This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Tuesday's NBA slate begins at 7:00 PM Eastern time and features six games. The Thunder, Nets and Kings all played Monday, while the other nine teams come in fresh.
Slate Overview
Games to Target
Grizzlies (-3.5) vs. Timberwolves O/U: 228.5
There won't be much defense played in this one. Memphis gives up the fourth-most points per game (116.4) while Minnesota allows the seventh-most (114.3).
Suns (-6.5) vs. Kings O/U: 226
Phoenix should control the tempo at home, and the Suns like to push the pace. They score the sixth-most points per game (114.2) and give up the fifth-most (115.2).
Game to Fade
Thunder (-2.5) at Nets O/U: 216.5
This game has the lowest over/under of the six in this slate, and both teams are finishing up back-to-backs, leaving them likely to settle into a slower pace. Both teams also rank below average on offense and near the middle of the pack on defense.
Positional Breakdown
As usual, there's a plentiful selection of high-end point guard talent, with seven healthy options over $7,000. Power forward actually matches that total and center leads this slate with nine. The wing spots will be by far the toughest to fill, as both shooting guard and small forward only have three such players.
Injury Situations to Monitor
Karl-Anthony Towns is questionable due to a left knee sprain. The Timberwolves star is likely to sit considering he was listed as questionable before each of the previous 10 games and missed them all.
Fred VanVleet will sit out for the injury-riddled Raptors due to a strained hamstring.
Sticking in the Trail Blazers-Raptors game, Portland's C.J. McCollum is questionable due to illness.
Kevin Love missed Sunday's game for rest purposes but should return for the Cavaliers if no other injuries are in play.
Elite Players
The Knicks have been better under coach Mike Miller compared to the David Fizdale era, but LeBron James ($11,200) and Anthony Davis ($10,700) should both still thrive against them at home for the Lakers.
Andre Drummond ($9,700) should continue to thrive as both a scorer and rebounder with no Blake Griffin (knee) cramping his spacing against the shaky Cavaliers interior.
Phoenix's Devin Booker ($8,800) is set to continue his scoring rampage against the Kings. He's scored at least 32 points in each of the past six games, averaging 34.8 PPG over that stretch.
Kyle Lowry ($8,700) should take on an even larger scoring load for Toronto with VanVleet unavailable against a Portland team that's allowing 114.0 points per game.
Expected Chalk
Andrew Wiggins ($6,900) has become Minnesota's clear go-to guy with Towns unavailable, which is no surprise given Wiggins' 24.4 PPG this season. He's been more than just a scorer in his last three games, though, adding 8.0 RPG and 4.3 APG. If Wiggins can keep the secondary contributions flowing in his second game back from an illness, he should easily outplay his valuation given his scoring capabilities and Memphis' poor defense.
Sticking in the Minnesota-Memphis game, Jonas Valanciunas ($7,200) is coming off a 30-point, eight-rebound, four-assist, two-steal gem in Phoenix for the Grizzlies. The Lithuanian big man is primed for an encore performance against a Timberwolves team that's going to be thin at center if Towns sits.
Harrison Barnes ($5,900) is in a nice scoring groove, averaging 21.7 PPG over the past three games. He could see some extra run with the Kings banged up in the frontcourt, making this a good time to deploy the score-first forward against the generous Suns defense.
Serge Ibaka ($8,300) of the Raptors has thrived in a larger role of late, producing five consecutive double-doubles while averaging 18.4 PPG and 11.2 RPG over that stretch. His success should continue against Portland's generous defense.
Key Values
With Marcus Morris (neck) unavailable, Reggie Bullock ($3,100) should soak up some extra minutes for the Knicks against the Lakers. The sharpshooter should have a quick trigger against his former team, and Bullock's 45.5 percent success rate from deep this season suggests he'll have few problems outperforming his valuation given the requisite volume.
Carmelo Anthony ($5,700) would likely be called upon to carry a significant portion of Portland's offense if McCollum sits in Toronto. The Raptors are the league's stingiest defense against point guards, so Portland will likely need to frequently turn to options besides Damian Lillard, and Melo has shown he still has something left in the tank by topping 20 points in four of his last 11 games.
