This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have some back-to-back games on tap for Monday's nine-game slate that kicks off at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Let's dive into the action.
SLATE OVERVIEW
BOS (-1) @ CHA O/U: 224.5
MIL (-3) @ IND O/U: 230
ATL (-10.5) vs DET O/U: 213
BKN (-8.5) vs. WAS OU: 233.5
MIA (-14) vs. ORL O/U: 214.5
CHI (-2.5) @ TOR O/U: 212
MIN (-5.5) vs. NOR O/U: 226.5
DEN (-10.5) vs. CLE O/U: 221
LAC (-2.5) vs. POR O/U: 232.5
While the game has a low total, a brief mention of the Bulls is worth discussing. Their big four are playing lights out currently. While the combo of Nikola Vucevic ($8,700), Lonzo Ball ($6,200), DeMar DeRozan ($7,400) and Zach LaVine ($8,500) might tend to cancel each other out, I think you need to consider one of them whenever the Bulls are playing. I won't include them in my recommendations below because it's a tough call to find the one who will smash, but my exposure to them will be in the order you see above.
I'm also not buying into the WAS/BKN total listed, especially with Bradley Beal potentially limited. Until Brooklyn can form a more cohesive offense, there isn't anyone outside of Kevin Durant that I'd want from the Nets.
INJURIES
BOS Jaylen Brown (knee) - QUESTIONABLE
Brown did not play Sunday, and I doubt an additional day will make much of a difference here. Although Dennis Schroder ($5,500) started in his place, I think the output will be absorbed by the remainder of Boston's regulars.
CHA Terry Rozier (ankle) - QUESTIONABLE
It's a similar case with Rozier. I don't see an additional day making much difference with this injury, but he has a better shot at playing than Brown. If he's out, there's a good chance that we'll see Kelly Oubre ($5,700) start in his place. Oubre came very close to a double-double against the Nets.
BKN Jrue Holiday (ankle) - DOUBTFUL
BKN Brook Lopez (back) - OUT
With Holiday doubtful, there's a mishmash of guards in the pool that could all break through. Aside from Milwaukee's big two (more on them later), I'm a fan of Jordan Nwora ($4,500) and I'll give a rare thumbs-up to Pat Connaughton ($4,500), who logged 37 minutes in a similar game script.
WAS Bradley Beal (groin) - QUESTIONABLE
Although signs point toward Beal suiting up, I'd give a bump to Kyle Kuzma ($6,000) if Beal sits. I like Kuzma in this game regardless, however.
MIA Kyle Lowry (ankle) - QUESTIONABLE
The Lowry watch continues for Miami. I will keep running with high exposure to Tyler Herro ($6,200) with Lowry out and will still try to get a piece of him even if we have a Lowry sighting.
CLE Darius Garland (ankle) - QUESTIONABLE
If Garland is out, let's turn back the clock with Ricky Rubio ($6,000). He's registered an average of 29 FP over his first three games while playing an average of almost 30 minutes. With Garland out, his minutes will go north of that number.
POR Norman Powell (knee) - OUT
Powell's injury is noteworthy, but it doesn't have a significant effect on Portland's rotation. Nassir Little ($4,000) is a decent candidate for more minutes.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Nets, Magic, Hornets, Celtics
ELITE PLAYERS
We have 11 players at $9k and above in today's player pool, with six at $10k or above. It seems unlikely that we will be able to avoid 2-3 elites for a winning lineup today, but we'll need to trim this expensive list down somewhat. With Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,200) sliding to the five, he's still primed to smash, but I think I like Nikola Jokic ($11,100) more against a porous Cleveland defense. The Cavs have no one that can defend Jokic adequately at this point, so he has to be an option in some of your lineups. Paul George ($10,500) continues to do it all for the Clippers, and I prefer him over Kevin Durant ($11,000), who will be fine but is a little too expensive on this back-to-back. My exposure will be low to Karl-Anthony Towns due to a tough fight against Jonas Valanciunas, and I'm also going to go light on James Harden, who is still working through some shooting issues.
A little further down, I think Damian Lillard ($10,100) carries a slightly more favorable salary on this slate. However, we can also look to his counterpart CJ McCollum ($8,200), who's also playing well at a considerable discount. Rounding out the elites, I will go right back to Jayson Tatum ($9,700) with Brown out and think the roster rate will be low for Domantas Sabonis ($9,600), making him a great GPP spend-up option.
EXPECTED CHALK AND CORE TARGETS
Malcolm Brogdon, IND ($8,300) vs. MIL
I continue to be puzzled by Brogdon's static salary movement. He's averaging a whopping 51 FP per game despite less-than-stellar totals from long range thanks to his excellent rebound and assist totals, so there's potential for him to go north of these fantasy totals. A time will come where he will be cost-prohibitive, but we are not there yet.
Brandon Ingram, NOR ($8,200) @ MIN
If Ingram is averaging close to 40 minutes a game, you're going to want a piece of him. With Zion Williamson out, Ingram continues to do a little bit of everything for this squad, and I also like the favorable pace of this matchup. Count on a floor of 40 FP here, and potential upside for more.
Khris Middleton, MIL ($7,800) @ IND
Middleton is the other half of the aforementioned 'big two' for the Bucks, and it's hard to go away from Middleton's salary in any scenario where he's without Jrue Holiday. In isolated incidences where Middleton played without Holiday last year, we saw the All-Star pivot to a more active ball distribution role while still creating shots in space. He's less of an off-the-ball scorer with Holiday out, but it'll result in a more balanced line that we can get at this reasonable salary point.
Also consider: Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,100) vs. ORL, Fred VanVleet, TOR ($7,900) vs. CHI, Jonas Valanciunas, NOR ($6,600) @ MIN
VALUE PLAYS
We presented several values above in the injury section, but several value plays remain below the FanDuel median price.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, NOR ($6,100) @ MIN
NAW suffered through a horrendous shooting night against the Timberwolves, and they'll take on Minnesota again in what I think will be a bounce-back game for the guard. FanDuel chose to give his salary a big hit, and now that he is at this level and playing so many minutes, we should jump at the chance to get him involved.
Saddiq Bey, DET ($6,400) @ ATL
Although our instincts want us to click on Jerami Grant's name here, Bey has been the most effective swingman in the early going for the Pistons. He's seen over 30 minutes per game so far and racked up an impressive 42.7 FDFP performance against Chicago in their last game, which was highlighted by 16 rebounds. This isn't a contest I'm crazy about, but I imagine a lot of the public is equally disinterested. I like his potential as a contrarian option.
Wendell Carter, ORL ($5,700) @ MIA
Mo Bamba ($6,800) has been getting a lot of play in this spot, so it's easy to overlook Carter, who's currently averaging almost 30 minutes of court time. He has double-double potential written all over his stat sheet and has five blocked shots over the first three games. Foul trouble will be a slight concern, but not a high roster rate. People are far more interested in Bamba right now. You can also use Franz Wagner ($4,100), but I wouldn't stack them.
Scottie Barnes TOR ($5,100) vs. CHI
I think we can wipe away concerns about both Barnes and Precious Achiuwa ($4,600) for the short term. They've played well enough to earn their roles, and although foul trouble is a concern for both of them, I now have less concern about Chris Boucher or Khem Birch wresting away too many of their minutes. Right now, the salaries for both of these Raptors are incredibly favorable, and FanDuel's brand-new multi-positional eligibility allows them to fit in several spots.
I made the correct call on Cole Anthony ($4,900)! In a word, wow. Sixteen rebounds from a point guard? Wild. He helped me book a win in my single-entries Sunday. We'd be foolish to accept numbers like this nightly, but we've always known that Anthony's ACC pedigree screams potential, and with Markelle Fultz continuing his epic run of injuries, the Magic will give Anthony the keys because they look pretty terrible and have nothing to lose. I might be wrong on the quality of the team, though. Thanks in large part to Anthony, they were able to steal an unlikely win from the Knicks.
Also consider: Evan Mobley, CLE ($6,400) @ DEN, Reggie Jackson, LAC ($5,600), Chris Duarte, IND ($5,600) vs. MIL, Grayson Allen, MIL ($4,500) @ IND
