DraftKings is ready to roll with a nice four-game NBA slate this Tuesday night as the NBA continues the final stretch of the regular season. The Golden State Warriors visit the Orlando Magic to tip things off at 7:00 p.m. ET, followed by a rematch of last season’s first-round Eastern Conference playoff matchup between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks. Two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season meet in the headline matchup of the night at 8:00 p.m. ET when the Milwaukee Bucks host the Chicago Bulls, who are the only team playing for the second night in a row. After those solid starters, the slate wraps up with a Western Conference matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets at 10:00 p.m. ET.
As usual at this point in the season, things will likely shift and change throughout the day, so make sure to keep up with all the news by following @dklive on Twitter. You can also let me know what you think of my picks and find more of my content by following me @ZT_Sports.
Let’s break down some of the top studs and values at each position to help you build your DraftKings NBA lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $400K Tuesday Shootaround [$100K to 1st]
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Point Guard
Stud
Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors at Orlando Magic ($7,400) – The Warriors will be without Stephen Curry (foot) for most of the rest of the regular season, which gives Poole a chance to put the finishing touches on what has been a breakout campaign for the third-year guard. He’s averaging a career-high 29.05 DKFP in 29.2 minutes per game overall, but his usage rate goes from 20.2% with Curry on the floor to 29.3% with Curry off the floor and his fantasy production improves to 1.10 DKFP per minute.
On Sunday in the Warriors' first game without Steph for this injury, Poole dropped 28 points and 39.25 DKFP in 36 minutes, and he now has over 38 DKFP in four of his past five games. He has scored 20 points in nine straight games and should be able to extend that streak fairly easily in this favorable matchup against the Magic.
Other Options – Trae Young ($10,400), RJ Barrett ($7,600)
Value
Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks ($5,100) – It had been a frustrating sophomore season for Quickley until recently. In 55 games before the All-Star break, he averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game with a very inconsistent role. In 12 games after the break, he has averaged 14.6 points, 3.7 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 28.4 DKFP in 26.1 minutes per game. That average of 1.08 DKFP per minute over a 12-game span is enough to make him a solid play at just over $5K, and he has at least 29.0 DKFP in three straight coming into this matchup with the Hawks, who usually play with the kind of pace that suites Quickley’s game.
Other Options – Terance Mann ($5,500), Gary Payton II ($3,800)
Shooting Guard
Stud
Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls at Milwaukee Bucks ($7,500) – The Bulls snapped a three-game losing skid at home Monday night against the Raptors behind LaVine’s 26 points, six rebounds, six assists and 46 DKFP. It was a nice bounce-back performance for the whole team, but especially LaVine, who struggled with just 12 points in Friday’s loss to Phoenix. LaVine has over 40 DKFP in five of his past seven games while averaging 25.3 points, 5.4 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game and 1.18 DKFP per minute. He faced the Bucks for the first time this season at the start of that nice stretch of production and put up 30 points and 52 DKFP in 38 minutes. As long as his knee soreness doesn’t limit him, LaVine should be poised for another big game as the Bulls look to prove they can contend with the best in the East.
Other Option – Klay Thompson ($8,100)
Value
Bones Hyland, Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers ($5,300) – I’ve been high on Hyland all season, and it’s great to see him finally have a regular role in the Nuggets rotation, which I highlighted in my Waiver Wire pickups. The rookie consistently brings a ton of enthusiasm and energy off the bench and has been contributing very strong numbers in Denver’s backcourt over the past few weeks. He had a streak of four straight games with over 30 DKFP snapped on Sunday against the Celtics, but the whole offense struggled and Hyland was one of the few with a decent final stat line. In that four-game run before the letdown, Hyland averaged 18.0 points, 5.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals for 34.5 DKFP per game. I don’t see the Nuggets getting blown out in this contest, so look for Bones to bounce back and be a strong mid-range option.
Other Options – Luke Kennard ($4,500), Grayson Allen ($4,300)
Small Forward
Stud
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls ($12,100) – Giannis sat out Sunday’s road loss to the Timberwolves but is listed as probable for this home game against the Bulls. He has been his ridiculously-productive self over the past few games, averaging 35.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 33.6 minutes per game over his past five contests with over 55 DKFP in four of those five outings. He sees a slight uptick in usage rate and DKFP per minute with Khris Middleton (wrist) off the floor, so without Middleton against the Bulls, Antetokounmpo will likely have to shoulder even more of the load than normal. He has produced an incredible 1.73 DKFP per minute this season and 1.78 DKFP per minute since the All-Star break.
Other Options – Andrew Wiggins ($7,100), Marcus Morris Sr. ($5,600)
Value
Pat Connaughton, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls ($3,700) – Connaughton is another player who will likely get a significant usage bump with Middleton sidelined. He missed just over a month after needing surgery to repair a fractured finger, but he returned on Sunday and immediately stepped up to help fill in for Giannis with 15 points on five three-pointers and 26.25 DKFP in 20 minutes. Before he went down with his finger injury, he was averaging career-highs with 2.3 made three-pointers, 10.1 points, 26.9 minutes and 20.57 DKFP per contest. He may still not be ready for a full workload of minutes but showed no signs of rust in his return. Especially with his salary so low, he’s a great play with upside in this matchup against Chicago.
Other Options – Otto Porter Jr. ($4,900), Chuma Okeke ($4,400)
Power Forward
Stud
Marcus Morris Sr., Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets ($5,600) – The Clippers have faced a lot of weird and challenging circumstances throughout this season but still sit in the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. They were blown away on Friday by the Jazz in their most recent contest, so Morris only played 14 minutes. Prior to that performance, though, Morris had shown some very nice upside with over 40 DKFP in three of his previous four games.
Morris’s role has shifted throughout the season, and his volatility makes him hard to trust in cash games, but for GPP contests, his upside definitely is attractive since he can still go for 20 points and 40 DKFP on any given night. The Clippers have just this game and Friday’s home game all week, so they should be well-rested and not worried too much about managing minutes.
Other Options – Julius Randle ($9,000), DeMar DeRozan ($8,600)
Value
Danilo Gallinari, Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks ($5,100) – Gallo returns to the Garden, where he played the first two and a half years of his NBA career, but his recent production provides plenty of reasons to consider him aside from sentimentality. With John Collins (finger/foot) sidelined, Gallinari has started 12 of his past 15 games while averaging 29.2 minutes with a solid 18.9% usage rate. He has been over that usage rate in three of his past four games, including on Sunday when he had a season-high 27 points against the Pelicans on his way to 39.25 DKFP. He has over 26 DKFP in four of his past six games and usually offers steady non-scoring stats to make him low-risk as long as he stays in the starting lineup at just $5K.
Other Options – Nemanja Bjelica ($3,900), Jordan Nwora ($3,400)
Center
Stud
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers ($12,400) – Both the Nuggets and Clippers will be looking to bounce back from one-sided losses, and Jokic will be looking to get back on track after failing to post a double-double for the first time in 24 games. He had “only” 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and 43 DKFP against the Celtics and played just 33 minutes. Don’t worry, though, that game seems to be an outlier when compared to his staggering production over the course of the season. In his eight games prior to the letdown, Jokic averaged 31.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals for 67.4 DKFP per game.
Against the Clippers this season, Jokic posted 73.5, 50.75 and 93.0 DKFP. The last time they met was when he posted that impressive 93-DKFP triple-double which included 49 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. It’s amazing that at his high salary he still is both low-risk and high-upside, but that’s the case with the Joker in this matchup, so play him with confidence that he’ll bounce back from Sunday’s slip.
Other Option – Wendell Carter Jr. ($8,400)
Value
Moritz Wagner, Orlando Magic vs. Golden State Warriors ($4,000) – Wagner missed a month with a rib injury but has returned to a more involved and productive role with the Magic in March. In his eight games since returning, he has averaged 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game with 1.3 three-pointers and 26.2 DKFP per contest. He has shown he can produce in the starting lineup or in cleanup duty in a blowout, so there are multiple scenarios that should allow him to return value at this price against Golden State.
Other Options – Brook Lopez ($4,400), DeMarcus Cousins ($4,100)
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $400K Tuesday Shootaround [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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