This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a typically compact four-game Tuesday night slate, with the Western Conference taking center stage. There are some notable names on the injury report as well, narrowing the player pool just a bit further and setting up what should be an interesting night of lineup construction for DFS contests.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, 10/29 @11:00 a.m. ET:
Dallas Mavericks at Minnesota Timberwolves (-5) (O/U: 221.5)
Denver Nuggets (-4.5) at Brooklyn Nets (O/U: 218.5)
Sacramento Kings (-6.5) at Utah Jazz (O/U: 234.5)
New Orleans Pelicans (-1.5) at Golden State Warriors (O/U: 217.5)
We're treated to a quartet of relatively narrow spreads across the board, and all four games certainly have the potential to remain competitive even when factoring in Stephen Curry's absence for the Warriors. The totals do tilt toward the lower end of the spectrum except for the Kings-Jazz clash, and that could certainly funnel a lot of DFS players toward the several names in that particular game.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Stephen Curry (ankle) and Andrew Wiggins, GSW (back): OUT
In Curry's absence, Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski are likely to handle the bulk of point guard duties. In Wiggins' absence, Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green are candidates for increased usage.
Ben Simmons, BKN (back): OUT
With Simmons sidelined, Keon Johnson and Shake Milton could be among those who see more time in reserve point guard roles.
Other notable injuries:
Dejounte Murray, NOP (hand): OUT
De'Anthony Melton, GSW (back): OUT
Trendon Watford, BKN (hamstring): OUT
Bojan Bogdanovic, BKN (foot): OUT
Maxi Kleber, DAL (hamstring): OUT
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Luka Doncic ($11,700) and Nikola Jokic ($11,600).
Doncic has seen between 33 and 39 minutes in each of his first three games and is averaging 52.6 FD points per contest, so he's essentially as safe a play as ever. However, it's worth noting he'll be on the second night of a back-to-back set Tuesday.
Jokic is already in mid-season/MVP form, opening the season by averaging 60.6 FD points per contest in his first three games while already churning out a pair of triple-doubles. The one caveat with him is he'll also be on the back end of a back-to-back set and just played 43 minutes in an overtime win over the Raptors on Monday.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Domantas Sabonis, SAC ($9,700)
Sabonis already has two games over 40 FD points in his first three, along with one triple-double.
Anthony Edwards, MIN ($9,000)
Edwards is averaging 40.1 FD points in his first three games and has had two full days of rest, and he should be even more popular than usual considering he's playing in a game against the Mavericks that should be highly competitive.
De'Aaron Fox, SAC ($8,600)
Fox is averaging 40.9 FD points per contest in the early going and should have an integral role in the game with the highest projected total on the slate.
Cam Thomas, BKN ($8,000)
Thomas has gotten the season off to a stellar start that's included a pair of his signature 30+ point performances, leading to an average of 43.7 FD points per game.
Julius Randle, MIN ($7,600)
Randle seems to be settling in nicely to his new team, scoring 42 and 38.3 FD points in his last two contests.
Key Values
Dennis Schroder, BKN vs. MIN ($6,300)
Schroder and Cam Thomas have made for a dynamic backcourt duo early this season, with the former offering impressive complementary contributions alongside the hot-shooting two-guard. Schroder has posted tallies of 31.2 and 43.8 FD points in his last two games, the latter coming on the strength of a 29-point effort against the Bucks on Sunday. Schroder is also shooting a blistering 55.6 percent from three-point range on a career-high 6.0 three-point attempts per contest, and although the T-Wolves are typically a very difficult matchup for point guards, Schroder's salary and the fact he could even see some extra run with primary backup Ben Simmons out makes him an intriguing option.
Buddy Hield, GSW vs. NOP ($6,000)
As mentioned earlier, Hield stands to be one of the more direct beneficiaries of Stephen Curry's absence Tuesday, perhaps even drawing a start since De'Anthony Melton is also sidelined with a back injury. Despite a dud in his most recent game, Hield has opened his Warriors tenure in fine fashion overall, shooting 52.5 percent, including 52.0 percent from behind the arc, over his first three games while averaging 30.8 FD points per contest. The veteran can certainly pile up points when he has the hot hand, and he'll face a Pelicans team that just gave up 40.0 percent three-point shooting in its most recent contest and is tied for the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating allowed to point guards in the first week of the season.
John Collins, UTA vs. SAC ($5,400)
Collins has opened the new season on the bench but hasn't let that deter him, as the veteran has scored over 30 FD points in each of his last two games. Collins is averaging just 20.3 minutes per game and shooting only 40.0 percent thus far, making his production thus far particularly noteworthy. The big man needed just 19 minutes to score 16 points Monday against the Mavericks and should play a key second-unit role again Tuesday versus a Kings team that's surrendered 61.5 percent three-point shooting to power forwards in the first week of the season and 47.4 percent shooting to second-unit players overall.
