This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
We have a scant three games on the slate Saturday night, but they're all between teams with winning records and carry postseason implications to varying degrees. As such, it should be a "safe" night for rostering high-salaried players, and an additional piece of good news is a light injury report that doesn't detract further from an already small player pool
Slate Overview
Brooklyn Nets (-2) at Atlanta Hawks (O/U: 241.0 points)
Miami Heat (-2) at Chicago Bulls (O/U: 221.0 points)
Utah Jazz (-1.5) at Golden State Warriors (O/U: 219.0 points)
As just alluded to, it's very much a quality-over-quantity night in the Association on Saturday, with teams all over the postseason seeding ladder. The Nets-Hawks game features a pair of teams jockeying for final play-in level position, while the Heat is facing one of five teams that's technically still alive for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Warriors can't improve their position but can definitely still see it worsen. With just a 1-6 record in Stephen Curry's absence, Golden State is hosting a Jazz team that's one of those clubs that could still jump up and take away its No. 3 seed.
Injury Situations to Monitor
NOTE: Injury reporting is especially fluid in the NBA, where the status of multiple players can change during the course of a day. Therefore, although the following serves as a foundation for the latest injury report as of the time the article is written, check back throughout the course of the day with RotoWire for the latest news regarding the status of all players on that night's slate, including those carrying injury designations that aren't listed in this section.
Trae Young, ATL (groin): PROBABLE
Young is likely to play through his groin soreness and play his usual complement of minutes in a key game against the Nets.
Stephen Curry, GSW (foot): OUT
In Curry's ongoing absence, the red-hot Jordan Poole will draw another start at point guard.
Zach LaVine, CHI (knee): PROBABLE
If LaVine plays as expected, he should handle a normal workload.
Other notable injuries:
Bruce Brown, BKN (illness): QUESTIONABLE
John Collins, ATL (finger/foot): OUT
Ben Simmons, BKN (back/conditioning): OUT
Lonzo Ball, CHI (knee): OUT
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Kevin Durant ($11,000), Trae Young ($10,600) and Kyrie Irving ($10,300).
Durant has scored over 50 DK points in three straight, including a tally of 72.8 against the Pistons two games ago. He's also shot 59.5 percent against Atlanta over two prior games.
Assuming Young suits up as expected, he'll be facing a Nets team he's averaged 53.3 DK points against in two games this season despite shooting just 32.7 percent in the sample.
Irving has been a much better road performer thus far, averaging 46.2 DK points in 21 games compared to 37.7 in three home outings thus far. He's scored at least 40 DK points in two of the last three.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
DeMar DeRozan, CHI ($8,600)
DeRozan has scored 50.8 to 67.3 DK points in three straight games, which should keep him very popular Saturday.
Donovan Mitchell, UTA ($8,400)
Mitchell has scored over 40 DK points in four of the last five, and he's averaging 44.3 DK points in two prior games against the Warriors.
Jimmy Butler, MIA ($8,100)
Butler has averaged 38.4 DK points in two games against his old Bulls squad this season, and his upside and relatively reasonable salary should keep him in plenty of lineups.
Jordan Poole, GSW ($7,200)
Poole just scored 64.3 DK points against the Suns in his most recent game and had eclipsed 40 in three of the prior four as well, which, when combined with his very appealing salary, should keep him highly rostered.
Key Values
Andre Drummond, BKN at ATL ($6,000)
Drummond has scored 33.8 to 52 DK points in three of his past four games, and he posted a respectable 28.5 in the other game during that sample. The big man has been consistent enough to keep LaMarcus Aldridge in DNP status despite the fact he's now recovered from his recent hip injury, and Saturday, he faces a Hawks team that's allowed 54.2 DK points to centers in the last seven games. Drummond has also averaged 15.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals in nine career head-to-head matchups against Clint Capela, furthering his case at a salary he's already delivered over 5x return on in 19 games.
Kyle Lowry, MIA at CHI ($5,700)
Lowry has turned in some surprise clunkers this season, but he has several appealing aspects associated with him Saturday, beginning with his very reasonable salary. The veteran has also scored 27.8 to 45.8 DK points in six of his last seven games, and he's been more productive on the road (34.8 DK PPG) than at home (31.1 DK PPG). Finally, consider Lowry has averaged 43.0 DK points in two games against the Bulls while shooting 56.5 percent (58.3 percent from distance), and Chicago is allowing 50.6 DK points per game to point guards in the last 15.
Kevin Huerter, ATL vs. BKN ($5,300)
Huerter scored 31 to 36 DK points in his last four games, along with 34.5 two games before that stretch began. The sharpshooting wing is shooting 52.1 percent, including 55.8 percent from behind the arc, over the last six games overall, and he's shooting a jaw-dropping 70.0 percent, including 77.8 percent from distance, in two games against the Nets while putting up 27.3 DK points per outing. Brooklyn has also allowed NBA-high offensive efficiency to two-guards (24.3 percent), along with 44.4 DK points per game to the position in the last seven games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Draymond Green, GSW vs. UTA ($5,600)
