There’s a 14-game slate tonight and there’s a ton of shit to sort through. It would be wise to break down your contests into multiple slates that way you can limit your mistakes. Maybe you screw it up on one slate and then break loose on another one. This is my advice, do what you want with it, but I’ve always had much better luck doing it that way. Good luck to all tonight, and I’ll be back with another breakdown for tomorrow afternoon for the Saturday slate.

Detroit Pistons @ Washington Wizards ( -2 ) – O/U: 209

Look at that! Right off the bat we got us some Brothers Morris action. I don’t expect Markieff Morris to play too much in this game, but you never know since this will be the Wizards’ second game in a three-day span. Marcin Gortat balled outrageous last night against the Jazz, who are one of the NBA’s best interior defenses. I think he can have a decent night against Andre Drummond, but on a massive 14-game slate I’ll look for a guy that didn’t play last night.

Detroit will have some good matchups to take advantage of since the Wizards give up three-pointers at a 39% clip, which is the highest in the NBA. That means guys like Stanley Johnson and Marcus Morris can take full advantage of that situation.

Dallas Mavericks @ Orlando Magic ( -1.5 ) – O/U: 205

It’ll be interesting to see how life after Tobias Harris goes for the Magic. He had moments for the team, but he certainly wasn’t the key cog in the engine; now that Harris is gone that’ll open up even more playing time for guys like Evan Fournier, Mario Hezonja and Aaron Gordon. My preferred plays are Victor Oladipo, Nikolva Vucevic and the aforementioned Gordon. I’d hold off on the two new guys that Orlando acquired in Brandon Jennings and Irsan Ilyasova for the time being- there’s really no telling exactly how many minutes they’ll play.

I think Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams and Chandler Parsons work for the Mavs tonight in their respective matchups.

New York Knicks ( -4 ) @ Brooklyn Nets – O/U: 201

If you look close enough at the upper deck, you’ll catch me at this game. I’ll be at an event ran by Barstool Sports where there’s open booze (for a predetermined set fee) and shit will get crazy fo’ sho. Oh yea, the game…

You’d think the Knicks would be larger favorites tonight, not because of their skill, but because of the Nets’ lack thereof; apparently Vegas doesn’t think they suck that much in this matchup. Maybe it has something to do with the Knicks losing six straight games and 10 out of their last 11. Regardless, the top player in this game is Carmelo Anthony and he’s the one I’d recommend rolling out.

I also like both sides of the Brothers Lopez battle, it just depends on whether you’d like to save money or spend up like the baller that you truly are deep down inside.

Philadelphia 76ers @ New Orleans ( -9 ) – O/U: 209.5

Anthony Davis should have a massive game, and if his performance is anything like the one he had in the All-Star Game, it’ll be a profitable night. The Sixers defense really isn’t that much better than the Eastern Conference All-Stars were on Sunday, so my bets are on AD coming out ferocious in this one. Jrue Holiday gets a revenge game and those are always fun, especially when your former team can’t play defense.

Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel have the chance to do something wonderful tonight at their respectively suppressed price tags.

Miami Heat @ Atlanta Hawks ( -8.5 ) – O/U: 196.5

I really don’t have much interest in this game on such a short slate, but there are a couple of interesting options for both sides.

The Heat will be without Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside, so Amar’e Stoudemire will get back to that role he played a couple of weeks ago where he went B-A-N-A-N-A-S on a cheap price tag. Head coach Erik Spolestra said Justise Winslow would see an increased workload going forward; let’s see if he’s a man of his word for once in his DFS life.

The Hawks are massive favorites and that should mean that their big guns – Paul Millsap, Al Horford and Jeff Teague should all get busy. They survived the trade deadline and can now focus on playing basketball. I really think the Hawks are going to make a strong second half push and that all starts tonight.

Indiana Pacers @ OKC Thunder ( -9 ) – O/U: 215

Big total in this game and me likey! Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are always tough to keep off your roster and tonight is no exception. You’ll have to choose between one or the other, and as is always the case, I’m going with the guy in the green suit that glides across the ground while drinking a Mountain Dew (great fucking commercial btw). Durant will be matched up against Paul George, and while PG13 won’t completely shut down Durant, he’ll surely give him some resistance.

Speaking of PG13, he’ll be a nice option in this game as well. With a total of 215, how could you not like that? Somewhere in the depths of my head, Kirk Cousins is screaming in the background. Monta Ellis is also a good play here as well.

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Memphis Grizzlies ( -4.5 ) – O/U: 203.5

Tough game to get a grasp on, mainly because I’m not sure how this new Memphis roster is going to play out. If they’re not signed up for a documentary in the next week or so, there’s seriously something wrong with the way our Earth is spinning. I’m calling dibs on their nickname right now and if I see any of you bastards using it, you owe me homage: Memphis Fight Club. Say it a couple times and let it all soak in…Memphis Fight Club.

OK, enough about those idiots for now. I like the guys in the paint on both teams, so for me, that means it’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng from the T-Wolves and Zach Randolph from the Grizz. I can see this being a very physical game and I don’t think it’ll hit the implied 203.5 total.

Toronto Raptors ( -7 ) @ Chicago Bulls – O/U: 202

The Bulls would like to take this time now to thank the NBA schedule makers for giving them the top two teams in the Eastern Conference right out of the All-Star break on back-to-back nights. I will be accepting the award on their behalf. Thank you, thank you!

This never would’ve happened if Michael Jordan were still on the team.

Speaking of those beaten Bulls, I like Pau Gasol tonight the most from this team. Yes, Derrick Rose sees his usage rate go up when Jimmy Butler is out, but he’s not very good on the back-end of back-to-backs this season and Kyle Lowry is a pretty damn good defender. Y’all can thank me later.

Lowry and his BFF Demar DeRozan both have tremendous matchups tonight and you’ll benefit greatly by having one of the two in your lineup. The question is whether or not you can fit them in.

Charlotte Hornets ( -1 ) @ Milwaukee Bucks – O/U: 202

Nicolas Batum is my favorite play from the Hornets. I have nothing clever to say about Frenchie, but the dude just flat out gets it done. Be cautious on Kemba Walker since Milwaukee has done well defending opposing point guards this season, 8th best in the NBA. I’m not saying to sit him, just know there’s more favorable matchups on the slate. Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller could get busy on the boards against the Bucks, who are one of the worst teams in the league in that regard.

For the Bucks, it seems like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe would be the go-to guys. I’m not particularly high on any of them tonight, but I’ll let you do the investigating.

Houston Rockets ( -8 ) @ Phoenix Suns – O/U: 215

We saw this matchup about two weeks ago and James Harden struggled mightily in that contest. I’m not worried about The Beard at all and he should actually see a drop in ownership percentage tonight because of that recency bias. Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza can also have big performances, and my main man, Patrick Beverley, is a solid source of value in this matchup.

Speaking of value, the Suns are full of it as usual. Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin and PJ Tucker are all viable options. The Rockets are one of the worst defensive teams in all the NBA, so this is a great way to be able to maneuver multiple studs in your lineup tonight. Also, look out for the news on whether it’s Jon Leuer or Mirza Teletovic getting the start at power forward tonight. With Markieff Morris out of the picture, they’ll see a good chunk of minutes.

Denver Nuggets @ Sacramento Kings ( -4 ) – O/U: 218

Loads of scoring are on deck for this contest and the four-point spread indicates we’ll have a competitive game tonight. Obviously, you wouldn’t mind having some exposure to DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo, but Darren Collison is also becoming a beneficial player of late.

For the Nuggets, I really like Danilo Gallinari in this matchup and Nikola Jokic could be primed for a big game as well. Emmanuel Mudiay has been adjusting to the NBA life quite nicely in his last couple games without Jameer Nelson and he is a viable play tonight. Don’t be surprised if the Nuggets win this outright tonight.

Golden State Warriors ( -9 ) @ Portland Trail Blazers – O/U: 220

If I said anything bad about the Warriors, I’d lose all credibility as a minor league journalist, so I won’t. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut – in my best Forrest Gump voice, “And that’s all I got to say about that.”

Damian Lillard will have a lot on his plate tonight, but that’s a good thing. The 220 total is the highest on the 14-game slate and I think he’ll have a chip on his shoulder after being snubbed from the All-Star team and the Warriors’ up-tempo pace is his best friend tonight. I also like Al-Farouq Aminu in this contest somewhat; he’ll be all over the court in a variety of settings and that should work well on his suppressed price tag.

San Antonio Spurs ( -14 ) @ Los Angeles Lakers – O/U: 205

Props to you if you didn’t get Popped last night, because you were one of the few. Kawhi Leonard is already listed out, so this opens up some other plays. My whole mindset is thrown off now since this is LA and it’s the back-end of a back-to-back so who the hell knows what’s going to happen. LaMarcus Aldridge should be safe, as well as Danny Green.

Kobe Bryant went off the last time these two faced each other; I don’t see that happening again. I really don’t like using players against the Spurs, so if you want to take the leap of death, be my guest.

Boston Celtics ( -1 ) @ Utah Jazz – O/U: 196

This matchup is interesting because Utah finds themselves coming back West after a rescheduled game in the nation’s capital last night. Not only did they have to come across the country, but they also have one the better teams in the league waiting there to face them. I think the Celtics take it to the Jazz tonight, pick em’ line be damned.

Isaiah Thomas finds himself in a pretty good spot for the Celtics and he’d be the one I’d recommend here. Evan Turner is also a viable option.

As we all know, I’m a huge fan of putting centers in my lineup that are going against the Boston Celtics, so Rudy Gobert will be bestowed that honor tonight. Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward could also be good plays. Last week I talked about teams on the back-end of back-to-backs relying more on their jump shooters and here we are with this situation. Do with it as you feel applicable.