Wednesday night's NBA slate features 10 games with injuries and questionable players. We'll analyze the following two:
- Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers: 10:30 p.m. ET
- San Antonio Spurs at Atlanta Hawks: 7:30 p.m. ET
Note: The information below is as of 2:30 p.m. ET. For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out our live news feed and follow us on Twitter.
Lakers SG Brandon Ingram (Shoulder) Is Questionable, PF Kyle Kuzma (Ankle) Is Out
Injury background: Ingram was a late addition to the injury report on Monday and wound up missing the game due to a sore shoulder that occurred during shootaround.
Kuzma received a clean MRI on his right ankle and is considered day-to-day moving forward.
Lance Stephenson (toe) is also questionable and Tyson Chandler (neck) has been ruled out.
Tonight's impact: Los Angeles has only five wins in its past 18 games and is currently 5.5 games outside of the playoff picture in the West.
On the heels of a third consecutive loss, coach Luke Walton revealed that he had only eight bodies available for on-court practice on Tuesday. In addition to the injured players, LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, and Josh Hart were held out of practice.
JaVale McGee is a candidate to remain in the starting lineup with Kuzma sidelined, while Josh Hart could also start if Ingram is unable to play. Mike Muscala should benefit from an uptick in playing time, but has failed to record 15 DraftKings points in a single game since joining the Lakers.
Rondo and James have been the primary cash game options lately, but Rondo's salary increased by 23% on FanDuel to $7,500 to push him out of cash game consideration. However, he remains affordable on DK at $6,000 and he has reached at least 48 DK points in three of his past four games.
James has provided a FantasyLabs +6.71 DK Plus/Minus over his past 10 games and offers a high floor due to obscene minutes and increased rates. With Kuzma and Lonzo Ball (ankle) off the court this season, James has benefitted from a +4.4% usage rate increase and averages a team-high 1.46 DK points per minute, per our NBA On/Off tool.
The Lakers are six-point underdogs as of writing (see live odds here) and have just a 1% chance to make the playoffs according to FiveThirtyEight, meaning starters could once again log heavy minutes in a must-win spot.
The Nuggets have also lost three consecutive games but carry the league's second best Defensive Rating since the All-Star break. They have a +4.8 Net Rating over that span while the Lakers rank 29th with a -5.0 Net Rating.
Hawks C Dewayne Dedmon (Knee) Is Doubtful, PF John Collins (Illness) Is Probable
Injury background: Dedmon is dealing with a right knee contusion and is doubtful to play against the Spurs.
Collins has missed the previous three games due to an illness but has been upgraded to probable, while Taurean Prince will return after a two-game absence for personal reasons.
Tonight's impact: Alex Len has started each of the past two games with Collins and Omari Spellman (ankle) sidelined, and he figures to remain in the starting lineup with Dedmon unlikely to play.
Len flashed upside with back-to-back games with at least 45 FD points before crashing to 8.8 FD points on Monday. His salary remains affordable on FD at $4,100 and his ownership could take a hit after the previous dud, making him an appealing play in all formats.
Len's downside on Monday was largely due to the Heat playing small, eliminating the need to play Dedmon and Len together and resulting in Alex Poythress logging minutes at center.
Kent Bazemore benefitted from Prince's absence but will likely return to a reserve role, lowering his floor for cash games. DeAndre Bembry has exceeded his salary-based expectation in seven straight games, but his value will also diminish with Prince back in the lineup.
Trae Young is in the midst of his best stretch of the season and his salary has dropped to $8,400 on FD after a string of poor performances. However, the pricing algorithm failed to factor in Young's recent first-half ejection that led to an abysmal score.
Collins joins Young and Len as intriguing targets in Wednesday's 10-game slate, as he'll face a thin Spurs' frontcourt without Jakob Poeltl (hamstring) and Pau Gasol (buyout).
The Hawks' Net Rating is essentially the same with Dedmon on and off the court, and Len rates as a slightly better defender this season in Defensive Real Plus-Minus.
A slate-high 235.5 total makes it difficult to bet on the over, but the Spurs rank 29th in Defensive Rating on the road and the Hawks have seen an increase in pace with Dedmon off the court this season.
