Jr. (OUTOUT)
Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets
6 p.m. ET
Line: 76ers -1.5 (-112) | Hornets +1.5 (-108)
Money line: 76ers -130 | Hornets +110
Total: 215.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: 76ers by 7.4, straight up 72%, 216.3 total points.
Injury Report:
76ers: Ariel Hukporti (OFS); Jabari Walker (GTD); Jaylen Brown (GTD); Dominick Barlow (OUT); Tacko Fall (OUT)
Hornets: Coby White (OUT); Grant Williams (OUT); Kon Knueppel (OUT)
Atlanta Hawks at New Orleans Pelicans
7 p.m. ET
Line: Hawks -4.5 (-105) | Pelicans +4.5 (-115)
Money line: Hawks -180 | Pelicans +150
Total: 240.5 (-108 O, -112 U)
BPI Projection: Hawks by 5.7, straight up 67%, 238.4 total points.
Injury Report:
Hawks: Henri Veesaar (OFS); Mouhamed Gueye (OUT)
Pelicans: Jordan Poole (OUT); Yves Missi (OUT)
Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
8 p.m. ET
Line: Kings +8.5 (-112) | Grizzlies -8.5 (-108)
Money line: Kings +295 | Grizzlies -375
Total: 230.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Grizzlies by 10.4, straight up 79%, 232.4 total points.
Injury Report:
Kings: Ben Simmons (OFS); Dylan Cardwell (OUT); Keegan Murray (OUT); Maxime Raynaud (OUT)
Grizzlies: Quinten Post (GTD); Scotty Pippen Jr. (GTD); Ty Jerome (GTD)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks
8 p.m. ET
Line: Cavaliers -9.5 (-112) | Bucks +9.5 (-108)
Money line: Cavaliers -395 | Bucks +310
Total: 235.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Cavaliers by 8.3, straight up 74%, 237.3 total points.
Injury Report:
Cavaliers: Meleek Thomas (GTD); Jaylon Tyson (OUT)
Bucks: None reported
Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs
8 p.m. ET
Line: Timberwolves +12.5 (-115) | Spurs -12.5 (-105)
Money line: Timberwolves +440 | Spurs -600
Total: 227.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Spurs by 6.5, straight up 69%, 227.9 total points.
Injury Report:
Timberwolves: Donte DiVincenzo (OUT); Anthony Edwards (OUT)
Spurs: Tobias Harris (OUT); Jayden Quaintance (OUT)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets
8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Thunder +2.5 (-112) | Rockets -2.5 (-108)
Money line: Thunder +120 | Rockets -142
Total: 218.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Thunder by 1.7, straight up 55%, 217.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Thunder: Chet Holmgren (OUT); Cason Wallace (OUT); Jalen Williams (OFS); Alex Caruso (OUT); Nikola Topic (OUT); Thomas Sorber (OUT)
Rockets: Alperen Sengun (GTD); Reed Sheppard (GTD); Steven Adams (OUT)