Tuesday’s NBA slate features seven games, and the action on DraftKings gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET. Let’s dive into some of the top plays, strategies and injuries to monitor heading into lineup lock.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $450K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
Point Guard
Worth Paying Up For: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers vs. New Orleans Pelicans ($10,800)
Tonight’s game between the Blazers and Pelicans figures to be chock-full of fantasy goodness. Both teams are excellent on the offensive end of the court, and both teams are also horrendous on defense. The total on that game currently sits at 240.5 points, which is the top mark on the slate by a sizable margin.
That should make Lillard a very popular target to pay up for. The Pelicans have struggled mightily against point guards, and Lillard has been a stud recently. He’s played at least 37.1 minutes in three of his past four games, and he’s increased his production to 1.48 DKFP per minute over the past month. C.J. McCollum is expected to return to the lineup – which definitely hurts Lillard’s fantasy stock – but he will likely be limited in his first game back.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Tomas Satoransky, Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder ($3,600)
Satoransky stands out as one of the best values of the day at $3,600. He’s coming off 33.5 DKFP in his last outing, and he’s played at least 25 minutes in two of his past three games. That’s not a ton of playing time, but it’s definitely reasonable for his salary. Satoransky has also averaged 0.88 DKFP per minute this season, which makes him more productive than the typical player in this price range.
Shooting Guard
Worth Paying Up For: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder @ Chicago Bulls ($8,800)
SGA has been priced up a bit, but that will happen when you score at least 30 points in three straight games. He has the potential for another big game vs. the Bulls, who rank sixth in pace and 16th in defensive efficiency this season. The Thunder will be without Al Horford and Darius Bazley in this contest, and SGA has increased his usage rate by +5.1% with both players off the court this season. The result is an average of 1.35 DKFP per minute, which puts him on par with some of the best fantasy scorers on the slate.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Reggie Bullock, New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers ($3,800)
Bullock has played a ton of minutes for the shorthanded Knicks recently. He’s coming off more than 42.3 minutes yesterday vs. the Nets, and he racked up 32.0 DKFP in that contest. Bullock remains very affordable at $3,600, so he’s a strong option as long as Derrick Rose and Elfrid Payton are out of the lineup once again.
Small Forward
Worth Paying Up For: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves ($10,500)
LeBron has been as dominant as expected with Anthony Davis out of the lineup, but he’s still averaged 1.48 DKFP per minute over the past month. That’s the second-highest mark among today’s players, trailing on Jimmy Butler’s mark of 1.54.
LeBron racked up a casual triple-double yesterday vs. the Warriors, finishing with 53.5 DKFP over just 30.5 minutes, and he has the potential for another big outing tonight vs. the Timberwolves. Minnesota has struggled defensively this season, ranking just 25th in defensive efficiency.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Aleksej Pokusevski, Oklahoma City Thunder @ Chicago Bulls ($4,400)
Pokusevski is someone you should get familiar with. He’s coming off a massive performance in his last game, finishing with 48.0 DraftKings points over 39.1 minutes, and he should be looking at another large workload tonight for the shorthanded Thunder. Pokusevski has averaged 0.83 DraftKings points per minute this season, so he’s underpriced at $4,400.
Power Forward
Worth Paying Up For: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans @ Portland Trail Blazers ($8,700)
Williamson has disappointed in three straight games, but I remain very bullish on his fantasy outlook. The Pelicans are making him more of a focal point on the offensive end of the court, which has allowed Zion to increase his production to 1.36 DKFP per minute over the past month. His playing time should bounce back tonight vs. the Blazers, and he has the potential for a huge performance in that matchup.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder ($6,000)
Markkanen has been extremely solid since returning from injury three games ago. He’s averaged 1.00 DKFP per minute, and he’s finished with at least 28.25 DKFP in all three contests. That makes him a reasonable option at $6,000 vs. the Thunder, who have struggled to defend opposing big men this season.
Center
Worth Paying Up For: Montrezl Harrell, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves ($6,200)
This doesn’t seem like a great day to pay up at center, so Harrell is about as expensive as I’m looking to go. He’s been fantastic over his past three games, and he’s averaged a stout 1.27 DKFP per minute over the past month. He should continue to see plenty of playing time in place of Davis, and the Timberwolves have struggled mightily against opposing big men this season.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Moses Brown, Oklahoma City Thunder @ Chicago Bulls ($3,500)
Brown stands out as one of my favorite value plays on the entire slate. He’s seen a solid handful of minutes recently with Horford and Bazley out of the lineup, and he’s averaged 1.09 DKFP per minute over the past month. He’s simply too cheap at $3,500.
Overall Lineup Strategy
The big question on today’s slate is how to approach the game between the Pelicans and Blazers. It’s going to be extremely chalky, so you’ll have to decide if you want to load up on it or fade it all together.
I personally like the idea of grabbing Williamson from that contest and then focusing on some of the other games on the slate. The Thunder and Bulls has some sneaky shootout potential, and the Thunder also have some excellent value options. LeBron James and the Lakers should also be able to do some serious damage vs. the Timberwolves, but there is some blowout concern in that game.
A core three of Williamson, LeBron, and Gilgeous-Alexander leaves you with an average of $4,400 for your remaining roster spots, and that is very doable. I’m also going to try my hardest to jam Harrell into my lineups, but that drops your remaining salary per player below $4,000.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $450K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
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