NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Wednesday Playbook

It's Wednesday, January 21st, and we have a 5-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. 

We started the day with a fairly clean injury report, but midday downgrades for Cade Cunningham, Zion Williamson, and Santi Aldama have added some wrinkles to the news cycle. Let's break it all down. 

Before actually diving into the meat and potatoes, welcome to the NBA DFS season. If this is your first time reading our column on NBA DFS picks, I just want to welcome you and give you a few tips and tricks on what you should be looking for each night.

• News outlets: reliable sources that give us injury news & starting lineups
• Pace of play: who's playing fast vs. who's playing slow. Which teams get a pace-up spot (more possessions) vs. pace-down (fewer possessions)
• Usage rates: is a percentage of how many plays that player is being used in
• NBA DFS Projections
• Lineup Generator
• NBA Ownership

NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, January 21st

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Pre/Post-Lock Update Section

This section will be used for anything that changes from the morning until right up to roster lock. 

Injury updates, players we’re higher on than we were in the morning and so much more.

All status updates after contest roster lock will be made in the Fantasy Alarm Discord: https://discord.gg/2yATJxXe8G

6:15 PM ET UPDATE

• Cade Cunningham - OUT 
• Caris LeVert - OUT 

Detroit is now the top priority on the slate, with Jalen Duren the top overall play. Adding Jaden Ivey and Daniss Jenkins as Core value plays. 

2:00 PM ET UPDATE

• Cade Cunningham - Questionable (downgrade) 
• Zion Williamson - Questionable (downgrade)
• Day'Ron Sharpe - AVAILABLE 
• Herbert Jones - OUT
• Santi Aldama - Doubtful (downgrade)
• Tre Mann - Questionable (downgrade)

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 1/21

• CLE:
  Sam Merrill - Out
  Darius Garland - Out
  Max Strus - Out
• CHA:
  Tidjane Salaun - Probable
  Mason Plumlee - Out
• BKN:
  Day'Ron Sharpe - Questionable
  Haywood Highsmith - Out
• NYK:
  None
• IND:
  Bennedict Mathurin - Out
  Obi Toppin - Out
  Tyrese Haliburton - Out
• BOS:
  Jaylen Brown - Probable
  Jayson Tatum - Out
• ATL:
  Kristaps Porzingis - Out
  Zaccharie Risacher - Out
• MEM:
  Santi Aldama - Questionable
  Brandon Clarke - Out
  Zach Edey - Out
  Ty Jerome - Out
  Scotty Pippen Jr. - Out
• DET:
  Caris LeVert - Questionable
• NOP:
  Herbert Jones - Questionable
  Jose Alvarado - Out
  Dejounte Murray - Out
   

h/t @UnderdogNBA

NBA DFS Slate & Game Overviews

In the section below, I’m listing the most notable things we need to look at in Las Vegas, including notable O/U and spreads. Not every game is listed, but every game listed has the pace and defensive numbers listed.

NBA DFS Core Player Pool & Lineup Picks

Here are the core players I’m looking at for my NBA DFS picks tonight. You can see the full analysis of tonight’s NBA DFS projections and player pool below or skip ahead to building the best lineups possible by locking these into the aforementioned lineup generator now.

High

• Jalen Johnson, Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell 

Mid

• Pascal Siakam, Zion Williamson (if active), Ja Morant, Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Duren, Brandon Miller, Jaylon Tyson

Value

• Ausar Thompson, Cedric Coward, Neemias Queta, Tobias Harris, Jock Landale, Duncan Robinson, Jaden Ivey, Daniss Jenkins 

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