This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a high-stakes two-game slate Friday night that will decide the No. 8 seed in each conference. While the narrow player pool is a challenge to contend with as DFS players, there are plenty of big names on all four teams to choose from, star players' minutes are essentially assured, and the injury report is very light.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Friday, 4/18 @12:00 a.m. EDT:
Miami Heat (-1) at Atlanta Hawks (O/U: 218.5)
Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies (-6) (O/U: 220.5 )
We have what should be two highly competitive games on tap Friday, as even the Mavericks-Grizzlies game could certainly be closer than projected.
In terms of the regular season, the Hawks and Heat split their series 2-2, with Atlanta notching 10- and 12-point home victories and Miami prevailing by 22 and 10 points at Kaseya Center. Notably, three of those games finished with totals of 230, 234 and 240 total points.
The Grizzlies won their season series with the Mavericks by a 3-1 margin, with Dallas' only win coming by five points at home and with Luka Doncic still on the team. Meanwhile, Memphis posted victories of 15, 11 and 35 points. Three of the games finished with totals of 229 points or higher.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Ja Morant, MEM (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
In the unlikely event Morant, who's reportedly closer to probable, is out, Scotty Pippen (questionable-back) and Luke Kennard (questionable-knee) would be the candidates to handle point-guard minutes if they were available.
Other notable injuries:
Clint Capela, ATL (hand): OUT
Nikola Jovic, MIA (hand): QUESTIONABLE
Trae Young, ATL (Achilles): PROBABLE
Anthony Davis, DAL (groin): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have one player with a five-figure salary on Friday's slate - Anthony Davis ($10,700).
Davis is fully expected to play through his groin injury and posted 51.3 FD points against the Kings in Wednesday's victory and he'd also recorded 72.6 in his final regular-season game. He posted 48.3 and 67.2 FD points in his two previous meetings against the Grizzlies this season while still a member of the Lakers.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Trae Young, ATL ($9,600)
Young tallied 40.4 FD points in 39 minutes against the Magic before getting ejected, but he notably did struggle against the Heat this season by shooting only 35.0 percent versus Miami in four games.
Tyler Herro, MIA ($9,100)
Herro recorded 46 FD points against the Bulls in Wednesday's win and posted over 47 FD points in three of four games against Atlanta during the regular season.
Ja Morant, MEM ($8,900)
Assuming Morant is confirmed as available, he should be very popular given his upside and registered 47.8 FD points in his most recent game against Dallas on March 7.
Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,800)
Adebayo totaled 39.9 FD points in 35 minutes agains the Bulls on Wednesday and should be very highly rostered given the small slate and his appealing salary relative to upside.
Desmond Bane, MEM ($8,400)
Bane should be in plenty of lineups due to his typical body of work and his 47.2 FD points against the Warriors in Tuesday's Play-In loss.
Key Values
Andrew Wiggins, MIA at ATL ($6,800)
Wiggins was in fine form during Wednesday's big win over Chicago, compiling 45.8 FD points in 35 minutes while taking a robust 20 shot attempts. The veteran wing's performance supports the notion Wiggins will be a major factor in however long Miami's postseason run goes, and Friday, he'll face a Hawks team he posted between 26.5 and 35.3 FD points against in three meetings this season. Wiggins shot 49.1 percent, including 38.5 percent from three-point range, in those games, numbers that track almost perfectly with the 48.7 percent shooting, including 38.9 percent from distance, that Atlanta is conceding to small forwards.
P.J. Washington, DAL at MEM ($6,600)
Washington has averaged 31.5 FD points in his last 11 games dating back to March 16, a sample in which he's shot 52.2 percent, including 38.3 percent from behind the arc. The big man has also put up a well-rounded line of 17.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks during that sample, and he contributed 37.8 FD points against the Kings in Wednesday's Play-In victory. Washington put up 43.1 and 43.5 FD points in his two regular-season meetings with Memphis as well, and the Grizzlies are ranked No. 23 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to small forwards (24.2).
Davion Mitchell, MIA at ATL ($6,000)
Mitchell has found his groove in the Heat's system, averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 26.7 FD points across 31.7 minutes over his last 25 games. He's been even better with an average of 32.1 FD points and 54.3 percent shooting, including 44.4 percent from behind the arc, in eight April games. The Hawks could well facilitate another strong performance for Mitchell, considering they conceded tallies of 30.4 and 33 FD points in his two games against Atlanta as a member of the Heat. The Hawks also are ranked No. 24 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to point guards (28.3) and have given up 40.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc to the position. Moreover, Atlanta has surrendered 51.1 FD points per contest to ones in the last 30 games, as well as the fourth-most steals per home game on the season (9.6).
ALSO CONSIDER: Zach Edey, MEM vs. DAL ($6,500); Klay Thompson, DAL at MEM ($5,800)
