Griffin Wong dives into Wednesday’s six-game featured slate to find three players you need to put in your DraftKings lineups.
UPDATE: Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500) is out for tonight’s contest against the Denver Nuggets with a foot sprain.
Tonight’s six-game slate of NBA action should help clear up the playoff picture. There are three major playoff battles that have yet to be decided — the fight for the second seed in the Western Conference, where the Houston Rockets hold a two-game edge, the quest for the West’s six seed, and a three-team race for the East’s fourth seed that could be clarified today if the Indiana Pacers win and the Milwaukee Bucks lose.
There will be plenty of stars in action tonight, so it should be nothing if not exciting. Here are three players you need to have in your fantasy lineups:
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PG Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers at Indiana Pacers, $12,000
With Nikola Jokić ($12,500) unlikely to play against the Milwaukee Bucks, Dončić is the most expensive active player on tonight’s slate. The 26-year-old Slovenian has been brilliant in recent weeks, even if the Lakers have slumped to two straight losses since welcoming LeBron James ($10,300) back from his groin injury. Dončić had commanded a heliocentric share of Los Angeles’ offense with James out, but even since The King’s return, he has continued to stuff the stat sheet, dropping 34 points (53.5 FPTS) against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday and 32 (53.25 FPTS) two nights later in Orlando.
It won’t be easy against Indiana, which has won five straight games — the third-longest active win streak in the NBA — and has closed to within three games of the New York Knicks for third in the East. Since the start of 2025, the Pacers are 26-11 and have the league’s seventh-best net rating and eighth-best defensive rating, with both Tyrese Haliburton ($8,400) and Pascal Siakam ($8,200) playing some of the best basketball of their careers. Still, Indiana has been about league-average against opposing point guards from a fantasy perspective, and Haliburton — for all of his offensive brilliance — is a net-negative defender who lacks the strength required to contain Dončić.
PG/SG Quentin Grimes, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards, $9,100
Another former Dallas Maverick makes his way onto this list. Although the deal that sent Grimes to Philadelphia garnered much less critical reaction than the blockbuster that landed Dončić with the Lakers, Grimes has actually been almost as productive as the five-time All-NBA honoree. He’s the clear first option in a decimated 76ers squad that no longer has the services of Joel Embiid or Paul George — who are both out for the season — and Tyrese Maxey ($9,600), who’s nominally the team’s best player but has now missed 12 straight contests. Grimes has scored 25 or more points in nine of the 10 contests that he’s played since Maxey’s injury, and in his last five, he’s shooting 49.5% from the field and 40.8% from deep, averaging 30.6 points (50.6 FPTS).
Targeting Washington has become a norm for fantasy players, although the Wizards have improved somewhat in recent weeks. Since the All-Star break, they’re a respectable 6-11 with merely the league’s 14th-worst defense. But losing Bilal Coulibaly for the season has damaged Washington dramatically; in the eight games since his injury, the Wizards have reverted to having the 10th-worst defense while playing at the league’s fastest pace across that span. Without the young Frenchman, they have allowed the fifth-most points, most rebounds, and seventh-most assists, so Grimes — who’s averaged nearly five rebounds and more than five assists since Maxey went down — should put together a well-rounded performance.
PF/C Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks at Denver Nuggets, $11,500
Antetokounmpo is questionable with a foot sprain, which is a new issue for him. However, he’s been on the injury report prior to every single game since the All-Star break and hasn’t missed a game yet, so I’m pretty confident that he’ll play, especially with Milwaukee having the day off tomorrow. The two-time MVP has had somewhat of an under-appreciated season, but any player who’s averaged 27.7 points, 10.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 3.0 combined steals/blocks (56.5 FPTS) in his last six games is obviously a fantasy target. The Bucks will need Antetokounmpo more than ever now that his co-star, Damian Lillard, is done for the season with a blood clot in his calf.
Denver has surprisingly won two of its five games with Jokić sidelined, and the Nuggets have held onto the West’s third seed, but they’ll surely hope their MVP returns soon. Over that span, Denver has allowed the ninth-most points, eighth-fewest rebounds, and tied for the 14th-most assists, and although the assist mark in particular is cause for optimism, it’s been killed in the ways that are most suited for Antetokounmpo to exploit. For instance, the Nuggets have allowed the fourth-most points in the paint, the fourth-most points off turnovers, and the eighth-most fast break points in the league since Jokić’s injury. Antetokounmpo leads the league in points in the paint and fast break points, and he’s fourth in points off turnovers.
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