This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're set for another two-game slate Tuesday night, with a pair of critical Game 5 contests in deadlocked series on tap. The injury report is light but does have one notable absence and a potential second one on tap.
Slate Overview
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As early Tuesday, the Celtics and Nuggets are listed as seven- and 5.5-point home favorites, respectively, on FanDuel Sportsbook. The projected totals of 214 points for the Philadelphia-Boston game is particularly eye-catching considering two of the games in the series, including the most recent, have finished over 230 points.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Joel Embiid, PHI (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Embiid is likely to continue playing through is questionable designations, but if he doesn't Tuesday, Paul Reed would likely slide into the starting five and the remainder of the first unit would see notable bumps in usage.
Chris Paul, PHO (groin): OUT
In Paul's continued absence, Cameron Payne is likely to remain in the starting five and Landry Shamet will also see extra run.
Elite Players
We have five players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate: Nikola Jokic ($12,400), Kevin Durant ($11,200), Joel Embiid ($10,900), Jayson Tatum ($10,600) and Devin Booker ($10,500).
Jokic exploded for a 53-point, 11-assist double-double in Game 4 that netted 71.3 FD points and has now eclipsed the 70-mark in three straight, making his salary bump a well-earned one.
Durant has scored 67.8 and 62.2 FD points in the last two games while averaging 25 shot attempts in those games, as he and Devin Booker have essentially put the Suns' scoring responsibilities on their shoulders.
Embiid has seemingly dispelled any concerns about his knee sprain by scoring 62.1 and 56.6 FD points in the last two games, and as long as he's announced as available again Tuesday, he should be a relatively safe play.
Tatum has been at 64.7 FD points or higher in three of his last five postseason games dating back to Game 6 against the Hawks and has three double-doubles in the first four games of the current series.
Booker has flashed a ceiling well north of his current salary on multiple occasions this postseason, scoring more than 70 FD points on three occasions and more than 50 in another three of the Suns' nine playoff games thus far.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
James Harden, PHI ($9,600)
Harden's resurgent Game 4 – which featured a near-triple-double and 79.1 FD points overall – should certainly help keep in plenty of lineups Tuesday.
Jamal Murray, DEN ($9,200)
Murray has bounced back from his one clunker of the postseason back in Game 2 to score 50.7 and 47.5 FD points in the last two contests, and he should certainly remain very popular Tuesday.
Jaylen Brown, BOS ($8,300)
Brown hasn't been as spectacular as teammate Jayson Tatum but has been extremely reliable, and he's eclipsed 40 FD points in three of his last six postseason games alone.
Key Values
Michael Porter, DEN vs. PHO ($6,700)
Porter has had a couple of atypically inefficient games thus far this postseason but is still providing strong returns more often than not, and he'll head into Game 5 averaging 27.3 FD points per contest against the Suns. However, his two best games have come in the most recent pair of outings, as he's generated 36.4 and 35.0 FD points on the strength of a pair of double-doubles. The Suns have actually allowed elevated 48.0 percent shooting, including 36.8 percent from three-point range, on the road thus far this postseason, furthering Porter's case.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI at BOS ($6,500)
Maxey is shooting just 36.6 percent over the first four games against the Celtics, but he's still managed to average 31.9 FD points in the series by putting up 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block per contest. The talented point guard is encouragingly averaging 17.8 shot attempts per game despite sharing the floor with two extremely high-usage assets, and in five home playoff games thus far, the Celtics have surrendered the most steals (5.6) and blocks (3.4) per game to guards of any team remaining in the postseason field.
Malcolm Brogdon, BOS vs. PHI ($5,700)
Brogdon has provided stellar sixth-man work since the playoffs began, and he's averaging 29.9 FD points during the current series via his 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. Brogdon is also shooting 53.3 percent from behind the arc in that span and has averaged 30 minutes and 14 shot attempts per game, a level of opportunity that gives him a very good chance of offering another return in the range of the 26.6 to 36.2 FD points he's put up so far.
ALSO CONSIDER: Marcus Smart, BOS vs. PHI ($6,300)
