This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Tuesday's five-game slate in the NBA will be marred by injuries to some big-time stars. On the bright side, it creates some potential valuable opportunities in DFS. Let's dig into some players to target on Yahoo, as well as a few to possibly avoid.
GUARDS
Marcus Smart, MEM at DAL ($18): The Grizzlies announced Monday that Ja Morant has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a labral tear in his right shoulder. They played the first 25 games of the season without him while he served a suspension, and Smart also missed a good chunk of that stretch with an injury. He's healthy now and has scored at least 38.9 Yahoo points in both of the last two games. With a larger role upcoming for him, he's too good to pass up at this salary.
Jaden Ivey, DET vs. SAC ($17): Cade Cunningham (knee) went down Sunday against the Nuggets, but reports indicate he avoided a serious injury. Still, he will not play Tuesday and will likely miss at least a few games. He's averaging 22.8 points and 7.3 assists per game, so his absence leaves a huge hole in the Pistons' offense. Expect some of it to be filled by Ivey, who has the potential to provide value versus a Kings team that has played at the 11th-fastest pace in the league.
Guard to Avoid
D'Angelo Russell, LAL vs. TOR ($22): After missing three straight games with an injury, Russell logged 31 minutes off the bench against the Clippers on Sunday. He shot just 5-for-14 from the field, scoring 25.0 Yahoo points. Being moved to the second unit has contributed to Russell scoring 25.0 Yahoo points or fewer in four of his last five games.
FORWARDS
Desmond Bane, MEM at DAL ($38): Now that Morant is done for the season, Bane is back to being the top-scoring option for the Grizzlies. While Morant was serving his suspension, Bane averaged 24.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. During that span, he shot 46.7 percent from the field on 19.4 shot attempts per game.
Caleb Houstan, ORL vs. MIN ($10): The Magic limp into this matchup missing several players. Franz Wagner (ankle), Wendell Carter (knee), Gary Harris (calf), Joe Ingles (ankle) and Jonathan Isaac (hamstring) have all been ruled out. With injuries hitting the team so hard, Houstan has logged at least 24 minutes in each of the last three games. Since he scored at least 29.9 Yahoo points in two of them, he could be well worth the risk at the minimum salary.
Forward to Avoid
RJ Barrett, TOR at LAL ($21): Barrett exploded against the Warriors on Sunday, pouring in 37 points on his way to scoring 56.2 Yahoo points. However, that performance was more of an anomaly from him, given that he had scored 26.9 Yahoo points or fewer in each of his previous three games. Don't get overly excited about one outlier performance.
CENTERS
Anthony Davis, LAL vs. TOR ($50): The Raptors will play this game without Jakob Poeltl (ankle), who is their best defensive presence inside the paint. That should leave Davis to battle with Pascal Siakam, Chris Boucher and Jontay Porter. Siakam and Boucher don't have the size and strength to hang with Davis, while Porter has had a tough time just staying in the NBA. Davis has the potential to feast in this matchup.
Isaiah Hartenstein, NY vs. POR ($19): How does Hartenstein continue to have a salary this low? He has scored at least 32.8 Yahoo points in five straight games. In each of the last three games, he has scored at least 42.7 Yahoo points. The arrival of Precious Achiuwa has not dealt a blow to his playing time, so continue to roll with Hartenstein with confidence.
Center to Avoid
Rudy Gobert, MIN at ORL ($25): It has been a bit of a quiet stretch for Gobert, who has scored 28.9 Yahoo points or fewer in three of his last four games. He is one of the best rebounders and shot-blockers in the league, but his average of 12.5 points per game is on pace to be his lowest mark since the 2015-16 season. The Magic have the fourth-best defensive rating in the league, which likely won't help Gobert's cause to have one of his finer scoring performances.
