This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have an odd five-game slate Tuesday, with no player being priced at or above $10,000. The most expensive options are Damian Lillard ($9,900), Nikola Vucevic ($9,700) and Rudy Gobert ($9,500).
The most significant injuries on the slate are Victor Oladipo (knee) and Devin Booker (hamstring) both out. I'll touch on how to take advantage of that later on.
The highest over/under is 223.5, with the Suns at home against the Kings. The lowest over/under is 208.0, courtesy of the Magic at the Heat. The largest spread is -8.5, which is the mark for two games. The Jazz, who are at home, are expected to beat the Spurs, while the Bulls are expected to lose to the Pacers in Indiana. The smallest spread is -1.0 in favor of the Mavericks, who will face the visiting Trail Blazers.
Let's dive into an option at each position:
Point Guard
Darren Collison ($6,600), IND vs. CHI
Collison has stepped up as the primary ballhandler in the Pacers' backcourt with Victor Oladipo (knee) sidelined indefinitely. Collison is averaging 30.5 fantasy points when Oladipo doesn't see the floor, which is an increase of 7.7 FP from his usual production. The past four games have been especially productive for Collison, as he's averaging 9.8 points, 9.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 steals (37.5 FP). Giving up the ninth-most fantasy points to point guards this season, the Bulls should be a smooth matchup for Collison to continue his impressive play. Though his steal rate will regress, Collison has also been shooting just 37.1 percent from the field over the past four games, which should also increase. All things considered, $6,600 seems to be a fair price to deploy the point guard in both cash games and GPPs.
Shooting Guard
Dwyane Wade ($5,700), MIA vs. ORL
Averaging 35.8 fantasy points over the past four games, Wade has turned back the clock recently. This stretch of games started with the veteran dropping 35 points, six assists, five boards and a block on the first-seeded Raptors. His increased responsibilities on offense are set to continue Tuesday, as Goran Dragic (knee) is out, Rodney McGruder (ankle) and James Johnson (illness) are questionable, and Tyler Johnson (ankle) is probable. Until the Heat are near full strength, deploying Wade at $5,700 could pay great dividends.
Small Forward
Jabari Parker ($7,300), CHI at IND
Tuesday will mark Lauri Markkanen's second game back from injury. Newly appointed head coach Jim Boylen has opted to start Markkanen at power forward and send Jabari Parker back to the bench. The situation certainly increases the risk of deploying Parker in DFS, but it's not immediately clear if Markkanen is full strength and set to play 30-plus minutes yet. Also, considering Parker's strong play lately (38.7 fantasy points over the past seven games), it would be surprising to see him lose minutes to the likes of Justin Holiday or Chandler Hutchison. My guess is that we won't see a significant dip in workload for Parker, at least for now, and that DFS owners will be scared off by his move to the bench. As a result, he may have low ownership rates in tournaments, which is worth trying to take advantage of.
Power Forward
Josh Jackson ($5,600), PHO vs. SAC
Deploying Jackson on Tuesday will be incredibly chalky, but for legitimate reasons. Devin Booker (hamstring) is out indefinitely and T.J. Warren (ankle) is doubtful. That leaves the Suns without two of its most potent offensive talents. The ball will have to land in somebody's hands, and it's typically been Jackson in these situations. Jackson sees a bump of 7.7 fantasy points when Warren doesn't play and a bump of 0.8 FP when Booker doesn't see the floor. Combine that with Jackson's success over the past three games (31.3 FP) and it's hard to avoid throwing him into your lineup.
Center
Deandre Ayton ($6,800), PHO vs. SAC
I was surprised to learn that Ayton has put up fewer fantasy points per game when T.J. Warren and Devin Booker don't play. It would be hypocritical of me to say that Josh Jackson's increased production is legitimate and Ayton's decrease in production isn't legitimate. But it's also hard for me to believe that the Suns' best chance of success when Booker and Warren are out isn't throwing the ball to Ayton in the post and running pick-and-rolls through him all game, as he's clearly the team's best remaining offensive talent. Plus, in terms of other options at the position, Ayton represents the cheapest DFS option with upside of 40 fantasy points (a mark he's achieved on seven occasions). Below him is Jakob Poeltl at $4,200. Ayton's opponent, the Kings, allow the eighth-most fantasy points to center as well.
