Fantasy basketball tips and NBA betting picks for Wednesday

ESPN's fantasy basketball and basketball betting tips cheat sheet is your pregame destination for basketball betting predictions and our best intel and data, featuring ESPN's proprietary Basketball Power Index (BPI) to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds for TODAY'S DATE are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.

The All-Star game was famously spiritless, but real NBA action resumes tonight with a robust nine-game slate. The fantasy playoffs are set to begin as early as next week in some formats, so we are truly in the stretch run of the campaign.

Basketball's break isn't an actual midseason affair, as each team has between just 21 and 25 remaining games. ESPN's Fantasy's NBA schedule grid serves as a helpful resource for those in weekly formats, as it's crucial to maximize games played as stakes rise.

Among Eastern Conference teams, only the Philadelphia 76ers, who claim the toughest remaining strength of schedule, have as many as 25 games left. In the West, we find the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Sacramento Kings with 25 remaining. Games played isn't an end-all differentiator, especially since compressed schedules often result in load management decisions, but identifying teams with balanced and busy schedules does prove important in a hobby that values statistical volume.

A few names stand out tonight as streaming and DFS values who might even claim sustained value. Talen Horton-Tucker (93% available in ESPN leagues) has assumed much more playmaking work for the Utah Jazz in the wake of Mike Conley's departure; he's tallied at least seven dimes in four straight and should log more than 30 minutes against the Thunder on