Fantasy basketball tips and projections for Friday - 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.

After a small four-game night on Thursday, Friday's schedule is not only bigger and better with seven games, but it also marks the tip-off of the first ever NBA in-season tournament, meaning every game will have a little more meaning than it normally would.

Teams are split into three pools of five teams each in the East and West. East matchups on Friday include the Cavaliers at the Pacers, the Knicks visiting the Bucks for the early ESPN game, the Wizards at Miami and the Nets taking a trip to the Windy City (Chicago).

Injury questions in the East include: Darius Garland (hamstring), Caris LeVert (hamstring), Tyrese Haliburton (ankle), Jalen Smith (knee), RJ Barrett (knee), Daniel Gafford (ankle), Corey Kispert (ankle), Spencer Dinwiddie (ankle), Nic Claxton (ankle) and Dennis Smith Jr. (hip). All are listed as game-time calls, while Cameron Johnson (calf) is still out for Brooklyn and Jimmy Butler (knee) is expected to play for the Heat.

In the West, the Warriors are at Oklahoma City in one of the games of the