NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Tuesday Playbook

It's a weird day for the spend up plays. Both Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama have been ruled out and Luka Doncic looks like he will play but is not 100% and Dallas is playing tomorrow. This brings me to SGA who is likely going to dominate this matchup tonight against the Spurs but OKC is a big favorite and SGA may end up not needing to play his usual amount of minutes. If picking a spend up he is certainly on the list but know that his ceiling could be limited if this game ends up blowing out.

Sure, the turnovers can be a problem but Ball has been really good this season and on this smaller slate with the dwindling spend up options he actually ranks out as one of my favorites. The Nets are not a great defensive team when it comes to the guard play and Ball is stuffing the stat sheet on a nightly basis.

Now that Jokic is officially ruled out we can look to Murray in this matchup against the Grizzlies. We likely see Murray and Michael Porter Jr. as the top offensive players for Denver tonight in this matchup.

This should be a fun matchup tonight between the Cavaliers and the Celtics in a battle for Eastern Conference supremacy and likely a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview. Boston has really good defensive guards in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White but Garland has also been really good this season running the offense while also finding more of his own shots this season. I'm also expecting him to play maximum minutes tonight in a competitive game which makes him a nice cash game option.

Boston has really stepped up to fill the void left by the injuries on the Pelicans roster. His price tag, minutes and usage all make him a pretty nice play tonight against Dallas even with Trey Murphy returning to the lineup.

A lot of ownership is going towards Schroder here today and he wasn't going to make my initial playbook today if it wasn't for the fact that the field likes the matchup and the price tag against the Hornets this evening. We've seen some big games from DS this season but more recently he has just lacked that huge ceiling we saw earlier.

Another solid cash game play or high floor GPP option is Jrue Holiday. These are the exact matchups where Holiday should thrive and with Payton Pritchard not at 100% we may see Holiday with extended rotation minutes in this in-season tournament game agaisnt a top conference opponent.  Let's not get it twisted, just because Holiday is accepting of his role on this Celtics team doesn't mean he still can't go out and take over games like we saw him do at times during their playoff run last season.

The Pelicans picked up Nowell due to their injury issues and with Trey Murphy out of the lineup the other day he played 35 minutes and finished with 30 fantasy points. Those who have followed us long enough remember the days when Nowell was an absolute bucket coming off of the Timberwolves bench and while he may not be that same dude anymore, he has still shown to be a pretty productive player when given the run. I'd expect mid-20s minutes tonight with Murphy back in the rotation.

Back-to-back 50+ fantasy point efforts from Ingram as the “go-to” option for the Pelicans given all of their injuries. Getting Trey Murphy back tonight is actually a good thing because it gives New Orleans at least another dude who can score and maybe keep this game competitive. Either way, 35 minutes from Ingram feels locked in.

We've talked a lot on the DFS Show about our “DFS curse” where we call a player out for not performing and then they go off. We did that with Mitchell a few slates ago and in turn we've seen him go for 60 fantasy points in three straight games. Now, those performances came against the Bulls twice and the 76ers. Neither team is close to as good defensively as the Celtics but Mitchell is going to have the ball in his hands a lot this game and he is always capable of going off regardless of the matchup. 

Bane being back in the lineup and playing 27 and 29 minutes in back-to-back games is a great sign. The Grizzlies are actual home favorites tonight against a Denver team without Nikola Jokic and maybe Bane ends up playing over 30-minutes if this one stays at least somewhat competitive. Bane can be a monster fantasy play given his ability to fill the stat sheet but also shoot the lights out when he gets going.

We talked about Miller on the DFS Show this morning. He's been ice cold shooting the basketball, especially from three-point range but the shot volume is elite and we are getting the other stats that really give him a high ceiling if the shots can just fall his way in this game.

Another Celtics cash game play. White feels rock solid in this matchup tonight. He's great on the defensive end of the floor. He's live to knock down 5 three-pointers and  you know he will chip in with a few rebounds and assists. It's a game like this where everyone looks at Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown only for White to have 25-5-5-2-2 and five three-pointers. 

Grande called out the price tag and then we dove into the playing time and production and decided Clarkson was going to be one of our top plays of the day. Then the ownership came out and it turns out we weren't the only ones with that opinion. Playing at least 30 minutes off the bench, Clarkson is one of the highest usage rate players on the Jazz and not only are we getting scoring but he is chipping in with other stats as well.

We spent maybe 10 minutes talking Knecht on the show this morning. There is obviously some sentiment that if the Lakers get Hachimura back today that Knecht goes back to the bench and then his playing time drops back down under 20 minutes like he had been playing pre-Hachimura absence. My counter to that was solely based on Knecht's recent performances and the fact that he plays the style of play that JJ Reddick has said he wants this Lakers team playing. Over the last three games he is averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 4.0 three-pointers while shooting 63% from three-point range. Listen, I obviously know he isn't a 60% three-point shooter but the Lakers are 3-0 in those games with Knecht seeing more playing time. He's going to be risky but that makes him a nice GPP play where his ownership projection is sitting at just 1%.

We talked about Strawther last night and decided that if Jokic did not play he would be in our player pool. Jokic got ruled out and apparently everyone else feels the same was as Strawther is currently the highest projected owned player on the slate this evening. We know he can be a volume shooter and someone that shoots a lot of three-pointers. If he gets hot he has 10x upside at his price tag on DraftKings.

Starting at near min-price. The Cavaliers are without both Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro here tonight. Merrill is a three-point shooter but at his price he won't need to do to much to hit value.

We talk all the time how on any given night any of the Boston Celtics players can be THE GUY. More often than not when we have these marquee matchups we look at Jayson Tatum as the guy to play only for Jaylen Brown to end up having the better stats. I think this may end up being the case tonight as well. Jayson Tatum is going to be defended by Evan Mobley, a DYOP candidate while Brown is going to get the easier matchups. He's also $2,000 cheaper than Tatum on this slate. Point per dollar, I'm leaning Brown tonight.

Another player that just gets opportunities with Nikola Jokic off of the floor. MPJ can be a double-double guy with some defensive stats. We know he is a really good three-point shooter as well.

Another very popular play tonight and to no surprise is Trey Murphy. He's played two games in his return and looked pretty good from a fantasy production standpoint despite the fact he isn't shooting the ball all that well. When that shot drops though he is going to pop for 40+ fantasy points and the Pelicans are going to lean on him and Ingram in this game.

Another Denver player that is going to be a solid option tonight. The minutes are great and he fills the stat sheet. He isn't as big of an offensive player as some of the others but he will take 10-12 shots and he's shooting over 50% from the field on the season.

I almost never play Dort but the price tag is still really good and even though the Thunder are double-digit favorites we should still see 30+ minutes from Dort tonight where he has 30+ fantasy point upside given how well he is shooting from three-point range right now.

Listen, just because I said I'd lean Jaylen Brown or that it wouldn't shock me if Derrick White as the leading scorer tonight doesn't mean that Tatum isn't in the player pool. He's an MVP candidate on the defending NBA championship team who has gone for 60+ fantasy points multiple times already this season. If you fancy Tatum, go get him.

For top spend ups tonight the field is loving themselves some Lakers. First up is James who is 10K and had a run of four straight triple-doubles come to an end the other night against the Pelicans. The Lakers are big favorites against the Jazz tonight but Utah has some guys that know how to score the basketball and the Lakers are not a great defensive team. If this one ends up being competitive then LeBron could go for another big night as the Jazz also rank towards the bottom of the league in defensive rating.

Now that Nikola Jokic is ruled out I feel a lot better about using JJJ tonight. It's not that JJJ would have been tied to Jokic at all in this game but with Zach Edey out of the lineup there was definitely some minutes where they may have used Jackson at the center position and that could have quickly turned into an issue. I'd look for Bane and Jackson to lead the Grizzlies in scoring here tonight.

Everyone is looking at this matchup tonight and thinking we see maximum minutes from both starting units. Mobley has a lot of size on Jayson Tatum and we know how good of a defensive player that he is. I think he is safe in both cash games and in tournaments tonight.

I'm not the highest person on Lauri tonight but ownership likes him and we know he can be a bucket when he gets going. I'm waiting for the BIG game and I just haven't found it but the price tag isn't all that bad and this is a smaller sized slate.

After  largely disappointing to start the season the last two games from Bridges look a lot like the player who ended last season. He is putting up strong scoring numbers while filling out the stat sheet. The Nets are still without Nic Claxton and this should be a spot where I can see Bridges finding similar success.

Listen, I certainly do not foresee another 17 rebound game coming from Washington but he has had some good rebounding games this season and we know the offensive can be there if he knocks down the three-point shot. Opposing defenses are far too concerned with closing out on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and that leaves some easy opportunities for Washington to take advantage of. This is also a solid matchup seeing as the Pelicans, outside of Missi, do not play a traditional front court. 

The Hornets are playing a lot of small ball with Grant Williams at center and it is working for them. The Nets are also set up to play small ball tonight with Claxton still out of the lineup. Williams has been really good this season and his price tag is allowing him to give us 6-7x return.

As I mentioned, the top Lakers players are getting  some ownership love tonight and while there are a few center options to pick from tonight we also know that Anthony Davis could have a field day tonight against John Collins and whomever else they use at the center position.

Not having to deal with Victor Wembanyama is a huge win for Jalen Williams who has found a lot of success while having to play center for the Thunder following the Chet Holmgren injury, averaging 43 fantasy points over the last five games.

Like Evan Mobley, Allen should be playing a lot of minutes tonight against the Celtics and while Al Horford is still a capable NBA veteran, he has lost a bit. We've also seen Allen have some big games against Boston with his ability to rebound and get offensive put backs.

Collins is averaging 41 fantasy points per game over the last five games and with Walker Kessler out of the lineup we should continue to see over 30 minutes a night of playing time. Sure, Anthony Davis defense looms but Collins is so active and leads the Jazz in usage rate when on the floor.

He was really good the other night when Wembanyama was out of the lineup but the question pertaining to his overall minutes upside tonight should be considered. Knowing that the Thunder go with Jalen Williams at the center position the Spurs need for a traditional center to be on the floor for 30 minutes might not be necessary and if this game gets out of hand we may see Collins limited.

Horford should see 30+ minutes tonight and he is good enough to still give us 20-to-25 fantasy points. We also know that Horford can get going from three-point range his ceiling is higher as we just saw against the Raptors the other night when he knocked down five three-pointers. 

Will start with Jokic and he has been great in this starting role, playing over 30 minutes a night and finishing with 27 and 33 fantasy points. The Grizzlies are without Zach Edey tonight and may not go with a traditional center as Brandon Clarke could get the extended playing time or Santi Aldama.

Bassey is getting a lot of ownership love. He played 20 minutes off the bench as the back up center and if this game gets out of hand he likely gets the blowout run as well. I think you can also throw a dart at Mamukelashvili.

Another GPP option. Clarke has been a pretty solid fantasy option when given extended playing time during his career and should start tonight with Edey out of the lineup against the Nuggets who are without Nikola Jokic.