This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're set for a compact five-game slate Tuesday that has a number of elite players taking the floor but a couple potential blowouts as well. Additionally, there are some legitimate question marks about the availability of some of those stars, and one big name is already ruled out due to COVID-19 protocols.
Slate Overview
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons (O/U: OTB)
Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks (O/U: OTB)
Sacramento Kings at Utah Jazz (O/U: 219.0 points)
New Orleans Pelicans at Phoenix Suns (O/U: OTB)
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers (O/U: 218.0 points)
As implied by the fact there of the five games on the slate have no projected totals listed as of early Tuesday, there is some injury-related uncertainty. Khris Middleton is out for the Bucks due to health and safety protocols, while Bam Adebayo and Brandon Ingram are questionable for the Heat and Pelicans. Given their critical roles, the offensive outlook for each of those contests would be impacted to a notable degree were they to be announced as out.
This slate shapes up as one of would-be blowouts that are in reality far from certain due to slow starts by some of last year's top teams. For example, the Bucks-Pistons matchup would have a very strong chance of a lopsided outcome were the defending champs not down Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, and were Milwaukee playing at a level anywhere close to last year's team. The same could largely be said for the other Finals participant, the Suns, who are still double-digit favorites over the Pelicans but are just 2-3 and playing poorly on the defensive end. The Lakers appear to be righting their ship with four wins in their last five, but they beat this Rockets squad by just 10 points Sunday and have yet to notch a victory of greater than 12 points.
Injury Situations to Monitor
NOTE: Injury reporting is especially fluid in the NBA, where the status of multiple players can change during the course of a day. Therefore, although the following serves as a foundation for the latest injury report as of the time the article is written, check back throughout the course of the day with RotoWire for the latest news regarding the status of all players on that night's slate.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (knee)/ Status: PROBABLE
Antetokounmpo should have an even bigger role than usual with the Bucks down three starters in Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez.
Anthony Davis, LAL (knee)/ Status: PROBABLE
Davis is fully expected to continue playing through his knee soreness versus Houston and would be in for a bump in usage if LeBron James sits out.
LeBron James, LAL (ankle)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
James has played through his ankle soreness the last two games and logged 34 minutes against this same Houston team Sunday, but if he's unable to go Tuesday, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook should be the primary beneficiaries in terms of extra usage.
Bam Adebayo, MIA (knee) Status: QUESTIONABLE
If Adebayo were to sit out another contest, Dewayne Dedmon would likely draw another spot start at center and the likes of Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and even P.J. Tucker would be among the primary beneficiaries in terms of a bump in usage. However, Adebayo was able to practice Monday, brightening his outlook.
Brandon Ingram, NOP (hip)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
If Ingram misses a second straight game, the likes of Devonte' Graham, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jonas Valanciunas should see bumps in usage, while Herbert Jones could draw a start at small forward.
Khris Middleton, MIL (COVID-19)/ Status: OUT
With Middleton out, Pat Connaughton should draw a start at small forward, while George Hill, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis should see bumps in usage to varying degrees.
Deandre Ayton, PHO (lower leg)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
If Ayton is unable to suit up, JaVale McGee should draw a start at center.
Jrue Holiday, MIL (ankle)/ Status: OUT
With Holiday out again, George Hill will draw another start at point guard.
Kristaps Porzingis, DAL (back)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
If Porzingis sits out again Tuesday, Dorian Finney-Smith could shift over to power forward, which could open up a start at small forward for Reggie Bullock.
Devonte' Graham, NOP (adductor)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
Graham could see an appreciable bump in usage if he is able to suit up and Brandon Ingram sits out. However, if the guard isn't able go in his own right, Kira Lewis could draw a start at point guard.
Other notable injuries:
Brook Lopez, MIL (back)/ Status: OUT
Saddiq Bey, DET (ankle)/ Status: PROBABLE
Jae'Sean Tate, HOU (ankle)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
Grayson Allen, MIL (knee)/ Status: PROBABLE
Maxi Kleber, DAL (back)/ Status: OUT
Wayne Ellington, LAL (hamstring)/ Status: QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,300), Luka Doncic ($10,400), Anthony Davis ($10,000) and Jimmy Butler ($10,000).
Antetokounmpo is averaging 54.4 FD points per contest and will take the floor without three of his first-unit mates in Holiday, Middleton and Lopez, and Giannis averaged 64.0 FD points per 36 minutes last season when not sharing the floor with that trio.
Doncic got back over 50 FD points Sunday against the Kings, but his matchup against a Heat team that ranks first in efficiency allowed and is yielding an Eastern Conference-low 97.0 points per game could make it difficult for him to return full value on his salary.
Davis continues to play through knee soreness but has scored 43.6 FD points or fewer in each of his last three games while doing so. As a result, he also could have an uphill battle for anything close to a 5x return against a Houston team that he put up 37.6 FD points over 32 minutes against Sunday.
Butler may ultimately prove to be the best fantasy point-per-dollar play of this group. Not only has Jimmy Buckets scored over 50 FD points in four straight, he's averaging a career-high 17.0 shot attempts per contest and draining them at a career-best 52.9 percent clip.
Expected Chalk
In addition to the players just mentioned in the prior section, other likely chalk plays include:
LeBron James, LAL ($9,800)
James will be in plenty of lineups should he play, especially after demonstrating he can be effective while managing his ankle issue with tallies of 46.6 and 48.4 FD points in his last two games, the latter against Houston on Sunday.
Russell Westbrook, LAL ($9,200)
Westbrook should be rostered heavily whether or not LeBron suits up after scoring between 43.9 and 63 FD points in five of the last six games.
Jonas Valanciunas, NOP ($8,600)
The big man has scored 42.5 to 59.1 FD points in five consecutive games and will be even more popular should Ingram and/or Graham be announced as out.
Rudy Gobert, UTA ($8,200)
Gobert is averaging 43.3 FD points per contest and draws a favorable matchup against a Kings squad allowing the second-highest offensive efficiency to centers (41.5 percent).
Key Values
Tyler Herro, MIA at DAL ($6,400)
Herro has been outstanding in the early going with an average of 34.2 FD points per game while shooting a career-best 39.5 percent from three-point range. The third-year guard is coming off the bench, but he's essentially logging a starter's workload of 31 minutes per contest. Dallas allows the 11th-highest offensive efficiency to second-unit players (40.5 percent) and Herro is averaging an elevated 17.8 shot attempts per contest, giving him a solid chance of offering a 5x return on his current salary via a tally of at least 32 FD points, a figure he's already eclipsed on four occasions in his first six games.
Kevin Porter, HOU at LAL ($5,900)
Porter just recorded 29.8 FD points against the Lakers on Sunday, and his productive game was no surprise when considering Los Angeles' backcourt defense has regressed with Russell Westbrook now manning the point. L.A. is allowing NBA-high 31.4 percent offensive efficiency to point guards, along with the fourth-most assists (26.6) per game overall. Porter's production has been volatile with three games under 15.1 FD points and another three with tallies of between 29.8 and 46.6, but the matchup plus Porter's usual 30-plus minutes puts him in play at this salary, especially for tournaments.
Josh Hart, NOP at PHO ($5,500)
Hart has scored 21.5 and 27.6 FD points in his first two games since returning from a quad injury, with the second tally coming in a spot start for Ingram on Saturday against the Knicks. The versatile wing could draw another start Tuesday, but he's an interesting play at his salary even if he's instead just filling his usual robust second-unit role. The Suns have been a surprisingly good team to target, as they're allowing the third-highest three-point shooting percentage (40.0), the third-highest offensive efficiency to small forwards (25.6 percent) and the ninth-most assists per contest (24.6).
ALSO CONSIDER: Bobby Portis, MIL at DET ($4,700)
