This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Tuesday night brings yet another mid-sized slate, with six games on tap overall. We have the second portion of a rare back-to-back, home-and-home series between the Nets and Raptors, and the Clippers and Rockets are also clashing at Toyota Center for the second time in three nights. With no double-digit point spreads, it appears there's a solid chance for a night of close games and productive DFS environments in most of them.
Slate Overview
Detroit Pistons at Washington Wizards (-4.5) (O/U: TBD)
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics (-6) (O/U: TBD)
Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors (-8) (O/U: TBD)
Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves (-1) (O/U: TBD)
Los Angeles Clippers (-6.5) at Houston Rockets (O/U: 229.5 points)
Dallas Mavericks (-4.5) at Los Angeles Lakers (O/U: 216.5 points)
There will be a solid amount of star power taking the floor Tuesday, but both injuries and Kyrie Irving's inability to play in Canada due to his vaccination status rob the top end of the player pool of some depth. Nevertheless, with high-salary options like Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns expected to be integral parts of highly competitive games, they could all be worthy of the respective hefty investment that's required to roster them.
The most interesting line of the night is that of the Mavericks-Lakers, which is much more modest than one would like considering Los Angeles' recent form. The Lakers were just humiliated by the Pelicans in a 28-point home loss Sunday night and have lost nine of the last 12 games, although they did notch a three-point win over Dallas in the first meeting between the teams this season.
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.
LeBron James, LAL (knee): QUESTIONABLE
James is likely to continue playing through his knee issue, but if he were to sit out, Talen Horton-Tucker would likely enter the starting five.
Fred VanVleet, TOR (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If VanVleet were to sit out again, Malachi Flynn, who produced 36.3 FD points against the Nets on Monday in his stead, would likely handle the bulk of point guard minutes.
Kyrie Irving, BKN (personal): OUT
With Canada's COVID-19 vaccination policy preventing Irving from suiting up Tuesday, Bruce Brown is expected to remain in the starting five.
Kevin Porter, HOU (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Porter were to sit out again, Dennis Schroder should draw a start at point guard.
Klay Thompson, GSW (illness): OUT
In Thompson's absence, Gary Payton and Jordan Poole should handle the majority of shooting guard duties.
John Collins, ATL (foot): DOUBTFUL
In Collins' likely absence, Danilo Gallinari should draw another start at power forward.
Other notable injuries:
Anthony Davis, LAL (foot): OUT
Kristaps Porzingis, WAS (knee): OUT
Kevin Durant, BKN (knee): OUT
Ben Simmons, BKN (conditioning/back): OUT
Norman Powell, LAC (foot): OUT
Paul George, LAC (elbow): OUT
Andre Drummond, BKN (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Draymond Green, GSW (back): OUT
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to suit up on Tuesday's slate: LeBron James ($11,000) and Luka Doncic ($10,800).
James' knee issue isn't expected to keep him from playing, and if he does indeed suit up, he'll look to build on a stretch where he's scored 48.7 to 59.6 FD points in five of the last seven games.
Doncic missed the first Mavericks-Lakers clash this season and draws a premium positional matchup against Russell Westbrook's typically questionable defense. Doncic also comes into the game having scored 50.2 to 77 FD points in five of the last seven games.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Stephen Curry, GSW ($9,700)
Curry will once again take the floor without Klay Thompson and has scored 48 and 51.8 FD points in his first two games since the All-Star break.
Trae Young, ATL ($9,500)
Young just racked up 64.3 FD points in 37 minutes against the Raptors on Saturday and posted 51.8 against the Celtics the last time he faced them.
Jayson Tatum, BOS ($8,900)
Tatum dipped to 35.5 FD points Sunday against the Pacers in a rough loss for the Celtics, but he'd scored 43.4 and 53.2 FD points in his two prior games. He also racked up 61.5 FD points against the same Hawks squad he'll face Tuesday on Feb. 13.
Kyle Kuzma, WAS ($8,700)
Kuzma will draw another start at power forward in Porzingis' ongoing absence and has scored 64.1 and 57.6 FD points in his first two outings since the break.
Scottie Barnes, TOR vs. BKN ($5,500)
Barnes just exploded for 66.2 FD points against the Nets on Monday night, which should make him one of the most popular value plays of the night at his salary.
Key Values
Ivica Zubac, LAC at HOU ($5,800)
Zubac makes for a pretty appealing bargain in his own right considering the upside he's flashed this season and what he just did to a notoriously porous Rockets frontcourt Sunday. Zubac went off for 53.5 FD points on the strength of a 14-point, 15-rebound, six-block effort, and he'd scored 28.1 to 37.1 FD points in four of the previous five games as well. Houston has been similarly manhandled by centers all season, allowing an NBA-high 36.8 percent offensive efficiency to the position, along with an NBA-high 59.9 FD points per game as well. Moreover, no team has allowed more blocks per game on its home floor than the Rockets' average of 6.0 rejections, leaving Zubac in prime position to complement his fantasy production through those means again.
Bruce Brown, BKN at TOR ($5,700)
As alluded to earlier, Brown should find himself in the starting five again Tuesday night with Irving out. The young wing had averaged 31.3 FD points while shooting 51.9 percent, including 50.0 percent from deep, in six consecutive starts going into Monday's game against the Raptors, when he produced a solid 25.7 across 23 minutes. Brown is averaging 31.5 FD points per 36 minutes with both Durant and Irving off the floor this season, and as he already demonstrated Monday, he's capable of generating a strong return against what could be a short-handed Toronto backcourt for the second straight night.
Spencer Dinwiddie, DAL at LAL ($5,500)
Dinwiddie has apparently started to hit his stride in Dallas, posting 27.4 and 37.3 FD points in his last two games while shooting 69.2 percent, including 62.5 percent from behind the arc. The veteran has encouragingly logged 26 to 31 minutes in his last three games as well, and he draws one of the best matchups going for backcourt players Tuesday. The Lakers have ceded the sixth-highest offensive efficiency to backcourt players (49.2 percent), along with the second-most FD points per game to point guards (48.9) and seventh most per game to shooting guards (41.8). It's also worth noting Los Angeles has been more vulnerable on the perimeter lately, giving up 38.2 percent shooting from behind the arc in the last three games.
