This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a solid seven-game slate on tap Friday night, one that features some potential lopsided games but some high projected totals as well. The injury report has a couple of particularly prominent names on it, while some noteworthy longer-term injuries persist despite the teams in action having had several days off due to this week's NBA Cup-impacted schedule.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Friday, Dec. 12 @12:00 p.m. EST:
Chicago Bulls (-3) at Charlotte Hornets (O/U: 228.5)
Atlanta Hawks at Detroit Pistons (-7) (O/U: 232.5)
Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers (-7) (O/U: 224.5)
Cleveland Cavaliers (-15) at Washington Wizards (O/U: 242.5)
Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies (-7.5) (O/U: 242.5)
Brooklyn Nets at Dallas Mavericks (-8) (O/U: 221.5)
Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors (-1.5) (O/U: 230.5)
As alluded to already, there are some potential one-sided games (to varying degree) predicted by tonight's betting lines. Nevertheless, there's always the possibility of matters playing out much closer than predicted, and we're also heartened from a DFS perspective by the four games with projected totals north of 230 total points.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI (illness): QUESTIONABLE (now ruled out)
If Maxey is unavailable Friday, the usage for the rest of the starting five will naturally increase, and it's worth noting Joel Embiid projects to be part of that unit Friday. Jared McCain could also draw the start for Maxey at point guard.
Anthony Edwards, MIN (foot): QUESTIONABLE (now ruled out)
If Edwards can't suit up, Julius Randle should particularly see his usage increase, while Jaylen Clark could draw a start at shooting guard.
LaMelo Ball, CHA (ankle): OUT
In Ball's ongoing absence, KJ Simpson could draw a start at point guard, while the likes of Miles Bridges and Kon Knueppel should be due for big usage bumps.
Ja Morant, MEM (calf): PROBABLE
Morant's likely return from a 10-game absence will shift Vince Williams back to the bench and reduce the extra usage the rest of the starting five has been enjoying in his absence.
Other notable injuries:
Trae Young, ATL (knee): OUT
Alex Sarr, WAS (thigh): OUT
Kristaps Porzingis, ATL (illness): OUT
Jarrett Allen, CLE (finger): OUT
Draymond Green, GSW (personal): OUT
Ayo Dosunmu, CHI (thumb): OUT
Joel Embiid, PHI (knee): PROBABLE
Coby White, CHI (calf): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have four players with a five-figure salaries on Friday's slate – Jalen Johnson ($10,800), Tyrese Maxey ($10,600), Cade Cunningham ($10,500) and Anthony Davis ($10,400).
Johnson will continue to play without Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis on Friday and checks in with four tallies of more than 64 FD points in his last five games, which explains the significant salary increase he's seen recently.
Maxey's status will need to be monitored since he's now questionable due to illness, but if he's active, he'll be looking to add to a stretch where he's exceeded 57 FD points in three of the last five games.
Cunningham has four tallies of more than 58 FD points in his last seven games, and he draws another good matchup against a short-handed Hawks squad.
Davis bounced back from a forgettable showing against OKC two games ago to post 50.6 FD points against the Rockets the following night, his third showing of more than 50 in the last four contests.
Go to RotoWire's NBA Daily Starting Lineups and NBA News for up-to-the-minute information!
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Anthony Edwards, MIN ($9,700)
If Edwards is cleared to play through his foot injury, he should be very popular after posting 55.8 FD points in 38 minutes against the Suns and exceeding 50 in three of the last six contests overall.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($9,600)
Mitchell should remain locked into plenty of lineups as usual after a stretch where he's averaged 46.5 FD points over his last nine games.
Josh Giddey, CHI ($9,500)
Giddey typically offers one of the safest floors in the upper echelon of the slate, and even though he's had a couple of down games recently, he'll be well-rested and in a favorable matchup against the very short-handed Hornets backcourt.
Michael Porter, BKN ($9,300)
Porter has been fantastic all season and checks in with three consecutive tallies of more than 53 FD points, which should lock in a high roster rate Friday.
Miles Bridges, CHA ($8,000)
Bridges posted 46.8 FD points last time on the floor and will once again be playing without LaMelo Ball, which should lock in plenty of usage and a high rostering rate.
Key Values
Kyle Filipowski, UTA at MEM ($6,100)
Filipowski's salary has been creeping up with good reason recently, as the second-year big is having a solid season overall and checks into Friday on a particularly productive stretch of play. Filipowski is averaging 27.8 FD points over his last 12 games, delivering a 11.9 points (on 54.2 percent shooting), 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists across 24.9 minutes per contest. The Duke product has also drawn starts in two of his last three games and made excellent use of the opportunity, providing 37.1 and 44 FD points in that pair of contests while shooting a blistering 72.7 percent. Filipowski's outlook is solid irrespective of where he slots into the rotation Friday, as the Grizzlies are allowing 48.3 FD points per game to power forwards, along with the eighth-highest offensive efficiency rating to the position (29.2).
Jaylen Wells, MEM vs. UTA ($5,200)
Ja Morant is projected to make his return for Memphis on Friday, but that could actually be a benefit to Wells in the form of less defensive attention. Wells has been thriving in Morant's absence, averaging 27.6 FD points over the last seven games while shooting an outstanding 62.5 percent, including 57.1 percent from behind the arc. While Wells' offensive role is bound to take somewhat of a hit with Morant's return, he's still drawing a favorable matchup in one of the highest-total games of the night against a Jazz team surrendering the eighth-most FD points per contest to small forwards in the last seven games (49.5), along with the third-highest offensive efficiency rating to the position (26.7) and 50.9 percent shooting to the position.
KJ Simpson, CHA vs. CHI ($5,200)
Simpson is likely to draw another start in place of LaMelo Ball on Friday after contributing 26.5 FD points over 29 minutes on the first unit in Charlotte's most recent game against Denver on Sunday. The second-year two-way player also went for 25.6 FD points off the bench two games against the Raptors, and Simpson garnered plenty of experience as a rookie last season while drawing 15 starts and generating 24.1 FD points per contest in that span. The Bulls have been relatively tough against point guards by some metrics, but Chicago is allowing 50.8 percent shooting over the last three games and have allowed the fifth-most steals per game on the season (9.3), with the latter figure particularly relevant considering Simpson's penchant for rounding out his fantasy production on the defensive end.
ALSO CONSIDER: Klay Thompson, DAL vs. BKN ($4,200)
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