This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are eight games on FanDuel's main NBA slate Tuesday night, affording us plenty of options across the salary cap. However, the injury report is also populated with plenty of big names, meaning it's a particularly important day to stay tuned into RotoWire for the latest player news leading up to tip-off.
Slate Overview
For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, 3/5 @9:00 a.m. ET:
Orlando Magic (-8.5) at Charlotte Hornets (O/U: 207.5)
Boston Celtics (-8) at Cleveland Cavaliers (O/U: 217.0)
New Orleans Pelicans (-9) at Toronto Raptors (O/U: 229.5)
Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat (-11.5) (O/U: 217.5)
Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks (-3) (O/U: 216.5)
Philadelphia 76ers (-2.5) at *Brooklyn Nets (O/U: 217.0)
San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets (-7.5) (O/U: 228.5)
Indiana Pacers at Dallas Mavericks (-4.5) (O/U: 246.0)
*denotes team on second night of back-to-back set
Tuesday's betting lines don't paint a particularly pretty picture from a DFS perspective. Not only do we have the less-than-ideal scenario of five of eight games sporting spreads of 7.5 points or higher, but totals are also much more depressed than usual.
Although there's only one team on the second night of a back-to-back set, the five games with sub-220-point tallies portends a night of a few of the higher-salaried players potentially failing to justify the investment required to roster them. That could make Luka Doncic even more valuable than usual, considering his game has the highest offensive expectations of the night by far.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Luka Doncic, DAL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Doncic is unable to play, Kyrie Irving's usage and popularity would naturally shoot up significantly as the likely primary ball handler, while either Dante Exum or Tim Hardaway would likely enter the starting five.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE (knee): OUT
In Mitchell's ongoing absence, the rest of the starting five beginning with Mitchell's backcourt mate Darius Garland will see a big bump in usage, and Caris LeVert could draw a spot start if he can play through his elbow injury.
Jalen Brunson, NYK (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Brunson can't play, Miles McBride would be in line for another start at point guard.
Victor Wembanyama, SAN (shoulder): QUESTIONABLE
If Wembanyama can't suit up, Zach Collins would likely draw a start at center and the rest of the starting five should see elevated usage.
Scottie Barnes, TOR (hand): OUT
With Barnes out, the remainder of the starting five should see its usage shoot up, with Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett in particularly favorable scenarios to benefit.
Jaylen Brown, BOS (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Brown can't play, Jayson Tatum will be in line for even more opportunities than usual, while Sam Hauser could draw a start at small forward.
Kristaps Porzingis, BOS (quadriceps): QUESTIONABLE
If Porzingis can't suit up, Xavier Tillman and Al Horford should be in line to handle the majority of center duties.
Other notable injuries:
LaMelo Ball, CHA (ankle): OUT
Trae Young, ATL (finger): OUT
Tyler Herro, MIA (knee): OUT
Jakob Poeltl, TOR (finger): OUT
Max Strus, CLE (knee): OUT
Cam Thomas, BKN (ankle): OUT
Julius Randle, NYK (shoulder): OUT
OG Anunoby, NYK (elbow): OUT
Nick Richards, CHA (foot): QUESTIONABLE
Caris LeVert, CLE (elbow): QUESTIONABLE
Ben Simmons, BKN (back): GTD
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Luka Doncic ($12,700), Victor Wembanyama ($12,000) and Jayson Tatum ($10,000).
As pointed out earlier, Doncic could be worthy every bit of his salary Tuesday given his game has a projected total of under 250 points. He's also checking on a streak of four consecutive games with 62.2 FD points or more.
If Wembanyama can play, he'll be trying to build on back-to-back 70+ FD-point games and will be looking to exceed that mark for the fourth time in the last six games overall.
Tatum played just 25 minutes Sunday in the blowout of the Warriors and could be taking the floor without at least one of Jaylen Brown or Kristaps Porzingis.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($9,600)
If Brunson plays through his knee contusion, he should be as popular as usual in a favorable matchup against a Hawks team still down Trae Young in the backcourt.
Dejounte Murray, ATL ($9,000)
Murray has scored 40.7 FD points or more in five straight games and will once again be operating without Trae Young.
Jimmy Butler, MIA ($8,900)
Butler will take the floor without Tyler Herro and comes in having scored 51.8 FD points or more in three of his last four contests.
Immanuel Quickley, TOR ($8,000)
Quickley would already be popular after posting tallies of 37.5 to 52.5 FD points in his last three contests, but even more so with the expected usage bump he'll see due to the absences of Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl.
Darius Garland, CLE ($7,600)
Garland will continue taking the floor without Donovan Mitchell and will additionally be sans Max Strus on Tuesday, which should raise usage expectations for the talented point guard.
Key Values
Wendell Carter, ORL at CHA ($5,700)
Carter is finally enjoying an extended stretch of health and putting it to good use, as the big man comes into Tuesday's solid matchup with totals of 28, 34.5, and most recently, 42.1 FD points in his last five games. While his production is still subject to some fluctuation, Carter doesn't carry too much risk at his current salary and is facing a Hornets team that's allowing the fifth-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (35.9) and 56.7 FD points to the position in the last 15 games. Charlotte is also conceding the fourth-most points in the paint per home game (56.6) and could be down Nick Richards on Tuesday due to a foot injury, furthering Carter's outlook.
Duncan Robinson, MIA vs. DET ($5,600)
Robinson checks into Tuesday's game with quite the hot hand, as he's averaging 30 FD points on 15.0 points (on 47.4 percent shooting, including 45.3 percent three-point shooting), 4.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest over his last seven games. Robinson should continue in a starting role Tuesday with Tyler Herro (knee) still out, and the Pistons have allowed the eighth-highest offensive efficiency rating to two-guards (24.0), along with 43.9 FD points per contest to the position in the last 30 games. Detroit is also yielding elevated 37.7 percent three-point shooting on the road, furthering Robinson's case.
Herbert Jones, NOP at TOR ($5,500)
Jones is undoubtedly best left for tournaments due to the fluctuations in his production, but he's an intriguing option against a Raptors team that will be without Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl on Tuesday and that's struggled against small forwards all season. Toronto has allowed an NBA-high 27.8 offensive efficiency rating to threes on the campaign, along with 49.3 percent shooting, including 40.7 percent from distance. The Raps are also conceding an NBA-high 47.3 FD points per contest to SFs in the last 15 games, and Jones is shooting a blistering 62.9 percent, including 56.7 percent from behind the arc, over his last nine games while producing tallies of 30.6, 34.3, 41.3 and 49 FD points in that span.
ALSO CONSIDER: Miles McBride, NYK vs. ATL ($5,700); De'Andre Hunter, ATL at NYK ($5,500); Simone Fontecchio, DET at MIA ($4,900)
