FanDuel NBA Lineup Advice: Tuesday (8/4)

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of FanDuel NBA lineup advice from the bubble. There should be plenty of fantasy points to be had on today’s six-game slate; as of this writing, only four games have projected Vegas point totals and three of them are over 230, led by a whopping 244 total points expected between the Blazers and Rockets. We also have one team, the Pacers, facing their first (and only) back-to-back set of the reboot. The slate tips off at 1:30 EST, so make sure to keep track of any news and stay fluid by taking advantage of the late swap feature when beneficial. With all that in mind, let’s dive in. 

Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

Value Plays

Point Guard

There are solid point guard options in nearly every price range today. Starting at the top, Damian Lillard is a screaming value, even at $9,300. He averaged 50 FanDuel (FD) points over the first two games of the reboot, less than four FD points fewer than the more expensive Russell Westbrook. It will be tough for Lillard not to hit value in the high-flying matchup with the Rockets, especially considering the Portland star has played 44 minutes in each game in Orlando so far.

Ricky Rubio has averaged 37.5 FD points thus far in the bubble and gets a nice matchup with the Clippers. On average, Los Angeles only gives up the 15th most real points to point guards on the season but has surrendered the fourth-most assists to the position, which plays right into Rubio’s strength. 

Going farther down the salary scale, Eric Bledsoe is an intriguing play. He isn’t likely to play many minutes in his first game since recovering from COVID-19, but that’s baked into his $4,700 price tag, a deep discount for the Bucks starting point guard.  

Shooting Guard

There are some heavy hitters at the top of the shooting guard salary scale today but there’s some solid value plays if you scroll down a litter farther. Paul George should have no problem hitting value against the Suns. Both teams are top-ten in pace, while the Suns rank all the way down at 19th when it comes to defensive rating. George has put up over 42 FD points in both bubble games so far and has good odds to hit that mark again today.

There are some interesting names near the bottom of the salary scale if you want to go low-budget at the position. Garret Temple should see ample opportunity for Brooklyn today. The Nets, who are already playing with a skeleton crew, will be without Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, and Jarret Allen Tuesday. Tyler Herro is also a nice salary saving option. He’s looking like the promising rookie we saw before his injury earlier this season, notching 24.5 FD points in his last outing.

Small Forward

The Small Forward position is relatively deep tonight. T.J. has been one of the biggest stories of the bubble so far, averaging 43.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in the bubble. Fade him at your own risk, even with the tougher matchup against the Magic. Danuel House and Cameron Johnson each check-in at $4,500. House has a safer floor with more guaranteed minutes, while Johnson has more upside if he can carry over some momentum from his 39.4 FD point double-double on Sunday.

Power Forward

We can target the Rockets yet again at the power forward position with Robert Covington, who’s been impressive thus far during the reboot averaging 43 FD points in the two games played. He should benefit again today from the projected high-pace shootout with Portland. Rodions Kurucs will see all the minutes he can handle as one of the only big men available for the Nets today when they face off against Milwaukee. Marvin Williams is a deep play but the veteran could see additional minutes if the Bucks run away with the game early, which is a distinct possibility. D.J. Wilson is an even deeper play for the same reason. 

Center

There aren’t any true studs at the center position today, but Jusuf Nurkic may need to be added to that conversation if he keeps up what he’s been doing. It will only take 41 FD points for him to hit 5X today and he’s put up at least 55 FD points in both games so far in the bubble. Nikola Vucevic should have no trouble facing off with Myles Turner and the Pacers, who are playing in the second half of their bubble back-to-back set today. You can never be sure what to expect from Brook Lopez, but he’s averaged 41.6 FD points so far in the bubble and shouldn’t get much competition from the depleted Nets. 

5 Studs Worth Their Salary

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL ($11,600): He’s the most expensive player on the slate, but the Greek Freek has picked up his MVP campaign right where it left off in April, topping 68 FD points in each game so far. The Nets have nobody on their roster that can challenge Antetokounmpo on either end of the court.
• Luka Doncic, DAL ($11,000): Going back to March, Doncic has averaged nearly 55 FD points per game over his last eight.  The Kings give up the ninth most FD points to shooting guards and are number 20 overall in defensive rating, making Doncic worth the price tag today.
• Kristaps Porzingas, DAL ($9,700): Porzingis has been even better than his teammate Doncic through two games in the bubble. There’s a pretty steep dropoff after him at power forward today, so he’s worth paying up for.
• Damian Lillard, POR ($9,300): He was already mentioned as a value at the position, but Lillard is my favorite play on the entire slate today. He could legitimately have the highest fantasy output of the day while trying to keep pace with the Rockets.
• Paul George, LAC ($7,600): George is another player that was already mentioned in the “values” sections of the article. His relatively affordable price tag, compared to the other studs, gives him the potential to put up the most FD points/dollar on today’s slate.

5 Notable Players to Fade

• Kawhi Leonard, LAC ($8,600): Leonard isn’t’ egregiously priced today, but I’d rather take the discount with his teammate Paul George and spend the savings elsewhere.
• Jayson Tatum, BOS ($8,100): Tatum has been up and down in the first two games of the reboot and Miami has been stout against power forwards this season. He comes with too much risk for the price tag today.
• Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,000): Boston is another team that doesn’t give up many fantasy points to power forwards, and Adebayo has been disappointing relative to his salary thus far in the reboot. He’s another power forward I won’t be rostering today.
• De’Aaron Fox, SAC ($7,500): Fox is one of the more inconsistent point guards in the NBA. I’m not taking my chances with him against Dallas, who is within the bottom ten for FD points allowed to point guards on the season.
• Myles Turner, IND ($6,200): Turner had a decent showing yesterday against the Wizards, but that isn’t likely to repeat tonight. He’s playing on consecutive days and has a terrible matchup with Nikola Vucevic and the Magic

Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

Beyond our daily fantasy basketball content, be sure to check out our Daily Fantasy Basketball Tools. From our Lineup Optimizer – which allows you to build winning DFS lineups in seconds for Cash and GPP contests – to our DFS Cheat Sheets – that helps you get a quick read on the day’s players – we’ve got you covered this fantasy basketball season.

Aaron Larson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Aaron, check out his archive and follow him @aalarson.