With just a mini three-game slate on Tuesday that includes one game (Spurs/Mavericks) that is almost unplayable our choices to build DFS lineups is very narrow. The biggest decision is if you should play James Harden or not as the only stud option on the slate. My take is that he is playing too well right now to leave him off your lineup since there are not enough high-upside mid-range options to pivot too.
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One Stud
James Harden (PG/SG – HOU): $12,300 vs TOR
As I stated in the open, I don’t see a path to skipping past Harden when building your DFS lineups on Tuesday. He has the highest floor and upside by far on the slate and has been running hot recently with at least 58 DraftKings points in four straight games. Plug him in and move on.
Core Plays
DeMar DeRozan (SG/SF): $8,000 @ HOU
This spot comes down to a decision between teammates, DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. Both players have seen a price hike for Tuesday’s matchup with the Rockets, so I will lean toward DeRozan who has been more consistent this season and has a higher ceiling if he gets in a shooting match with Harden.
With just a mini three-game slate on Tuesday that includes one game (Spurs/Mavericks) that is almost unplayable our choices to build DFS lineups is very narrow. The biggest decision is if you should play James Harden or not as the only stud option on the slate. My take is that he is playing too well right now to leave him off your lineup since there are not enough high-upside mid-range options to pivot too.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
One Stud
James Harden (PG/SG – HOU): $12,300 vs TOR
As I stated in the open, I don’t see a path to skipping past Harden when building your DFS lineups on Tuesday. He has the highest floor and upside by far on the slate and has been running hot recently with at least 58 DraftKings points in four straight games. Plug him in and move on.
Core Plays
DeMar DeRozan (SG/SF): $8,000 @ HOU
This spot comes down to a decision between teammates, DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. Both players have seen a price hike for Tuesday’s matchup with the Rockets, so I will lean toward DeRozan who has been more consistent this season and has a higher ceiling if he gets in a shooting match with Harden.
Al Horford (PF/C – BOS): $7,600 @ BKN
Horford is a good play if Kyrie Irving plays and a great play if he doesn’t. If Irving is out, Horford has seen an increase of 5.2% in his usage with Irving off the court this season. He also gets a very favorable matchup against the Nets who have allowed the fourth most DraftKings points to opposing centers this season.
Eric Gordon (SG – HOU): $6,600 vs TOR
Talk about consistency, Gordon has shot exactly 11 three-pointers in each of his last four games and has topped 20 points in five straight games. Gordon should be able to exploit the Raptors’ defense which has allowed the fifth highest FG% to opposing SGs and the most points to the position over the last five games. Bombs away!
DeMarre Carroll (SF/PF – BKN): $5,800 vs BOS
Other than Spencer Dinwiddie, more on him below, Carroll could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of D’Angelo Russell being out for at least a few games. Carroll has seen the biggest jump in his usage rate (+6.0%) on the team with Russell off the court this season. The matchup against the Celtics is not ideal but on a short slate, there aren’t many options in this price range that have a solid floor and some upside potential.
Value Plays
Marcus Morris (SF/PF – BOS): $5,000 @ BKN
Let’s continue to pick on the Nets interior defense with Morris. He might still be on a minutes’ restriction since returning from his knee injury, topping out around 25 per game, but with a plus matchup against the Nets and five games under his belt, he could see both his minutes and fantasy production push into season-highs.
Spencer Dinwiddie (PG/SG – BKN): $4,800 vs BOS
Dinwiddie will see a bump in his minutes with Russell out for a few games. In his last start, he played 32 minutes with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Cavaliers. His matchup isn’t nearly as favorable on Tuesday against a good Celtics’ defense but with a reasonable salary and increased role he should still be able to reach five times his salary.
Kyle Anderson (PG/SF – SA): $4,500 @ DAL
Anderson is the only player from the Spurs/Mavericks game to make the list. He offers solid value at just $4,500 and has produced over the last three games averaging 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He should get 30-plus minutes as he squares off against the Mavericks’ top scorer Harrison Barnes, which give him a little bit of upside.
CJ Miles (SG/SF – TOR): $3,400 @ HOU
With Norman Powell out of the lineup, Miles should see a significant increase in minutes for the Raptors on Tuesday against the Rockets. He has scored at least nine points while knocking down at least two three-pointers in each of his last three games while only playing around 20 minutes per game. With increased minutes and for dirt cheap in the game with the highest Vegas total on the slate, Miles will go a long way to fitting in Harden.
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Brad Richter is a correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay and GoingFor2. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.