Happy Saturday and Happy NFL Playoffs! The football fun kicks off at 4:30 EST today, but don’t forget the Association and the seven-game slate they have on tap for us tonight! Luka Doncic has already been ruled out, as has rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. Desmond Bane also looks unlikely to face the Knicks tonight, so Memphis should be offering us some solid value as well. Enjoy!

With that said, let’s dive into this Wednesday’s games!

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer

TOP PLAY

Kyrie Irving (G – DAL): $9700 DK/$10,300 FD

There’s a lot to not like about tonight’s matchup for Kyrie Irving. New Orleans is ranked first in defensive rating in 2024, and Kyrie will likely have the Herb Jones individual matchup which could make life difficult. That said, it’s still almost impossible to fade him at under 10k on DraftKings. Luka Doncic has already been ruled out again, and Kyrie has a 35.7% usage rate over the last three games while posting DK scores of 70, 58.5, and 64.

CASH PICKS

Dejounte Murray (G – ATL): $7700 DK/$8200 FD

The only thing that should give you pause about playing Dejounte Murray tonight is the fact that his name has been swirling around the trade rumor mill. Otherwise, it’s wheels up. Murray has scored 20 or more in six straight games now while averaging 19 shots her game and posting a 26.3% usage rate. He gets the nuts matchup against Washington who is last in defensive rating, and this game has an O/U of 251.5

Devin Vassell (G/F – SAS): $7300 DK/$7000 FD

This is a pace-down game for the Spurs and it isn’t the best matchup against Chicago, but Victor Wembanyama‘s absence means everything here. The Spurs have turned this team over to Wemby, as shown by his 38% usage rate over the last six games. With him out tonight, Vassell will take on his usual handling role, and we’ve seen him post just under a 44% assist rate without Wembanyama. He’s a solid floor for cash at his price.

VALUE PLAYS

Tim Hardaway (G – DAL): $5800 DK/$6000 FD

It’s hard to depend on someone who needs to score to put up fantasy success (Hardaway does not contribute to the peripheral stats enough), but it’s also clear that he’s the number two option behind Kyrie Irving when Luka sits. He should avoid the Herb Jones matchup, and is coming off a 51-point DK game where he hoisted up 20 shots.

CHEAP GRIZZLIES!

It’s not a great idea to pick one at this point in the day, so we’ll just highlight the entire situation. Desmond Bane sprained his ankle last night and was quickly ruled out, so it would seem very unlikely that he plays this evening against the Knicks. If he does sit, he’ll join Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, Derrick Rose, Brandon Clarke, and Santi Aldama on the sidelines (not to mention Steven Adams who never even got to play). That’s going to leave some cheap guys to consider to initiate this offense, making them great value even against a strong Knicks defense.

My initial lean to see the biggest bump in both usage and assist rates would be either Luke Kennard or Jacob Gilyard, but Vince Williams and Xavier Tillman should also be locked into 30+ minutes. Zhaire Williams and David Roddy are also candidates for increased action.

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