Fantasy basketball tips and projections for Saturday - ESPN

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. Fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.

New this season, ESPN Analytics will also generate daily NBA fantasy projections. By combining historical player and team data and specific game factors ESPN is able to accurately predict player box score stats. Accounting for injuries, trends in playing time, and other factors impacting future performance the statistical models can be used to help NBA fantasy players gain an edge in their league.

The key fantasy stories from Friday were driven by a series of unfortunate injury outcomes.

The Suns' star-driven experiment continues to face issues, as Bradley Beal suffered what looked like a significant ankle injury coming down from a jumper in Friday's loss to the New York Knicks. We'll learn more about this injury in the coming days, although scoring wing Eric Gordon (16.8% available) should see more sustainable fantasy value if Beal misses more time. Jalen Brunson tallied a career-high 50 points in the contest for New York, while savvy pickupIsaiah Hartenstein (7.4%) collected eight boards and three blocks as the team's top center.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were dealt big blows with news that Darius Garland with be out least a month with a fractured jaw, while Evan Mobley could miss up to two months because of knee surgery. Caris LeVert (60%) will likely see the largest uptick in both minutes and usage going forward. The Cavaliers host the Atlanta Hawks Saturday night in a game with an inviting total of