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 Friday
The NBA enters the weekend with a nine-game slate of NBA Cup Group Play games. The marquee game in the early window of games is the Philadelphia 76ers on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In addition to two of the best teams in the East facing off, it's always fun to see LeBron James return to Cleveland.
The middle window features two of the Western Conference teams with only two losses facing off, with the surprising Memphis Grizzlies hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder have been devastated by early season injuries, but they've still righted the ship enough to play winning basketball around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In the late slot, the 7-2 Los Angeles Lakers play host to the 6-1 Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers are 4-1 at home, but the Trail Blazers are an undefeated 5-0 on the road, so something will have to give in tonight's matchup.
These and many other storylines will be on display tonight. As we do, let's dig deeper into the matchups to identify some fantasy streamer options and betting angles of interest.
Fantasy stream team
Available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues
Saddiq Bey, SF/PF, New Orleans Pelicans (rostered in 25.1% of ESPN leagues)
Bey is one of the better shooters/scorers on the Pelicans, and he seems to have found his groove off the bench. Over his past three outings, Bey has averaged 21.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG and 1.7 3PG in 30.3 MPG as a sixth man.
Jrue Holiday, PG/SG, Trail Blazers (45.3%)
Holiday is a big reason for why the Trail Blazers have played so well of late and lead the Western Conference going into tonight's game with the Lakers. He has taken on a more prominent role with Ja Morant injured, and over his past three games has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 4.3 APG in just under 24 MPG off the bench.
Cam Spencer, SG/PG, Grizzlies (10.7%)
While Ty Jerome has been an amazing scorer for the Grizzlies to start the season, Spencer has quietly been making his mark in the backcourt as well. He has at least seven assists in four straight games despite averaging only 25.5 MPG off the bench. He also remains a long-range shooting threat that contributes positively in points and rebounds as well.
Kingston Flemings, SG/PG, Atlanta Hawks (6.6%)
Flemings moved into the starting lineup for the Hawks on Wednesday, pushing CJ McCollum to the bench. He responded with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds in 23 minutes, his third double-digit scoring effort in his last four games. He has also notched at least four assists in five straight games and had a four-steal outing last week.
Dre's best bets for Friday
Philadelphia 76ers -2.5 (-110) at Cleveland Cavaliers
The 76ers have the best record in the NBA and have yet to lose a game in which their starting five have all played together. None of their five starters are on the injury report for tonight's game. The 76ers beat the Cavaliers by eight points when they played earlier this season and enter this game on a five-game winning streak with no win by fewer than five points. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have lost three of their last four games with each loss by at least three points.
Saddiq Bey 13+ points (-107)
Bey is in the midst of his best scoring streak of the season, with three straight games of at least 18 points scored while averaging 21.7 PPG over that stretch. He has scored at least 13 points in six of his eight games this season, and the Pelicans will rely on his scoring tonight against a strong opponent in the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Cam Spencer 5+ assists (-159)
Spencer made his name last season as a 3-point marksman, but he is quietly a strong distributor as well. He has dished at least five assists in five straight games, even in his role off the bench, and in his last four has ramped it up even further with 9.3 APG in that span.
Portland Trail Blazers +3.5 (-116) at Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are playing well to open the season with a 7-2 record and a +7.9 average scoring margin, but the Trail Blazers have the best record (6-1) and best scoring margin (+11.2) in the Western Conference thus far. Both teams are led by do-everything point-wings in Luka Doncic and Deni Avdija, respectively, but the Trail Blazers have been getting excellent play from their veteran backcourt of late, with Damian Lillard and Holiday really stepping up. That veteran leadership in the backcourt has led them to a 5-0 road record this season, including a seven-point road win over the Lakers in their first meeting.
Projections and injury reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks
7 p.m. ET
Line: Wizards +7.5 (-104) | Hawks -7.5 (-116)
Moneyline: Wizards +241 | Hawks -297
Total: 228.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Hawks by 7.2, straight up 71%, 229.0 total points.
Injury Report:
Wizards: Justin Champagnie (OUT); Jamir Watkins (OUT); Anthony Davis (GTD); Tristan Vukcevic (OUT); Reece Beekman (OUT)
Hawks: Jalen Johnson (GTD); Henri Veesaar (OFS); Jock Landale (OUT); Mouhamed Gueye (OUT)
Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets
7 p.m. ET
Line: Celtics -9.5 (-107) | Hornets +9.5 (-113)
Moneyline: Celtics -354 | Hornets +283
Total: 207.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Celtics by 9.6, straight up 77%, 213.2 total points.
Injury Report:
Celtics: Devin Carter (GTD); Payton Pritchard (GTD)
Hornets: Dennis Schroder (GTD); Moussa Diabate (GTD); Grant Williams (OUT); Kon Knueppel (OUT)
Philadelphia 76ers at Cleveland Cavaliers
7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Line: 76ers -2.5 (-110) | Cavaliers +2.5 (-110)
Moneyline: 76ers -148 | Cavaliers +125
Total: 229.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: 76ers by 2.1, straight up 57%, 231.9 total points.
Injury Report:
76ers: Ariel Hukporti (OFS); Adem Bona (GTD); Dominick Barlow (OUT)
Cavaliers: Jarrett Allen (GTD); Peyton Watson (GTD); Tyrese Proctor (GTD); Jaylon Tyson (OUT)
Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks
8 p.m. ET
Line: Jazz +6.5 (-102) | Mavericks -6.5 (-118)
Moneyline: Jazz +217 | Mavericks -264
Total: 224.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Mavericks by 5.2, straight up 66%, 230.9 total points.
Injury Report:
Jazz: Trey Alexander (OUT); Jusuf Nurkic (OUT); Jaren Jackson Jr. (OUT)
Mavericks: Max Christie (GTD); Santi Aldama (GTD); Dereck Lively II (OUT); Sergio de Larrea (OUT); Tarik Biberovic (OUT)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies
8 p.m. ET
Line: Thunder -4.5 (-104) | Grizzlies +4.5 (-117)
Moneyline: Thunder -170 | Grizzlies +142
Total: 223.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Thunder by 5.6, straight up 67%, 222.5 total points.
Injury Report:
Thunder: Chet Holmgren (OUT); Cason Wallace (OUT); Jalen Williams (OFS); Jaylin Williams (OUT); Nikola Topic (OUT); Thomas Sorber (OUT)
Grizzlies: Isaiah Stewart (OUT); Scotty Pippen Jr. (OUT)
Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks
8 p.m. ET
Line: Raptors -5.5 (-110) | Bucks +5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Raptors -221 | Bucks +183
Total: 230.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Raptors by 3.2, straight up 60%, 229.3 total points.
Injury Report:
Raptors: Scottie Barnes (GTD); Kawhi Leonard (OUT)
Bucks: Kam Jones (OUT)
Minnesota Timberwolves at New Orleans Pelicans
8 p.m. ET
Line: Timberwolves -3.5 (-117) | Pelicans +3.5 (-103)
Moneyline: Timberwolves -174 | Pelicans +146
Total: 230.5 (-108 O, -112 U)
BPI Projection: Timberwolves by 8, straight up 73%, 234.5 total points.
Injury Report:
Timberwolves: Donte DiVincenzo (OUT); Terrence Shannon Jr. (GTD); Anthony Edwards (OUT)
Pelicans: Trey Murphy III (GTD); Yves Missi (OUT)
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers
10 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Line: Blazers +3.5 (-116) | Lakers -3.5 (-104)
Moneyline: Blazers +130 | Lakers -154
Total: 231.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Lakers by 1.5, straight up 55%, 229.8 total points.
Injury Report:
Blazers: Vit Krejci (OUT); Shaedon Sharpe (OUT); Ja Morant (OUT)
Lakers: Sandro Mamukelashvili (GTD)
San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings
10 p.m. ET
Line: Spurs -16.5 (-115) | Kings +16.5 (-105)
Moneyline: Spurs -1180 | Kings +740
Total: 229.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Spurs by 17.7, straight up 90%, 229.1 total points.
Injury Report:
Spurs: Tobias Harris (OUT); Jayden Quaintance (OUT)
Kings: Ben Simmons (OFS); Keegan Murray (OUT); Maxime Raynaud (OUT)