Indiana Pacers guard/forward Bruce Brown (knee) will rejoin the team's lineup on Wednesday versus the Milwaukee Bucks. Brown has missed five consecutive games due to a right knee bone bruise, but he will be back on Wednesday for the first time since Dec. 21. The 27-year-old Swiss Army knife's productivity has fluctuated in Indiana's top-ranked offense with a plethora of weapons around him, but he is still accumulating 11.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 threes per game. Brown does rank second on the Pacers with 30.7 minutes a night. Despite the possibility of a slight minutes cap against the Bucks, Brown should be activated and started in most season-long nine-category fantasy leagues in a game that boasts the highest implied point total (257.5) of Wednesday's huge 12-game slate.

The Brooklyn Nets have no intention of trading forward Mikal Bridges, and the organization wants to continue to add talent around him as a foundational piece to their roster, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Bridges' lauded "iron-man" status has carried into his first full year with Brooklyn, having not yet missed a single game in his career. The 27-year-old two-way star's late-season scoring binge after the Nets acquired him as the key coup of last February's Kevin Durant trade, however, is beginning to look a bit flukey. Although the front office appears to value him as a building block, Bridges has experienced a considerable drop in points (20.9) and turnovers (2.4) per game as well as free-throw percentage (83.2%) from last year's second half. With that said, Bridges is still a head-to-head fantasy gem for his exceptional ability to stay on the court.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (knee/wrist) will play on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. Middleton is banged up with a sprained left wrist that he underwent surgery on during the summer of 2022, and the Bucks are also managing his right knee that was operated on this past offseason, but he will suit up for Wednesday's likely up-tempo game that features a massive 257.5-point implied total. The 32-year-old three-time All-Star is starting to shake off early-season rust and round into form, tallying 18.5 points, 5.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.1 three-pointers in 31.0 minutes across his latest 11 contests, effectively closing his fantasy buy-low window. Middleton's DFS salary is on the rise, and he carries plenty of appeal against a Pacers team allowing an NBA-worst 50.4% opponent field-goal percentage.

Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (tailbone) has officially been downgraded from doubtful to out on Wednesday versus the Miami Heat. Russell did not participate in the morning shootaround with a tailbone contusion, which was a harbinger for things to come. Russell will aim to suit up when the Lakers continue a five-game homestand on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Recently demoted to L.A.'s bench, the 27-year-old former All-Star is stumbling to his fewest points per game (14.8) since Year 1 in his first full season of his second stint in Tinseltown during 2023-24. Though Russell is becoming a popular fantasy drop, we would recommend holding DLo in most leagues unless his role really goes off the rails. After putting up 20 points and nine assists in 36 minutes off the bench on Sunday, Austin Reaves looks like the team's primary facilitator alongside LeBron James (illness) for now.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (knee) is in danger of missing his third straight outing in Wednesday's tilt versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. Murphy is listed as questionable due to soreness in his left knee, and his status could come down to a game-time decision closer to Wednesday's 8:00 p.m. tip-off. If he is unable to give it a go, the 23-year-old marksman's next chance to play would come on Friday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers. Herbert Jones has taken on expanded usage for the Pelicans in games that Murphy has been out of New Orleans' lineup this season, contributing 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 three-pointers, and 2.9 combined steals plus blocks in 30.7 minutes over those 19 games.