This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Tuesday night marks the beginning of the play-in tournament, with a two-game slate on tap. We have two solid totals to work with, and even though the Eastern Conference game is projected to ultimately result in a comfortable win for the favorites, postseason basketball can be unpredictable and always sees teams ratchet up the intensity. Player rotations also typically become a lot tighter, so as DFS players, we're free of the ongoing mental anguish that's often pervasive during the regular season with respect to potential late scratches and playing-time concerns.
Slate Overview
Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets (-8.5) (O/U: 228.5 points)
Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves (-3) (O/U: 230.5 points)
The Nets took three of four games from the Cavs during the regular season by an average margin of nearly nine points. Additionally, their one loss to Cleveland came in a game without Kevin Durant available. Consequently, the elevated spread is understandable, but none of the four games between these clubs during the season ended with more than 11 points separating them.
Meanwhile, the Clippers also got the best of the Timberwolves during their season series by a 3-1 margin, but they come in as the underdog. Los Angeles produced just a 17-24 road mark during the regular season, while Minnesota was 26-15 on their Target Center home floor. Both teams are at full health and three of the four prior meetings finished with totals greater than 225 points, making this a potential DFS goldmine.
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, including those carrying injury designations that aren't listed in this section.
Jarrett Allen, CLE (finger): OUT
Allen's ongoing absence will likely result in Evan Mobley handling center duties once again and Isaac Okoro remaining in the starting five.
Seth Curry, BKN (ankle): PROBABLE
Both Curry and head coach Steve Nash have said that the superstar guard is expected to play normal minutes.
Ben Simmons, BKN (back/conditioning): OUT
Simmons may be available for the first round if the Nets make it to that point, but he'll remain out Tuesday.
Luke Kennard, LAC (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
If Kennard is unable to suit up, Norman Powell and Terance Mann are both likely to see an uptick in minutes.
Other notable injuries:
Kawhi Leonard, LAC (knee): OUT
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Tuesday's slate: Kevin Durant ($11,400) and Kyrie Irving ($10,200).
Durant finished the regular season with a triple-double against the Pacers that netted 53 FD points and scored at least 50 FD points in seven of his last eight games. He averaged 28.7 points (on 50.9 percent shooting, including 53.8 percent from distance), 5.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game over three encounters with Cleveland this season.
Irving scored 50.1 to 59.6 FD points in three of his last four regular-season games. He scored 41.2 and 49.9 FD points in his two games versus the Cavaliers, and Cleveland allowed the fourth-most FD points per game to point guards over the last seven (52.0).
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN ($9,700)
Towns was limited to averages of 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals against the Clippers this season over three games, but he should certainly be in plenty of lineups on the small slate.
Paul George, LAC ($9,600)
George was able to average 46.3 FD points in the five games he played at the end of the regular season, shooting 52.5 percent from distance over that span. He also scored 45 and 49.2 FD points in two of three games vs. Minnesota.
Anthony Edwards, MIN ($9,100)
Edwards played just 18 minutes in the regular-season finale, but he scored 69.2 FD points in the penultimate game of the season and averaged a solid 23.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks in four games against the Clippers.
Darius Garland, CLE ($8,900)
Garland scored over 50 FD points in three of the six games leading up to the regular-season finale, before tallying 25.4 in 23 minutes against the Bucks in the last game of the campaign. He also scored 44.5 to 47.2 FD points in three of four games against Brooklyn.
Evan Mobley, CLE ($7,800)
Mobley came back from an ankle injury to score 41.9 and 42.5 FD points in the last two games of the season, with the former tally coming against the Nets.
Other likely chalk plays: D'Angelo Russell, MIN ($7,200); Bruce Brown, BKN ($6,800)
Key Values
Norman Powell, LAC at MIN ($6,200)
Powell returned for two games at the end of the season following his extended absence due to a foot injury and averaged 28.5 FD points across 22.5 minutes while shooting 57.1 percent, including 70.0 percent from three-point range. The veteran wing finished the season with a career-best 41.9 percent success rate from distance, and he shot 50.0 percent from behind the arc in two games against Minnesota. The Timberwolves allowed the seventh-highest offensive efficiency to second-unit players on the season (43.7 percent), along with the fourth-most FD points per game to shooting guards in the last 15 games (43.8).
Reggie Jackson, LAC at MIN ($5,700)
Patrick Beverley certainly presents a stiff challenge defensively for most opposing backcourt players, but Jackson was able to average 18.8 points (on 50.8 percent shooting, including 43.3 percent from three-point range), 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds in four games against the Timberwolves. Jackson scored 28.4 to 47 FD points in three of those games, and Minnesota finished the season ranked No. 17 in offensive efficiency allowed to point guards (25.7 percent), along with the third-most FD points per game to the position in the last seven games (53.6).
Kevin Love, CLE at BKN ($5,500)
Love finished the regular season with a haul of 50 FD points in just 15 minutes against the Bucks on Sunday, becoming the first player in NBA history to score over 30 points in under 19 minutes of floor time. Naturally, that performance is an outlier, but Love does carry a very appealing salary for a player that still offers upside and could see more playing time than usual in the do-or-die matchup. Love has plenty of postseason experience and also scored 21.8 to 26.5 FD points in four games against Brooklyn. The Nets also allowed the 11th-highest offensive efficiency to PFs during the regular season (26.4 percent), and they yielded the eighth-most FD points per game the position in the last 30 games of the campaign (46.2).
ALSO CONSIDER: Lauri Markkanen, BKN vs. CLE ($5,900)
