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 leagues.

A seven-game Saturday schedule peaks this evening in the desert with a matchup featuring the Boston Celtics visiting the Phoenix Suns on ABC. The Suns' Devin Booker is likely to return from injury, so we will want to see how this lineup shift influences Royce O'Neale and the rest of the rotation.

Fantasy managers will want to prepare lineups prior to that marquee contest, given an afternoon tip that has the LA Clippers hosting the Chicago Bulls in a West Coast matinee. Chicago's combo guard Ayo Dosunmu (25.1% rostered in ESPN men's basketball leagues) is a name to consider from the waiver wire. We'll also want to track how the Clippers deploy their trio of stars, given that all are included as questionable on the initial injury report.

An evening tip between the Charlotte Hornets and the Brooklyn Nets doesn't usually inspire much attention, but active fantasy gamers are likely to realize Dennis Schroder (71.9%) is emerging as a statistical star for coach Kevin Ollie. ESPN's Steve Alexander, meanwhile, features