Welcome to the Tuesday edition of FanDuel NBA lineup advice. We have a nice six-game slate to work with today. There aren’t a whole lot of high-end studs on tonight’s slate; At first glance, you’ll see five players with price tags above $10,000, but look closer and you’ll see that Giannis Antetokounmpo is highly questionable with a rolled ankle, Joel Embiid is getting the night off for rest, and LeBron James has been ruled out with a sore left groin. The Warriors and Pacers are playing in the second half of back-to-backs tonight, while the Bucks, 76ers, and Rockets are set to play again Wednesday. With all that in mind, here’s my advice for tonight.
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Point Guard
Chris Paul (HOU): $8,500
I’m don’t play Chris Paul often, especially when the Rockets are fully healthy, which they appear to be tonight. I can, however, get behind him with his matchup against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks tonight. Atlanta has given up the most FD points to point guards all season, averaging 51.83 FD points per game. That number has climbed even high recently, reaching a ridiculous average of 59.02 FD points over the past seven. Beyond the matchup, Paul himself has been fantastic lately. He’s averaged 24.5 real points over his last two games and is coming off of a 50.4 FD point performance on Sunday. It all adds to CP3 being one of my favorite overall plays tonight.
Welcome to the Tuesday edition of FanDuel NBA lineup advice. We have a nice six-game slate to work with today. There aren’t a whole lot of high-end studs on tonight’s slate; At first glance, you’ll see five players with price tags above $10,000, but look closer and you’ll see that Giannis Antetokounmpo is highly questionable with a rolled ankle, Joel Embiid is getting the night off for rest, and LeBron James has been ruled out with a sore left groin. The Warriors and Pacers are playing in the second half of back-to-backs tonight, while the Bucks, 76ers, and Rockets are set to play again Wednesday. With all that in mind, here’s my advice for tonight.
MARCH MADNESS: Get the best bracket for your NCAA pool »
Point Guard
Chris Paul (HOU): $8,500
I’m don’t play Chris Paul often, especially when the Rockets are fully healthy, which they appear to be tonight. I can, however, get behind him with his matchup against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks tonight. Atlanta has given up the most FD points to point guards all season, averaging 51.83 FD points per game. That number has climbed even high recently, reaching a ridiculous average of 59.02 FD points over the past seven. Beyond the matchup, Paul himself has been fantastic lately. He’s averaged 24.5 real points over his last two games and is coming off of a 50.4 FD point performance on Sunday. It all adds to CP3 being one of my favorite overall plays tonight.
Others to consider
Eric Bledsoe (MIL): $7,400
Bledsoe has been a model of consistency lately, putting up an average of 31.26 FD points over his last five games. That may not seem remarkable considering his price, but if Giannis Antetokounmpo is held out Bledsoe will see a significant bump in ball handling and usage, which should put him over the top.
Spencer Dinwiddie (BKN): $5,800
This is another matchup play, as Dinwiddie takes on the Kings tonight, who give up the sixth most FD points to point guards. The last two games that he’s played against bottom six teams, Cleveland and Atlanta earlier this month, he averaged 43.5 FD points. He should be a lock for value tonight.
Shooting Guard
Khris Middleton (MIL): $7,700
For this one, I’m going to assume the Bucks don’t rush Giannis Antetokounmpo back from his rolled ankle and let him sit on the first night of a back to back. As long as that’s the case, Khris Middleton should be the biggest benefactor. Over the past four games, Middleton has averaged 19.5 real points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Those are superb numbers that should only go up with the Greek Freak, and his 27.5 points 12.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists, off the floor.
Others to consider
James Harden (HOU): $12,300
Every time Harden is on the slate he’s worthy of consideration. Much like point guards, the Hawks also give up the highest average FD points to shooting guards. If you can find the salary for him, you know Harden will put up points tonight.
Pat Connaughton (MIL): $4,400
Connaughton has seen his role in the Bucks rotation increase, seeing at least 23 minutes of court time in the past four games while averaging 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds over that span. With Malcom Brogdon and Sterling Brown remaining out, there’s no reason for his role to be diminished tonight.
Small Forward
Danuel House Jr. (HOU): $3,900
It may seem a little scary, but House is my favorite value play tonight. He’s seemingly come out of nowhere to average 32 minutes of play over the last two games. He’s performed well with the opportunity, putting up just over 23 FD points in each contest. As I’ve mentioned already at the other positions, Atlanta’s defense is awful. The trend doesn’t end at small forward, where they give up the most FD points to that position as well. House should have no trouble paying off his $3,900 price tag tonight.
Others to consider
Kevin Durant (GS): $9,500
After sitting out two games with an ankle injury, Durant showed no ill effects in his return last night against the Spurs. There’s no need to worry about the fact that he’s on the second half of a back-to-back; He actually is above his season averages in points and rebounds on zero days rest.
Nikola Mirotic (MIL): $5,000
Mirotic has been incredibly hard to predict since joining the Bucks, but he should have ample opportunity tonight. His quick trigger from anywhere on the court gives him a high ceiling; I like him in tournaments more than cash games.
Power Forward
Marvin Bagley III (SAC): $6,200
Bagley has been eased back into the rotation since returning from his sprained knee. He’s seen both his minutes and FD points increase in the three straight games since his return. He should see those numbers continue to go up tonight against the Nets. Brooklyn gives up the tenth most FD points to power forwards and the third most to centers, which Bagley will also pay on occasion. His $6,200 price still seems a bit too low for what he offers, so take advantage of it while you can.
Others to consider
Domantas Sabonis (IND): $6,500
Sabonis is coming off one of his worst games in recent memory, finishing under 20 FD points last night against Portland for the first time since February 7. He should bounce back tonight against the Clippers, who give up the eighth most FD points to power forwards and the most to centers, which he’ll also play.
Mike Scott (PHI): $3,700
Scott is another nice salary saving option tonight. For the month of March, he’s averaging nearly 27 minutes on the court and making 2.5 three-pointers a game. It wouldn’t take more than a few threes and rebounds for him to pay off his minimal salary.
Center
Myles Turner (IND): $7,700
Turner is coming off of a huge 28 real point performance last night against the Blazers and gets to face off with the Clippers tonight. As I mentioned when discussing Sabonis, the Clippers give up the most FD points in the NBA to centers this season. Turner is also another player that isn’t negatively affected by playing in back to back games; His points and assists on zero days rest are nearly the same as his season averages, while his rebounds are actually nearly two rebounds higher. It all adds up to Turner coming in as the safest center value on the slate tonight.
Others to consider
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN): $11,200
Towns, like Harden, should always be an option if you have the salary. He’s rarely under 40 FD points and can put up 70 FD points at any time. Things appear to be trending towards DeMarcus Cousins sitting out again tonight for the Warriors, leaving a combination of Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, and Andrew Bogut left to try and slow down KAT.
Willie Cauley-Stein (SAC): $5,900
Cauley-Stein hasn’t been flashy, but he’s averaged nearly 31 FD points per game over the month of March. He gets a great matchup with the Nets tonight, who give up the third most FD points to centers. He should easily be worth the $5,900 salary tonight.
If you start your lineup tonight with my five featured players, you’ll have an average of $6,740 per player to spend on your remaining four roster spots, slightly more than the average you start your roster with. That will give you plenty of flexibility to take some higher priced shots in tournaments or to play it safe for cash lineups. As anybody that played last night’s slate knows, you have to keep an eye on the latest news and injuries leading up to tipoff, especially with so many questions surrounding some high impact players tonight. Good luck out there!
Aaron Larson is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Aaron, check out his archive and follow him @aalarson.