There was no NBA action last night. Needless to say, that felt a little strange, particularly with how the playoff races in both conferences have been heating up the past few weeks. Well, to make up for the absence, we welcome back professional basketball on Tuesday with a massive 12-game slate.
With so much to break down, let’s waste no time diving in. Let’s go position-by-position with information to help you fill out a few lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $400K Tuesday Shootaround [$100K to 1st]
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POINT GUARD
Stud
Kevin Porter Jr., Houston Rockets at Brooklyn Nets, $8,300 - With the likes of Dennis Schroder (shoulder) and Eric Gordon (groin) ruled out for the remainder of the season, Porter Jr. has shined with less competition for playing time in Houston’s backcourt. In fact, the young guard has exceeded 50.0 DKFP in three of his last four starts — a span of time where Porter Jr. is averaging an eye-popping 1.48 DKFP per minute logged. Porter Jr. should thrive once again in what will very likely be a high-scoring script against the Nets.
Value
Tre Jones, San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets, $4,000 - Even on a slate this size at a position this deep, Jones is going to be a popular play. The main reason for that is his price point. Despite registering 18 points and 40.25 DKFP over 33.4 minutes in Sunday’s victory over Portland, Jones’ salary is actually down $200 heading into Tuesday’s slate. Considering Dejounte Murray (illness) has already been ruled out, that pricing quirk is certainly a head-scratcher. I mean, Jones is averaging 41.1 DKFP the past four times he’s been given the opportunity to start.
SHOOTING GUARD
Stud
Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz, $7,400 - Bane is expected to return to the court on Tuesday and I think he’s in store for a notable performance. In general, the sophomore has just been at his best in 2021-22 with Ja Morant (knee) and Dillon Brooks ($6,700; hip) off the floor, a scenario where Bane’s posted a 26.4% usage rate and averaged 1.18 DKFP per minute. The matchup helps, too. The Grizzlies will be squaring off with a Jazz squad that’s surrendering 123.6 opponent points per 100 possessions across their past six games. That’s some ugly stuff.
Value
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Washington Wizards at Minnesota Timberwolves, $5,500 - With Kyle Kuzma (knee) still nursing an injury, Caldwell-Pope has recently picked up the offensive slack in Washington. Over his last four starts, the veteran guard owns a robust 26.9% usage rate. Over his past five starts, Caldwell-Pope owns an insane .744 true shooting rate. In layman’s terms: KCP has been on absolute fire. He’s also managed to exceed 38.0 DKFP in three of these contests, which places him in high regard entering an uptempo matchup with the Timberwolves.
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SMALL FORWARD
Stud
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls, $11,800 - There’s never any debate about Antetokounmpo’s fantasy efficiency, his value always simply comes down to volume. The All-Star is averaging a breathtaking 1.73 DKFP per minute played this season, yet Giannis is rarely asked to log more than 35 minutes in a game. At this price, a few extra minutes makes all the difference. For example, Antetokounmpo played just 29.7 minutes in Milwaukee’s demolition of the Bulls on Mar. 22, so he only finished with 59.25 DKFP. Conversely, Giannis needed to be on the court for 38.8 minutes the last time the Bucks were in Chicago, so he wound up with 67.0 DKFP. With the Bulls desperately hanging onto fifth place in the East, I think we’ll get a competitive script this evening.
Value
Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks, $3,800 - We’ve reached the point where Williams just needs to be more expensive. While the sophomore forward is an extremely low-usage asset, Williams tends to contribute across all categories, with his biggest impacts generally coming in the form of rebounds, blocks and steals. He also appears to no longer have a minutes restriction, as Williams has logged 36.8 minutes and 29.7 minutes, respectively, in Chicago’s past two games. That’s led to DKFP totals of 33.5 and 28.5.
POWER FORWARD
Stud
Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors vs. Atlanta Hawks, $9,400 - Well, Nick Nurse is back to running his starters into the ground. It doesn’t help that OG Anunoby ($5,800; thigh) is back on the injury report, but Siakam is averaging a league-high 43.3 minutes over Toronto’s past four games. It’s far from empty volume, too. In that span, Siakam’s dropped a season-best 40 points and recorded three double-doubles — including a triple-double on Mar. 30. With that kind of volume, you have to assume Siakam’s a near lock for a huge performance against the Hawks, as Atlanta’s operating at the Eastern Conference’s fastest pace in April (105.5).
Value
Iggy Brazdeikis, Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, $3,200 - You’ll need to keep an eye on the status of Franz Wagner ($5,600; ankle), who was unable to start Orlando’s most recent contest and is listed as questionable for Tuesday; but if Brazdeikis gets another chance to start, it’ll almost be impossible to ignore him at this price. The Michigan product has scored in double-digits in four straight appearances, including 13 points and 26.0 DKFP in 37.1 minutes against the Knicks on Sunday. Brazdeikis might not possess the highest ceiling in the world, but there’s no question someone with the potential for 35-plus minutes is viable this close to the minimum.
CENTER
Stud
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers, $12,000 - Embiid has been an absolute monster his past five starts, exceeding 60.0 DKFP four times and averaging a jaw-dropping 1.79 DKFP per minute logged. A 39.1% usage rate certainly helps one to be that efficient, but it also doesn’t hurt that the 76ers have had some competitive game scripts in this run. So, do we think the lowly Pacers can make that happen? Well, Philadelphia almost lost to the undermanned Cavaliers on Sunday and they imploded to lose to the Pistons last week. At this point, I’m not really too sold on the squad’s blowout potential. Plus, Embiid might actually only need 30 minutes of action going up against a defense that’s surrendering 131.6 opponent points per 100 possessions across its past six contests.
Value
Terry Taylor, Indiana Pacers vs. Philadelphia 76ers, $4,400 - At this point, I’m just going to assume Goga Bitadze ($6,000; foot) is going to miss this contest due to injury. It’s usually the case and it makes things a lot simpler. In such a scenario, Taylor would be one of a handful of players to see extra run, though that might be difficult, as the big man has already logged over 32 minutes in three of Indiana’s past four games. That’s easily a big enough role for Taylor to have an impact, considering he’s averaged a respectable 0.90 DKFP per minute so far this season.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $400K Tuesday Shootaround [$100K to 1st]
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