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André Snellings
ESPN’s fantasy basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you set your lineups for that night’s games. Here you’ll read our best advice for the night, including a selection of players you can stream as well as game-by-game injury reports.
Jump ahead
Top streamers | Best bets | DFS picks | Odds & Injury report
The NBA has seven games on tap for this hump day, several of which with small subplots in addition to the action on the court.
The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets in the third LaVar Ball special of the season, with Lonzo and LaMelo Ball on opposite sidelines. But the bigger plotline may be the Hornets playing well enough to recently blow out the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road… the same Thunder team that just beat the Cavaliers by 32 on Monday.
Speaking of the Thunder, we get a rematch of last season’s NBA Cup tournament championship when they travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks. The teams have gone in opposite directions since the Bucks won that tournament, with the Thunder going on to win the championship last season and sporting the best record in the league this season. The Bucks, meanwhile, just broke a three-game losing streak with a win over the Atlanta Hawks and face big questions as the trade deadline approaches.
Questions also abound in New York for the most recent NBA Cup winners, where the Knicks have lost nine of their last 11 games. Tonight, they look to right the ship against their cross-town rivals — the Brooklyn Nets — who have lost seven of their last eight.
These and many other storylines will be on display tonight. As always, we’ll dig a bit deeper to find some fantasy streamers, betting angles and daily fantasy plays of interest.
Wednesday’s fantasy stream team
Sam Hauser, SF, Boston Celtics (rostered in 7.2% of ESPN leagues): Hauser has been scorching from behind the arc of late, knocking down 17 3-pointers in his last three games — including a whopping 10 against the Hawks on Saturday. The hot shooting has led to a three-game average of 21.0 PPG.
Jaylon Tyson, SG/SF, Cavaliers (25.4% rostered): Tyson has stepped up in the two games since Darius Garland went down, dropping 39 points against the 76ers and following that up with a 16-point/10-rebound double-double against the Thunder. In his last five outings overall, Tyson has averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 3.6 3PG.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, C, Toronto Raptors (13.0%): Mamukelashvili has stepped up in the last couple games after Collin Murray-Boyles injured his thumb, dropping 34 total points and 18 total rebounds in those contests. Murray-Boyles and Jakob Poeltl are both listed as questionable to play tonight, but Mamukelashvili could still end up getting big minutes if either/both are either sidelined or on minutes restrictions.
Jock Landale, C, Memphis Grizzlies (7.7%): Landale returned to a reserve role in his last game after six straight starts and didn’t miss a beat, turning in his second-highest scoring performance of the season with 21 points and 8 rebounds. All told, in his last seven games, Landale has averaged 12.6 PPG and 8.4 RPG with two double-doubles.
Dre’s bets for Wednesday
Jaylon Tyson OVER 15.5 points (-116)
Tyson has consistently stepped up as a scorer when Garland has been sidelined this season. In his last nine games without Garland, Tyson has averaged 21.4 PPG with at least 16 points in eight of the nine games… and 15 points in the ninth.
Michael Porter Jr. OVER 3.5 3-pointers (-129)
Porter is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the NBA, and since Dec. 1, he has averaged 4.4 3PG with at least four 3-pointers in nine of 12 games. Meanwhile, he’s facing a Knicks team that has been a sieve in their 3-point coverage this season. Just Monday they gave up eight 3-pointers to Max Christie of the Mavericks, and it’s been less than a month since they allowed Julian Champagnie to drop 11 3-pointers on them.
Thunder -9.5 (-110) at Bucks
Once again, these are teams moving in the opposite direction. The Thunder have won six of their last seven games, while the Bucks have lost three out of four with a scoring margin in that stretch of negative-54 points. The Thunder will be without the injured Jalen Williams, but this season they are 19-1 in games he has missed. Per our BPI stat, the Thunder should be favored by 11.3 points, enough to cover the margin.
Top Daily Fantasy values of the day
$8,100+ salaries
Michael Porter Jr., SF, Brooklyn Nets ($8,700)
Porter has notched 40 or more fantasy points in 10 of his last 12 games, and he is facing a Knicks squad that is very vulnerable to the 3-pointers he specializes in.
$6,100-$8,000 salaries
LaMelo Ball, PG, Charlotte Hornets ($8,000)
Ball tends to have good games when playing against his brother. In his last three games against Lonzo Ball’s teams, LaMelo has averaged 22.3 PPG and 10.3 APG.
Jaylon Tyson, SG, Cleveland Cavaliers ($6,100)
In his last nine games without Darius Garland, Tyson has averaged 21.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.4 3PG.
$3,500-$6,000 salaries
Tobias Harris, SF, Detroit Pistons ($5,200)
Harris has played well since returning from injury, averaging more than 30 FP/G in those three games.
Jock Landale, C, Memphis Grizzlies ($5,000)
Landale has dropped more than 30 fantasy points in five of his last seven games, including 41 in his last outing.
Projections and injury reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Cleveland Cavaliers at Charlotte Hornets
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Line: Cavaliers -2.5 (-118) | Hornets +2.5 (-102)
Money line: Cavaliers -148 | Hornets +124
Total: 236.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Cavaliers by 2.6, straight up 58%, 239.3 total points.
Injury Report:
Cavaliers: Sam Merrill, (OUT – Hand)
Hornets: Tidjane Salaun, (GTD – Achilles); KJ Simpson, (OUT – Hip); Mason Plumlee, (OUT – Groin)
Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Pacers +10.5 (-105) | Celtics -10.5 (-115)
Money line: Pacers +370 | Celtics -485
Total: 225.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Celtics by 11.7, straight up 79%, 225.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin, (OUT – Thumb); Obi Toppin, (OUT – Foot); Tyrese Haliburton, (OFS – Achilles)
Celtics: Jaylen Brown, (GTD – Hamstring); Josh Minott, (OUT – Ankle); Jayson Tatum, (OUT – Achilles)
Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Nets +11.5 (-110) | Knicks -11.5 (-110)
Money line: Nets +410 | Knicks -550
Total: 220.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Knicks by 11.6, straight up 79%, 224.9 total points.
Injury Report:
Nets: Day’Ron Sharpe, (GTD – Illness); Haywood Highsmith, (OUT – Knee)
Knicks: None reported
Atlanta Hawks at Memphis Grizzlies
8 p.m. ET
Line: Hawks +1.5 (-110) | Grizzlies -1.5 (-110)
Money line: Hawks +105 | Grizzlies -125
Total: 239.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Grizzlies by 1.7, straight up 56%, 240.0 total points.
Injury Report:
Hawks: N’Faly Dante, (OFS – Knee); Kristaps Porzingis, (OUT – Achilles); Zaccharie Risacher, (OUT – Knee)
Grizzlies: Santi Aldama, (GTD – Knee); Ty Jerome, (OUT – Calf); , (OUT – Calf); Scotty Pippen Jr., (OUT – Toe); Zach Edey, (OUT – Ankle)
Detroit Pistons at New Orleans Pelicans
8 p.m. ET
Line: Pistons -9.5 (-110) | Pelicans +9.5 (-110)
Money line: Pistons -395 | Pelicans +310
Total: 235.5 (-105 O, -115 U)
BPI Projection: Pistons by 8.1, straight up 72%, 236.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Pistons: Caris LeVert, (GTD – Illness)
Pelicans: Herbert Jones, (GTD – Ankle); Jose Alvarado, (OUT – Oblique); Dejounte Murray, (OUT – Achilles)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Milwaukee Bucks
9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Line: Thunder -9.5 (-110) | Bucks +9.5 (-110)
Money line: Thunder -395 | Bucks +310
Total: 226.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Thunder by 11.3, straight up 78%, 227.0 total points.
Injury Report:
Thunder: Jaylin Williams, (GTD – Back); Alex Caruso, (OUT – Groin); Isaiah Hartenstein, (OUT – Calf); Jalen Williams, (OUT – Hamstring); Nikola Topic, (OUT – Groin); Thomas Sorber, (OFS – Knee)
Bucks: Kevin Porter Jr., (GTD – Oblique); Myles Turner, (GTD – Ankle); Taurean Prince, (OUT – Neck)
Toronto Raptors at Sacramento Kings
10 p.m. ET
Line: Raptors -5.5 (-112) | Kings +5.5 (-108)
Money line: Raptors -225 | Kings +185
Total: 224.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Raptors by 4.6, straight up 64%, 228.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Raptors: Collin Murray-Boyles, (GTD – Thumb); Ja’Kobe Walter, (GTD – Hip); Jakob Poeltl, (GTD – Back); RJ Barrett, (GTD – Ankle); Chucky Hepburn, (OUT – Knee)
Kings: Keegan Murray, (OUT – Ankle)