This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have another two-game slate Tuesday night that includes the highly anticipated series opener between the Lakers and Warriors. A critical Game 2 between the Heat and Knicks is also on tap, with New York trying to stave off an 0-2 hole before the series shifts to South Florida.
Slate Overview
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As early Tuesday, the Knicks are 6.5-point favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook despite their Game 1 loss, while the Warriors are solid five-point favorites in a Chase Center locale where they've been mostly dominant since the start of the season.
There's a significant disparity between the two projected totals is to be expected – the Heat and Knicks have a 206.5-point tally that speaks to the quality of both defenses, while the Lakers-Warriors clash is on the opposite end of the spectrum with a 227.5-point figure befitting the pace and offensive capabilities of both clubs.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Jimmy Butler, MIA (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Butler can't suit up with the ankle sprain that nearly knocked him out of Game 1, Caleb Martin would likely be due for a start at small forward while the usage for the remainder of the starting five would naturally see a big boost.
Jalen Brunson, NYK (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Brunson were to sit out, any healthy members of the starting five would see a significant boost in usage while Immanuel Quickley may well be due for a spot start at point guard.
Julius Randle, NYK (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Randle is unavailable for Game 2, Obi Toppin would likely be due for a start at power forward, while RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson would likely see some extra scoring and rebounding opportunities.
Other notable injuries:
LeBron James, LAL (foot): PROBABLE
Anthony Davis, LAL (foot): PROBABLE
Haywood Highsmith, MIA (ankle): PROBABLE
Mo Bamba, LAL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate: Anthony Davis ($11,500), LeBron James ($10,500) and Stephen Curry ($10,200).
Davis, who's fully expected to play through his foot injury, had a couple of underwhelming performances during the series against the Grizzlies, but he still finished with an average of 54.7 FD points in the six games and had one total of over 60 FD points against the Warriors in the regular season.
James, who's also expected to play through his probable tag, was under 40 FD points in the last two games against the Grizzlies but had three tallies over 50. LeBron did shoot just 37.0 percent in two games against the Warriors during the regular season, but he also eclipsed 50 FD points in three other contests in the series and hung 56 FD points on Golden State back on Opening Night.
Curry is coming off an unforgettable Game 7 against the Kings where he went off for 50 points and 70.6 FD points across 38 minutes, and he averaged 30.0 points, 6.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals across 32.5 minutes in two games against the Lakers during the regular season.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Jimmy Butler, MIA ($9,900)
Butler will have to get past his ankle injury, and if he suits up, there's no question he'll be immensely popular after exceeding 60 FD points in three games during the first-round series against the Bucks.
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($8,800)
Brunson also has an injury concern attached, but if he plays, he'll be looking to maintain a streak of scoring at least 37.4 FD points in his first six playoff games thus far.
Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,500)
Adebayo scored 53 FD points two games ago and will be even more popular than usual if Butler sits out.
Draymond Green, GSW ($7,400)
Green has scored 31.8 to 48.3 FD points in the last four games, three of them in a reserve role.
RJ Barrett, NYK ($7,200)
Barrett should be popular at his salary after averaging 36 FD points in his last four playoff games while shooting 54.0 percent.
Key Values
Kevon Looney, GSW vs. LAL ($7,000)
Looney was the unsung hero of the series against the Kings, averaging 34.2 FD points per contest partly on the strength of 15.1 rebounds per game. The big man now faces a Lakers squad that he had tallies of 31.5 and 32.6 FD points against during the regular season, and that's allowing the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (33.8) since the start of the regular season. Los Angeles also ranks in the bottom 10 in points in the paint allowed per game since the start of the regular season (52.3) and have surrendered the fourth-most rebounds per contest thus far in the postseason (46.5), which brightens Looney's prospects further.
Klay Thompson, GSW vs. LAL ($6,200)
Thompson is best suited for larger-field tournaments, but Game 1 represents an opportunity to get him at a discounted salary in a matchup he already enjoyed some success in during the regular season. Thompson posted tallies of 25.9 to 32.5 FD points in four regular-season games against the Lakers, and he scored over 20 points in five of seven games against the Kings in the first round while averaging a robust 17.1 shot attempts per contest.
Gabe Vincent, MIA at NYK ($5,600)
Vincent has produced 25.4 to 31.9 FD points in his last three postseason games, with the high end of that range coming against the Knicks in Game 1. The fourth-year guard has shot 42.2 percent from three-point range over the entirety of the postseason thus far, and he could be facing a Knicks court that will be sans Jalen Brunson (ankle) on Tuesday. New York also checks in ranked No. 19 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to point guards (27.1) since the start of the season, and Vincent shot 50.00 percent, including 45.0 percent from behind the arc, in four regular-season contests against the Knicks.
ALSO CONSIDER: Austin Reaves, LAL at GSW ($6,800); Mitchell Robinson, NYK vs. MIA ($6,300); Immanuel Quickley, NYK vs. MIA ($4,400)
