This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have our second consecutive two-game In-Season Tournament quarterfinal-round slate Tuesday night, so we're working with an extremely compact player pool. Fortunately, outside of Anthony Davis' and LeBron James' perpetual and virtually meaningless respective probable and questionable designations, we don't have any injury issues to contend with.
Slate Overview
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Both games Tuesday project to be competitive judging by the point spreads, with the Knicks-Bucks sitting at a five-point figure in favor of Milwaukee and the Suns-Lakers tilt even tighter with Los Angeles favored by a single point.
The one previous game between New York and Milwaukee finished with a five-point margin of victory for the Bucks, while the two previous games between Phoenix and Los Angeles were decided by five and three points, both in favor of the Lakers.
Both totals are set at a solid 229 points, and given the explosive talents on all four teams, those figures could well be exceeded.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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LeBron James, LAL (calf): QUESTIONABLE
James is likely to suit up, but if he doesn't, Taurean Prince is likely in for a start at small forward.
Other notable injuries:
Anthony Davis, LAL (hip): PROBABLE
Rui Hachimura, LAL (nose): PROBABLE
Eric Gordon, PHO (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,200), Anthony Davis ($11,400), Kevin Durant ($10,400) and Devin Booker ($10,100).
Antetokounmpo has scored over 60 FD points in four straight games, but he was notably held to just 36.6 over 35 minutes by the Knicks in their one previous encounter.
Davis has scored 56.8 FD points or more in four of the last five games and has totals of 63.4 and 39.2 FD points in two previous meetings with the Suns.
Durant scored 40.9 FD points with Devin Booker back on the floor on Sunday, and he has totals of 53.2 and 52.3 FD points against the Lakers in two games this season.
Booker put up 57.5 FD points over 37 minutes against the Grizzlies on Sunday in his return from his latest absence – one game – due to his troublesome ankle, and he reportedly came out of that game no worse for wear. He's missed the Suns' both prior games against the Lakers this season.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
LeBron James, LAL ($9,900)
James should be able to play through his questionable designation as usual and has scored 50 FD points twice this season versus the Suns, so he should be very popular on the small slate despite some relatively modest production recently.
Damian Lillard, MIL ($9,300)
Lillard has been at 43.5 FD points or more in six straight games and scored 42.8 FD points in his one prior game against the Knicks.
Julius Randle NYK ($8,700)
Randle has at least 43.5 FD points in three straight games and has scored over 50 in two of those contests.
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($8,300)
Brunson's recent pair of 60+ FD-point tallies and his very reasonable salary should pave the way for a very high rostering rate on the small slate.
Jusuf Nurkic, PHO ($7,600)
With center at such a premium on a small slate Nurkic averaging 33.9 FD points per contest, he should be in plenty of lineups Tuesday.
Key Values
D'Angelo Russell, LAL vs. PHO ($6,800)
Russell's production does see some significant fluctuation, so he's not a lock to deliver a full return on his salary. However, the veteran point guard checks in having scored 35.6 to 59.3 FD points in his last three games, and he has tallies of 32.3 and 38.1 FD points in two previous games against the Suns. Phoenix is allowing 46.3 FD points per game to point guards as well, and Russell has flashed some impressive efficiency of late with 53.5 percent shooting, including 48.5 percent from behind the arc, in his last seven contests.
Malik Beasley, MIL vs. NYK ($5,600)
Beasley is in the midst of a strong stretch of play that's seen him average 27.3 FD points per contest over his last 10 games on the strength of 15.3 points (on 50.9 percent shooting, including 47.5 percent from three-point range), 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per contest in his last 10 games. The veteran wing is averaging a solid 11 shot attempts per game in that span as well and happens to play a position that's a bit of a weak spot for a very solid Knicks defense. New York is ranked No. 19 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to shooting guards (23.5) and is allowing the fourth-most points (23.8) and fourth-most made-threes (3.76) per game to the position.
Bobby Portis, MIL vs. NYK ($5,200)
Portis' salary is very reasonable for a player who's averaging 24.3 FD points per game and who has scored 25 or more FD points in half of his 20 games. The big man has four tallies of more than 30 FD points in his last 11 contests as well, and his solid bench role that typically yields him minutes in the mid-20s and up should afford him plenty of runway to deliver another strong return.
ALSO CONSIDER: RJ Barrett, NYK at MIL ($5,700)
